To whom it may concern,
What follows is public testimony data exported from the Xinjiang Victims Database (shahit.biz) on Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:18:44 +0000.
A total of 124 victims with the following criteria is considered:
List: Victims in focus The vast majority of testimonies presented come with supplementary materials - video, audio, pictures, and documents - the links to which are included here and which also may be consulted by accessing the testimonies via the original interface at www.shahit.biz.
In compiling this information, all efforts have been made to faithfully and accurately convey that which has been put forth by the testifier. In many cases, the information was imported from public sources. In others, it was submitted to us directly by the testifier.
Despite our best efforts and most professional intentions, it is inevitable that some human error is nevertheless present. Many testimonies were inputted by non-native English speakers and still require proofreading. Finally, the majority of these testimonies have not gone through rigorous corroboration and as such should not be treated as fact. We hereby leave the way in which this data will be used to the reader's discretion.
Sincerely,
the shahit.biz team 1. Rahile Dawut (热依拉·达吾提)
Chinese ID: 650103196605202821 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 54 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): other|"separatism" Health status: --- Profession: scholar
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by New York Times. (relative)
Testimony 2*: Darren Byler, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado. (colleague)
Testimony 3: Sarah Tynen, a geography scholar from the United States. (colleague)
Testimony 4: Lisa Ross, a photographer living in the United States. (friend)
Testimony 5|6|7: Eqide Polat, a student in the United States. (daughter)
Testimony 8: Elise Anderson, an ethnomusicologist from the United States. (colleague)
Testimony 9: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (former student)
Testimony 10: Xinjiang University staff, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague)
Testimony 11: Eqide Polat, as reported by William Yang. (daughter)
Testimony 12: Eqide Polat, as reported by SupChina. (daughter)
Testimony 13: Eqide Polat, as reported by Voice of America. (daughter)
Testimony 14: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Professor Rahile Dawut is a scholar of Uyghur folklore and the geography of Uyghur Sufi shrines. She founded the Ethnic Minorities Folklore Research Center at Xinjiang University where she built an intellectual home for dozens of young researchers. She is widely celebrated for her pathbreaking work as one of the first female Uyghur academics to receive her PhD and rise through the ranks of Chinese academia. Address: Xinjiang University apartment building, Urumqi. [This was her address as of 2009, but presumably has not changed, as she remained a professor at the university.]
Victim's location
Unknown, but it is likely that she is being detained in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
Her detention was first made known to her students and colleagues around the world in December 2017.
In a video testimony, Rahile's daughter says that her mother last contacted her in December 2017, saying that she had been asked to go to Beijing and that she would get in touch once she got there (administrators had asked her to pack her bags and attend an urgent conference there).
Urumqi police records note a person with her ID number as going through a police check at the Luzhou Neighborhood police office of the Badaowan Police Station (八道湾派出所绿洲社区警务室) in March 2018, with the system marking her as "completely normal" (一切正常) and "blue" (蓝色). [It is not clear what this means, as it comes months after her disappearance.]
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown, but it is likely she was detained both because she is a person of influence and because she researched Uyghur local knowledge and practices.
She comes up briefly in a recording of a phone conversation between Radio Free Asia and a Xinjiang University staffer, where the latter says that she doesn't know why exactly Rahile was detained. While she only says her first name (as opposed to "Rahile Dawut"), given the context and the fact that Rahile Dawut was very well known, it is almost certain that this was said in reference to the victim.
Eqide has also reported hearing from an unofficial source that her mother had been accused of "separatism".
Victim's status
Missing.
Her daughter believes that she is likely in detention and awaiting a secret trial.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Her daughter learned it from the fact that her mother was supposed to contact her after arriving in Beijing but never did.
Her students and colleagues first learned of her detention via text messages sent from colleagues in China.
The staff at Xinjiang University who confirmed her detention presumably have more direct information regarding her case. More recently, relatives have told Rahile's daughter that her mother is "awaiting results".
