A Dutch security researcher who specializes in finding unsecured MongoDB databases on the Internet, recently made a disturbing discovery when he stumbled upon a database used by a Chinese firm to track facial recognition data on 2,56,5724 citizens of the Xinjiang province where the oppressed Uyghur Muslim minority is located.

The data included GPS coordinates and other very sensitive information including names, birth dates, addresses and ID card info. The leaky database was actively tracking citizens when the researcher obtained access.

Since 2018, various media reports have described gross human rights violations being carried out by the Chinese government against its Uyghur population, including the forced detention of Uyghur Muslims in “re-education” labor camps and forcing Uyghurs to install spyware on their smartphones.

Read more: Chinese company leaves Muslim-tracking facial recognition database exposed online