Rugby star Bill Williams tweets in support of China's Uighur minority

New Zealand's rugby star Sonny Bill Williams has spoken out on the alleged human rights abuses by China against the ethnic Uighur minority group in the country's Xinjiang region.

Taking to Twitter, Williams suggested that greater pressure should be put by countries across the world over China for its treatment of Uighurs.

"It's a sad time when we choose economic benefits over humanity#Uyghurs [?]," Williams wrote on Twitter while attaching an image illustrating China's oppression against the Muslim minority group.

China has been accused of mass crackdown against ethnic Uygurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, with the United Nations and activists claiming that at least 1 million of them have been held in detention centres. China describes the facilities as training centres helping to stamp out extremism and give people new skills.