Additional information
To date, 18000 people have signed a petition demanding Rahile's immediate release: https://www.change.org/p/xi-jinping-petition-for-the-immediate-release-of-professor-rahile-dawut-and-ot her-uyghur-scholars
The New York Times has also published a story about her detention: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/asia/china-xinjiang-rahile-dawut.html
Blog article about the victim and her work: https://stephenjones.blog/2019/09/03/mazar-uyghur/
Written about in London Review of Books: https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2018/august/where-is-rahile-dawut
Mention in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/03/china-every-day-is-kristallnacht/
Mention in the Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/what-happens-when-the-uyghurs-come-home/
Mention in Voice of America: https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/china-retaliates-against-uighur-activists-impri soning-relatives-us
Her daughter's campaign: https://www.freemymom.org/
Radio Free Asia investigation: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/siyaset/uyghur-ziyaliy-lager-09132018143252.html
SupChina article: https://supchina.com/2020/04/01/a-uyghur-daughter-alone-in-america-during-a-pandemic/
Her Baidu Baike: https://archive.vn/9JLHo
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Radio Free Asia calls transcript
Call No. 1 (with staffer at Xinjiang University): Staffer: Yes, hello? RFA: Is this Xinjiang University? Staffer: Yes. … RFA: Where’s the president of the humanities university, Arslan Abdulla, right now? [recommended to talk to the philology headquarters office]
Call No. 2 (with staffer at Xinjiang University’s philology headquarters office): Staffer: Hello? RFA: Hi, how are you doing? Staffer: Hello? RFA: How are you? Hello? Staffer: I'm all right. You? RFA: Yeah, good, good… Which office of Xinjiang University is this? Staffer: Xinjiang University's general administration office (综合治理办公室). RFA: Do they call it "general administration" or "headquarters"? Staffer: They call it “headquarters”. RFA: How many people from Xinjiang University are in training centers? Staffer: That I don't know. RFA: How long has it been since Arslan Abdulla stopped working? Staffer: I’m sorry. I'm not able to tell you these things. RFA: How about Abdurekim Rahman? How long has it been for Prof. Abdukerim Rahman? Staffer: I don't know. RFA: We got this number from the Education Bureau. They said that you would know these things. This was the contact information from the Education Bureau. If you cannot answer this, then we will speak with someone who is in the know. Who are the people in charge there? Who is the head of the philological institute now? Staffer: If that's the case, then look, here is what I'll do. These things… I'll go and see one of the bosses, and once I've found out exactly when these people stopped working, and where they are being held, then I will call you back. RFA: Okay. In that case, the first thing we're asking is: when did they stop working? Second: which branches of public security took them away? Which training centers? It would be good if you could get us this kind of information. Staffer: Wait a moment. Ah... Right now, all of our bosses are in meetings, this being our headquarters, after all. We have a cadre who is responsible for these things. I’ll get these matters clarified, and in fifteen minutes, if you call back this number that you dialed, I’ll pick up. RFA: You'll get it yourself? Ah, okay, okay, fifteen minutes... Staffer: I'll go get that done right now. RFA: Okay, okay. Take care. Staffer: I’ll get it done now. RFA: Okay. Take care.
Call No. 3 (with the same staffer as in the previous call): RFA: So were you able to get some information? Where is Abdukerim Rahman? Staffer: For that one, there's no information. They still haven't made that public. RFA: Are they all in one training center, or in different training centers? Staffer: I don't know that either. RFA: Did they take Abdukerim Rahman away at a meeting, or from his home? Staffer: I don't know. RFA: Are their cases being handled by the disciplinary commission or by public security? Arslan Abdulla's. Staffer: I can't tell you anything about that either. RFA: On what day was Abdukerim Rahman taken away? When he still worked at the school. Staffer: I don't know that either. RFA: Who took over Arslan Abdulla's post? Staffer: Right now, I can't tell you anything about anyone. … RFA: How long has it been since Abdukerim Rahman's courses were stopped, since he stopped working? Staffer: It's been a while now. RFA: You say it's been a while. How long exactly? Seven months? If we count in months? For Arslan Abdulla. Staffer: Yes, it's been a while. RFA: So you can't tell me anything about where Arslan Abdulla is and where he’s being held, right? Staffer: That’s right. RFA: And you can't tell me anything about where Abdukerim Rahman is being held? Staffer: Correct. RFA: Could we understand Arslan Abdulla's detention to be a state secret? Is it regarded as a state secret? Staffer: You can write that, if that's how you understand it. RFA: Is it the same for Abdukerim Rahman's, for his detention? Is that a state secret? Staffer: It’s same as, what… The same as Arslan’s. RFA: The same as Arslan’s? Staffer: I don't know that either, the reason he was detained for. RFA: Ah, so you know that he was detained, but don’t know why he was detained, is that right? Staffer: I don't know for what reason Arslan was detained. For Abdukerim… Rahile, I don't know really what reason they were detained for.
Source: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/siyaset/uyghur-ziyaliy-lager-09132018143252.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hUbZ6yju84 Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlyAnTE4q58 NYT video opinion piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbN-yF5d2QU Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGLTvHYCVAs Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31tqr-v2a3E Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSBAd3cefdA Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHb4ZIUDPEg Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbgOo26wgPc support video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRUDdlLwUFc recognition post (Darren Byler): https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://web.facebook.com/darren.byler/posts/1015677 6377809066&width=500 recognition post (Lisa Ross): https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://web.facebook.com/lisa.ross.58555941/posts/10 156586612113827&width=500 recognition post (Rachel Harris): https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://web.facebook.com/rachel.harris.961993/posts/ 10156063057531936&width=500 article about Rahile: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/darren.byler/posts/101570 03298069066&width=500 Elise Anderson's tweet: https://twitter.com/AndersonEliseM/status/1095329921889521664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 11: https://twitter.com/WilliamYang120/status/1258969810563559424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with kids: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_1.jpg old photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_8.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_9.jpg book on Sufi shrines: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_19.jpg photo with CCP leaders (2000): https://shahit.biz/supp/1_20.jpg TV show appearance: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_21.jpg interview clip: https://shahit.biz/supp/1_22.mp4 Entry created: 2018-09-20 Last updated: 2021-06-18 Latest status update: 2021-04-07 2. Perhat Tursun (帕尔哈提·吐尔逊)
Chinese ID: 653001196901????O? (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 51 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): nationalism, patriotism|--- Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|4|7: Darren Byler, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado. (friend)
Testimony 2|6: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3: Tahir Hamut, an Uyghur poet and filmmaker, now residing in the United States. (friend)
Testimony 5: Radio Free Asia Uyghur, the Uyghur-language service of Radio Free Asia.
Testimony 8: Joshua Freeman, a historian of China and Inner Asia, as well as a translator of Uyghur poetry. (friend)
Testimony 9: Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, an investigative journalist covering China. (acquaintance)
About the victim
Perhat Tursun is a leading Uyghur fiction writer, poet, and cultural critic. His writing focuses on urban alienation, Uyghur traditions, and problems of human existence.
At age 24, he wrote the "Art of Suicide", a controversial novel that was included in the list of the hundred best works of Uyghur culture, something the author himself was unhappy about (as most of the other works in the list were "propaganda bullshit"). His wife reportedly left him following the controversy, and he would have difficulty getting published for some time. Despite the criticisms of his book, however, Perhat has stated that he does identify as Muslim, but that his belief came "from a sort of philosophical universalism rather than a pure acceptance of creed".
He received his PhD degree from China's Minzu University in 2011, in the field of Chaghatay language and Uyghur folklore.
Victim's location
He had been living in Urumqi before. However, the current location is unknown, especially as he is reported to have been sentenced.
When victim was detained
Detained on January 30, 2018. News that he had been sentenced were received in early October 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Abduweli Ayup, he was targeted for being one of the scholars to have signed Memtimin Elyar's 2005 petition for the protection of Uyghur-language education.
Victim's status
Sentenced to prison.
It's been said that he's been sentenced to 16 years, but this has yet to be verified.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
News of his detention first circulated via social media - Tahir Hamut, one of Perhat's closest friends, learned from a mutual acquaintance that Perhat had been "hospitalized". This was later confirmed during visits by international researchers in Urumqi.
The reason for his arrest as given by Abduweli Ayup is speculative.
Additional information
Foreign Policy feature: https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/01/china-xinjiang-islam-salman-rushdie-uighur/
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Mentioned in Abduweli Ayup's op-ed for PEN/Opp: https://www.penopp.org/articles/abduweli-ayup?language_content_entity=en
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/erkin-tiniqlar/perhat-tursun-01312020235722.html
Featured in SupChina: https://supchina.com/2020/02/05/disappearance-of-perhat-tursun-uyghur-worlds-greatest-author/
Mentioned in the New York Review of Books: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/08/13/uighur-poets-on-repression-and-exile/
Some Mandarin translations of his poems: http://archive.is/RMdpA
One of his novels in English: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-backstreets/9780231202916
An article by Zhang Qinghua, a literature professor in Beijing, that mentions Perhat and his poetry: http://archive.is/by09F
More of his poetry in Chinese: https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/138083 https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137594 https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137723
Supplementary materials
Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl-XjaQOYLs Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/HamutTahir/status/1095358483166314497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/2_1.jpg article about victim's poetry: https://shahit.biz/supp/2_4.pdf photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/2_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-09-21 Last updated: 2021-04-17 Latest status update: 2020-02-05 3. Ablajan Awut Ayup (阿布拉江·阿吾提·阿尤甫)
Chinese ID: 65322319841111??O? (Guma)
Basic info
Age: 35 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Hotan Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): nationalism, patriotism|--- Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2: Darren Byler, an anthropologist at the University of Colorado. (friend)
Testimony 3: Anonymous, as reported by Financial Times. (brother)
Testimony 4: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 6: "Bahadir Uyghur", an unverified Facebook account. (friend)
Testimony 7: Gulzar Qeyyum, a researcher in disaster management. (acquaintance)
About the victim
Ablajan Awut Ayup is a popular Uyghur singer, songwriter and dancer. His pop-influenced dance music often references Uyghur traditions and poetry. His music is wildly popular with Uyghur children.
Victim's location
According to a Radio Free Asia article from May 15, 2018, Ablajan was arrested in Sanju Village of Hotan's Guma County. As he is originally from Hotan, it is likely that he is being held in the Hotan prefecture.
When victim was detained
February 2018 (his last WeChat post was on February 14).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Darren Byler, it is likely related to the themes of his music.
His friend Bahadir speculates that it may be due to his philanthropy and charity work for the Uyghur community, or because he once went to Malaysia as a representative of the restaurant "Marry Brown", meeting with local Uyghurs and discussing the Uyghur issue.
Victim's status
Unknown.
His friend Bahadir mentions his being sentenced to over 10 years in prison, but this has not been confirmed by other sources.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The victim's brother presumably has more direct knowledge of the case, as do the local police.
Additional information
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ablajan_Awut_Ayup
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/ablajan-ayup-05152018151210.html
Chinese blogs mentioning Ablajan: http://archive.is/tDiBw http://archive.is/mkFwF http://archive.is/1aIer http://archive.is/mcbI2 http://archive.is/zCi4q
Radio Free Asia calls transcript
Call No. 1 (with police station in Qaraqash, Hotan): Police: Hello? RFA: Is this the municipal police station? Police: Yes. RFA: Is Ablajan Awut Ayup a resident of your area or of Guma? Where was his residency? Police: Ablajan Awut Ayup is… from Guma, I think. Yea, he’s from Guma. RFA: From Guma… When was he detained? Which district police detained him? I heard he was taken by the Qaraqash police. Police: I don’t know. RFA: You don’t know… Where in Guma is he from? From Sanju or from Zangguy? Police: I don’t know that either. RFA: How long has it been since...? Police: Call the public security bureau in Guma.
Call No. 2 (with another police station, possibly in Guma): Police: Hello? RFA: Is Ablajan Awut being held in Qaraqash or in Guma? Or in Hotan City? Police: I don’t know. RFA: How long has it been since he was taken for training? Police: I don’t know. I just started this job two days ago. Call 110 and ask them. I don’t know. RFA: Look, kid, you’re an assistant police officer, right? Can you tell me...? Police: [hangs up].
Call No. 3 (with police station in Choda Township): Police: Hello? RFA: Is this the Choda police station? Police: Yea. RFA: Is Ablajan Awut Ayup from the Choda township or from Sanju? Police: From Sanju. RFA: From Sanju… Which training center is that guy at now? Where’s he being held? Police: I don’t know. RFA: What do you mean you don’t know? Aren’t you on your shift right now? Police: Yea. RFA: How many of you are there now? Police: I don’t know. Let me call one of the cadres. RFA: Wait, wait. Look, kid, you’re an assistant police officer, right? [with different officer] RFA: How long has it been now since Ablajan was detained? Police: We have no idea. RFA: You have no idea… You don’t have any of his relatives over there? Police: No, no. We don’t have anyone here.
Call No. 4 (with one of the regional police stations): RFA: Which police station took him? Was it the Sanju police station when he was first arrested, or the city or county one? Police: You should… umm… you should contact the public security bureau or the police station in Sanju.
Call No. 5 (with the Choda police station): Police: Hello? RFA: Hi, how are you? Doing well? Police: Doing well, how about you? RFA: Doing well too. Which police station was the singer Ablajan Awut Ayup detained by? Police: Sanju. Sanju. RFA: Sanju, huh? Police: Yes, Sanju Township’s. RFA: Which training center is he at now? Police: That I don’t know. RFA: How far is Sanju from your township? Police: From our township, it’s over 40… No, over 30 kilometers. RFA: This is Choda Township, right? The Choda police station? Police: Yes. RFA: Are you a proper police officer or an assistant police officer? Police: Proper. RFA: Proper… So you know that Ablajan Awut Ayup was taken, but you don’t know where he was taken to and where he’s currently being held? Is that right? Police: Yes.
Source: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/ablajan-ayup-05152018151210.html Supplementary materials show-of-support testimony (1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f3nvkCyrSE Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysX_HFloV2Q show-of-support testimony (2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBXN2c3HZZk show-of-support testimony (3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqZzFcDO4NU show-of-support testimony (4): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZsMWDiammk show-of-support testimony (5): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFhuUa5I1VM music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRolBeXHEc collaboration with Six City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0UUpB2NCs8 Testimony 5: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php%3Fstory_fb id%3D2562722297280225%26id%3D100006274397142&width=300 Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/GSataru/status/1281629167419719680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/3_1.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/3_2.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/3_9.jpeg photo (4): https://shahit.biz/supp/3_10.jpg
Entry created: 2018-09-21 Last updated: 2020-07-12 Latest status update: 2020-07-10 16. Nurbolat Oraz (努尔博拉提·吾拉孜)
Chinese ID: 654126196105011031 (Mongghulkure)
Basic info
Age: 59 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: has problems Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Nazigul Tursynbai, born in 1981, immigrated to Kazakhstan from China in 2007. (relative)
Testimony 2: Baqtiyar Sabetbai, born in 1986, is originally from Mongolkure County but has been a citizen of Kazakhstan since 2018. (nephew)
Testimony 3|4: Razia Nurbolat, born in 1989, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (daughter)
Testimony 5: Lazzat Belqozha, presumably a resident of Kazakhstan. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6: Dilbar Nurbolat, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (daughter)
Testimony 7: Bekinur Naqysbek, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (from same town/region)
About the victim
Nurbolat Oraz was a state-approved imam of a mosque in Aqdala Township's Taltysai Village. He had worked as an imam in Adqala for 18 years.
Address: Taltysai No. 1 Village, Aqdala Municipality, Mongolkure County, Xinjiang (新疆昭苏县阿克达拉乡塔勒赛一村).
Chinese passport number: G-48710743.
Victim's location
"Zekti Prison" in Kunes County. [This is presumably the new Kunes Prison, which is just south of Zekti. Zekti Municipality itself does not appear to have any detention facilities.]
When victim was detained
Nurbolat was detained on August 9, 2017. He was later released on September 1, 2017 and then arrested again in November 2017 and allegedly taken to a camp. It was later heard, though not confirmed, that he had been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to the victim's daughter, Razia, he was detained for sending his daughters to Kazakhstan.
The victim's nephew, Baqtiyar, has stated that his detention was due to his being an imam.
Victim's status
Rumored to have been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He has health issues, having recently had a pulmonary segmentectomy. He has difficulty breathing.
[There is a high likelihood of the victim being subjected to forced labor at the prison, as this has been documented at Kunes Prison.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
This victim is included in a list of Mongolkure victims provided to Qazaq Uni (https://qazaquni.kz/2018/09/28/90575.html), and also available at: https://shahit.biz/supp/list_005.pdf
A person with the victim's name was an investor in a sunflower oil manufacturing company, but it is unclear if the investor is the victim: https://archive.vn/vpsMh
A person with this name is also listed as an investor in a beet cooperative: http://archive.is/B2z7s [given that this is in the same village as the victim's residence, it is most likely that this is the victim]
Victims among relatives
Bagnur Sabetbai (14), Nurbaqyt Auqadi (15), Bubinur Shaken (13)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ENXPp3OQoM Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgXweRMmZA4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozS6KWZtv1o Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE_0PxEmwsA Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikY4jf4NdoQ Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdROL93vokM photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/16_1.png household registration: https://shahit.biz/supp/16_7.png
Entry created: 2018-09-27 Last updated: 2020-08-24 Latest status update: 2020-05-11 23. Elijan Mamut (艾力江·马木提)
Chinese ID: 653101197404122416 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 47 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kashgar Status: in custody When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|7: Sheyide Eli, originally from Kashgar, but now residing in the United States. (daughter)
Testimony 2*|4*: Sheyide Eli, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (daughter)
Testimony 3: Adile Sadir, now living in Boston, where she is the owner of an Uyghur restaurant. She obtained a bachelor's degree from UMass Boston. (niece-in-law)
Testimony 5: Sheyide Eli, as reported by Daily Express. (daughter)
Testimony 6: Shemsiye Eli, daughter of victim Elijan Mamut, now living abroad. (daughter)
About the victim
Elijan Mamut was a businessman.
Address: No. 467, Group No. 8, Towenki Mollazat Village, Nezerbagh Municipality, Kashgar City, XUAR (新疆维吾尔自治区喀什市乃则尔巴格镇吐万克毛拉扎德村8组467号).
Victim's location
Detention center in Konasheher County.
When victim was detained
He was arrested in May 2017.
In October 2019, his daughter finally got news of him, hearing that he had been taken to a detention center in Nezerbagh following his arrest and was still detained there. She also heard that he was subjected to forced labor there.
In mid-2020, she was told by relatives that he was "fine" and "working", but wouldn't be told when she could talk to him, making her suspect that he was still in forced labor. In September 2021, Sheyide reported him as being in a detention center.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
In detention.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The original news came from a friend currently studying in inner China.
Later news regarding the victim's "employment" came from relatives.
Additional information
Covered by the Daily Express: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1282764/China-news-Beijing-nazi-concentration-camps-muslim-U yghur-Xinjiang-coronavirus-latest
Victims among relatives
Osmanjan Eli (37), Enwerjan Eli (38), Sabitjan Mantimin (36), Ghapparjan Memeteli (34), Bilal Ghapparjan (35), Sadir Eli (39), Reshide Memet (44), Asiye Memet (3021), Ismayil Memet (42), Hajimuhemmed Musa (40), Hanzohre Musa (43), Sarigul Rozi (3052), Ibrahim Mamut (3019), Rozi Himit (3051), Mehrigul Abla (3046), Abdugheni Abla (3047), Abdusemi Abla (3048), Mahmut Edat (3049), Abdukerim Edat (3050), Burhan Memet (3004), Memet Burhan (3018), Ibrahimjan Muhemmet (41), Mamut Abidin (3022), Hesen Mamut (3023), Husen Mamut (3024), Yusupjan Abidin (4971), Abidin Ayup (4973), Aygul Eli (8974), Abdukerim Abla (9152), Kerim Osmanjan (3002), Ibrahimjan Niyaz (3003), Ayshem Abliz (3020), Abduweli Mijit (14393)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3 (removed): https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://web.facebook.com/adila.sadir/posts/216886772 9847618&width=500 Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/shemsiye4/status/1278073232042721280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/sydaaaAli/status/1438598103188361218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/23_2.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/23_4.jpg photo with daughters: https://shahit.biz/supp/23_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-09-29 Last updated: 2021-09-19 Latest status update: 2021-09-16 39. Sadir Eli (沙地克·艾力)
Chinese ID: 653021197109010219 (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 49 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Tumshuq Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: Apr. 2018 - June 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Mehmut Enwer, originally came to Australia as a refugee in 2005, now an Australian citizen. (cousin)
Testimony 2|4: Adile Sadir, now living in Boston, where she is the owner of an Uyghur restaurant. She obtained a bachelor's degree from UMass Boston. (daughter)
Testimony 3|7|8: Mariye Muhemmed, originally from Atush but now residing in Boston, where she helps operate an Uyghur restaurant. (wife)
Testimony 5: Adile Sadir, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (daughter)
Testimony 6: Adile Sadir, as reported by WGBH. (daughter)
Testimony 9: Sheyide Eli, originally from Kashgar, but now residing in the United States. (niece-in-law)
Testimony 10: Kewser Wayit, a resident of the United States. He is originally from Atush. (acquaintance)
About the victim
Sadir Eli is originally from Atush. After obtaining a higher education, he would work at the Atush People's Bank, before going into private business. His official Chinese ID reports his name as "Sadiq", but this - according to his daughter - is a bureaucratic mistake.
Address: Apt. 403, Entrance No. 2, Building No. 16, 181 Tuanjie Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市天山区团结路181号16号楼2单元403号).
Victim's location
Third Division Tumshuq Prison.
When victim was detained While there is slightly conflicting info in the different testimonies, there seems to be a rough consensus that he was detained in June 2018. His daughter adds that he called her a day before the arrest to give her the number of a person to contact in case something happened to him. They later learned that he was transferred to prison in September 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to his daughter, the reason given for transferring him to prison was that he fasted during Ramadan 2018.
Victim's status
Sentenced to 20 years. The last time his relatives are known to have visited him was in December 2018.
[It is likely that the victim has been subjected to forced labor at the Tumshuq Prison, as the existence of "labor-skills workshops" has been documented at the facility.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through relatives in the region. Mehmut Enwer adds that he heard about the detention of his relatives from relatives in Kazakhstan.
Additional information
Coverage by Boston's WGBH: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/05/23/local-uyghur-restaurant-owner-speaks-out-i-should-fi ght-for-my-father
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/lager-guwahliq-03282019165430.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR016
Sadir Eli's trade company (registered in Atush City): http://archive.is/cXWEu
Victims among relatives
Osmanjan Eli (37), Enwerjan Eli (38), Sabitjan Mantimin (36), Ghapparjan Memeteli (34), Bilal Ghapparjan (35), Reshide Memet (44), Asiye Memet (3021), Ismayil Memet (42), Hajimuhemmed Musa (40), Hanzohre Musa (43), Sarigul Rozi (3052), Ibrahim Mamut (3019), Rozi Himit (3051), Elijan Mamut (23), Mehrigul Abla (3046), Abdugheni Abla (3047), Abdusemi Abla (3048), Mahmut Edat (3049), Abdukerim Edat (3050), Burhan Memet (3004), Memet Burhan (3018), Ibrahimjan Muhemmet (41), Mamut Abidin (3022), Hesen Mamut (3023), Husen Mamut (3024), Yusupjan Abidin (4971), Abidin Ayup (4973), Aygul Eli (8974), Abdukerim Abla (9152), Kerim Osmanjan (3002), Ibrahimjan Niyaz (3003), Ayshem Abliz (3020), Abduweli Mijit (14393)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9R82X-gEXE Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZpLe1oPud0 Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3FVs6lQ0nA Testimony 1: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/matt.anwar.94/posts/1652 15541056462&width=300 Testimony 2: https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://web.facebook.com/adila.sadir/posts/216886772 9847618&width=500 Testimony 9: https://twitter.com/sydaaaAli/status/1302676766339862528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/KewserWayit/status/1350956733401870339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/39_1.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/39_5.jpg company info (Mandarin): https://shahit.biz/supp/39_6.png daughter shows victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/39_7.jpg
Entry created: 2018-10-08 Last updated: 2020-08-31 Latest status update: 2021-01-07 177. Qurban Mamut (库尔班·马木提)
Chinese ID: 650102195010104017 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 70 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): nationalism, patriotism|--- Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Behram Sintash, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 2*|6|7|8|9|12*: Behram Sintash, an Uyghur-American activist and son of Qurban Mamut. (son)
Testimony 3: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (former neighbor)
Testimony 4: Behram Sintash, as reported by Washington Post. (son)
Testimony 5|11: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 10: @GulnisaMamut, an unverified Twitter account. (niece)
Testimony 13: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
About the victim
Qurban Mamut is a renowned literary figure, journalist, editor, and publisher, originally from Kucha County. After graduating from Xinjiang University with a bachelor's in literature in 1976, he would work as a journalist and editor at the Xinjiang People's Radio Station until 1984, after which he went to work for the Xinjiang Cultural Journal (新疆文化杂志) (retiring as editor-in-chief in 2011). He was known for selecting works by the region's most influential writers on the topics of Uyghur culture, history, politics, and social development. After retiring from the XUAR Cultural Bureau (新疆维吾尔自治区文化厅), he'd continue to work as a part-time editor-in-chief at the Xinjiang Science Publishing House.
Address: 84 Tuanjie Road, Broadcasting And Television Bureau Family Courtyard, Tianshan District, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China 830001.
Chinese passport: G32387919. Victim's location
Probably in Urumqi, according to his son.
When victim was detained
His son says that he's been detained since December 2017. However, there's also reason to believe that he was detained earlier, in March/April 2017, shortly after visiting his son in the United States.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His son says that there's no justifiable reason for his father to be detained. More pragmatically, the detention may be linked to Mamut visiting his son in the United States or for his identity as part of the Uyghur cultural elite.
According to Abduweli Ayup, he was targeted for being one of the scholars to have signed Memtimin Elyar's 2005 petition for the protection of Uyghur-language education.
Victim's status
[Presumably] still in detention.
A staff member at the Xinjiang Hall of Public Culture confirmed that the victim was classified as a "detained person", but said she didn't know what kind of detention he was in.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Behram heard about his father's situation from an acquaintance [presumably coupled with the fact that his father has been incommunicado]. A RFA report also cites the victim's neighbor, now living abroad.
The reason for his arrest as given by Abduweli Ayup is speculative.
[The government staff member who confirmed his detention likely heard of it by virtue of being in the region and having indirect access to this sort of news.]
Additional information
The victim's 66-year-old wife, Aynisa Yaqup, was admitted to the hospital because her heart condition had worsened after Mamut’s arrest (her daughter being the only caretaker). Behram says that he's worried about his father's health, and is worried about his mother and sister in Urumqi.
Mentioned in Abduweli Ayup's op-ed for PEN/Opp: https://www.penopp.org/articles/abduweli-ayup?language_content_entity=en
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/journalist-10182018151224.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detained-06092020170643.html
Mention in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/03/china-every-day-is-kristallnacht/
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Amnesty International urgent action: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/70-year-old-uyghur-editor-held-incommunicado
Victims among relatives
Nurnisa Mamut (6508)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGDTSCIoKk Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03-UXXIi2Do Testimony 6: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php%3Fstory_fb id%3D547609852357180%26id%3D428064030978430&width=500 Testimony 7: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/428064030978430/videos /181989199314669/&show_text=1&width=560 Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/GulnisaMamut/status/1213936963750940673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw playing with grandson: https://twitter.com/Bsintash/status/1338541868548845575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw family photos: https://shahit.biz/supp/177_3.jpg US visa: https://shahit.biz/supp/177_7.jpg
Entry created: 2018-10-24 Last updated: 2020-07-19 Latest status update: 2021-01-23 179. Erkin Tursun (艾尔肯·吐尔逊)
Chinese ID: 654101196804220556 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 52 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism", "inciting ethnic hatred", assisting "criminals" Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2*|6|7|8|9|11: Arafat Erkin, originally from Ghulja, but now living in the United States. (son)
Testimony 3: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 4: Arafat Erkin, as reported by Time. (son)
Testimony 5: UN Human Rights Council, the human rights body of the United Nations.
Testimony 10: Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, one of the thematic special procedures overseen by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Testimony 12*: Arafat Erkin, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son)
About the victim
Erkin Tursun is a journalist from Ghulja who had worked for the Ili TV station for almost 30 years.
After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the history department at Xinjiang University, he would start his career working as a middle school history teacher, where he would organize a number of after-school activities for the kids. In the early 90s, he put together an art troupe named "Arzu" ("Hope"), which consisted of singers, comedians, dancers, and actors and would put on public shows all around Xinjiang. In the middle of the 90s, he started to work for the Ili TV station, while also opening and running a school - the Ili Children's Training Center ("Ili yash-osmurlerni terbiyelesh merkizi") - which offered after-school instruction in dancing, singing, boxing, language, science, journalism, and announcing (the boxing classes would eventually be cancelled by the government). The school would last until around 2013, before being incorporated into the regional government children's training center (伊宁市青少年活动中心), where Erkin would be responsible for the center's Uyghur portion. The school would win many national and even international performance awards over its ~20-year history. The school's journalism course would also continue for some time, making trips around Xinjiang and some of the more developed cities in inner China - including Beijing in the early 2000s - and occasionally meeting with high-profile politicians.
Erkin has received several regional and national awards for the different programs that he's produced, with the government praising some of his work as being beneficial to children and the community at large. One film that he has produced has looked at the social problems facing Uyghurs, such as drug use and a high divorce rate. He was also a host and director of a popular children's TV show, "Umidliq Kozler" ("Hopeful Eyes"), airing on the Ili TV station (actually, this show is still on air, despite Erkin's arrest). He has directed a number of movies, children's songs, musical dramas, and documentaries (e.g., "Chin Tomur Batur", "Sirlik Ongkur", "Rehimsiz Chush", "Tutunge Aylanghan Muhebbet").
The government also listed him as one of the top 10 people in journalism in Ili for 2017: http://archive.is/c3Lvc. According to his son, there is also a mall in Ghulja City that was named by Erkin.
Victim's location
His son believes that it's very possible that he's currently being held in Kunes Prison (新源监狱).
When victim was detained
Before Arafat went to China, his family received a notice from the Ghulja City police, ordering them to hand in all their passports. (Arafat did not, and left for the U.S. soon after.)
Erkin was taken by police on March 5, 2018 and later sentenced. However, communications with his son had already become coded in the years leading up to the arrest, with Erkin occasionally praising the Communist Party in their phone calls.
According to the official confirmation from the Chinese government, he was sentenced on May 5, 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The real reason is unclear. His son suspects that it was either his profession (journalism) or the fact that his son was studying abroad.
According to one Chinese state media report, Erkin was sentenced for terrorism. A week later, another said that he was in prison for "inciting hatred and discrimination among different ethnic groups and covering up criminals". The latter was echoed in an official response to the UN's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which said that Erkin had been sentenced for "harboring criminal and inciting national enmity or discrimination".
Victim's status
Sentenced to 19 years and 10 months, with two years of deprivation of political rights.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Arafat heard it from a friend in Kazakhstan.
That the victim has been sentenced was later confirmed by Chinese state-media reports and official communications through the UN.
Additional information
Erkin Tursun has been featured in several victims' lists, with his case and his son's campaigning covered in different media reports.
Abduweli Ayup's list of detained prominent Uyghurs: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
The Committee to Protect Journalists's list of 48 imprisoned journalists in China: https://cpj.org/data/people/erkin-tursun/index.php
Coverage in Time magazine: https://time.com/5598045/china-tiananmen-uighur-immigration/
Coverage in the New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2019/08/chinas-missing-million-search-disappeared-uyghurs
RFA report: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/host-10222018151844.html
UHRP report: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/Detained-and-Disappeared-Intellectuals-Under-Assault-in-the-Uyghur-Homelan d.pdf
HRC report: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disappearances/A_HRC_WGEID_118_1_Advance.pdf
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR005
The victim's son, Arafat (Alfred) Erkin, was also mentioned by U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in a statement regarding the intimidation of Uyghurs abroad: https://www.state.gov/harassment-of-the-family-members-of-uighur-activists-and-survivors-in-xinjiang-ch ina/
Chinese media have responded to Pompeo’s remarks (http://archive.is/hK2X0), claiming that Arafat Erkin is a member of the World Uyghur Congress and that his father had been sentenced for terrorist actitivities while his mother and siblings were living a peaceful life. His mother was also quoted as begging Arafat to leave the World Uyghur Congress.
State-media report(s)
Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1170249.shtml
RELATIVES OF SO-CALLED UYGHUR ACTIVISTS SLAM POMPEO'S DETENTION CLAIM
By Liu Xin and Fan Lingzhi in Yining
Source: Global Times
Published: 2019/11/17
Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region released a statement on November 9 refuting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks that claimed the so-called Uyghur activists' family members are detained in Xinjiang.
Pompeo issued a statement on November 5, titled "Harassment of the Family Members of Uyghur Activists and Survivors in Xinjiang, China," claiming that family members of the so-called activists Furkhat Jawdat, Alapat Arkin, Zumrat Dawut have been subject to harassment, imprisonment, and arbitrary detention.
The Xinjiang statement said what Pompeo stated "is simply not the case." The fact is the relatives of the names mentioned live and work normally in Xinjiang, and they are ashamed of the scum among their families.
The Global Times reporters visited the relatives of Furkhat Jawdat, Alapat Arkin, Zumrat Dawut in Urumqi and Yining and recognized that what Pompeo said is not consistent with the truth. No family members of the three people have been mistreated and they lead a normal life with numerous assistance from the residential community.
NO MORE LIES
Zumrat attracted Pompeo's attention for her accusation that she made overseas against the Chinese government's Xinjiang policy. The Global Times reporters learned from Xinjiang authorities that before going abroad, Zumrat, 37, lived in Urumqi. She married a Pakistani national in November 2013. On January 3, the couple together with their three children went to Pakistan and later to the US.
The November 5 statement was not the first time Pompeo mentioned about Zumrat.
On October 2, Pompeo said in a meeting in Vatican that he listened to Zumrat's story and learned that she was summoned to the public security bureau in Xinjiang in April and was sent to a "concentration camp." Pompeo claimed that during her stay there, she was injected with some drugs.
A report on the Chicago Tribune on September 28 noted that Zumrat was forcefully sterilized.
Abduhelil Dawut, one of Zumrat's elder brothers spoke through a video about a month back to quash the rumors, saying "these are outright lies." In the video urging Pompeo to stop disturbing their peaceful lives, he said, "Respect the facts and do not make use of my sister Zumrat Dawut to make up lies."
The Global Times reporter visited Abduhelil, who lives in Urumqi. Abduhelil and his wife now work for a residential community in the city. The interior of their house and the cleanliness suggests that residents live a good life there.
Abduhelil told the Global Times his sister has never been to a vocational education and training center and "when delivering the third child, she was found to have fibroid and later had a surgery."
Abduhelil released a video on October 13 to refute Pompeo's remarks on her sister. Zumrat recently wrote on an overseas social media platform that the Chinese government spread rumors on her uterus being removed. However, no one has mentioned about anything on this.
The whole family was against Zumrat's marriage but Zumrat "was stubborn."
The relations between Zumrat and the other family members were "strained" after that. Abduhelil said, "She treated our father well when she was in a good mood, but when my father said something she did not like, she would slam the door and refrain from speaking to him for a year."
In 2018, Zumrat, her husband and the three children went to Pakistan and never came back. She finally went to the US without informing the family members, including their father.
Their father died of a heart disease last month. Abduhelil had a video chat with Zumrat and "I told her to stop spreading rumors and retract the lies she peddled online previously. She cried and said yes. But later, she continued peddling lies online."
Pompeo claimed that Zumrat's father, who was reportedly "detained and interrogated multiple times by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang in recent years, recently passed away under unknown circumstances."
However, Abduhelil told the Global Times that their father lived a normal life with them, and had neither been "interrogated" nor "detained."
After suffering from serious heart diseases, he died at the age of 80 at a hospital in October 2019 after medical treatment was exhausted. While he stayed at hospital, his relatives looked after him.
The death certificate of Zumrat's father mentioned the cause of death as "coronary heart disease."
Erkin Dawut is one of Zumrat's elder brothers. He was the one who signed his father's death certificate. He thought his father's physical conditions worsened partly because he missed Zumrat very much.
Erkin did not want to talk to Zumrat since "she always uttered lies since childhood."
"She is the youngest one among us. She was my father's favorite. My father grieved as she left without telling him," he told the Global Times.
Erkin was visibly in tears, as he recalled their father. "I keep my father's phone number and hope that he could call me like before," he said.
NOT TO BE MANIPULATED
Pompeo also mentioned about Furkhat Jawdat and Alapat Arkin, claiming that Alapat's mother was also put in the "concentration camp" since 2017 and his father was imprisoned in March 2018.
After meeting with Pompeo on Mar 26, 2019, Furkhat Jawdat claimed his mother was moved to a prison from a vocational education & training center.
The Global Times reporters learned from authorities in Xinjiang that Alapat and Furkhat were born in Yining. Alapat went to the US in 2015 and then joined the infamous violent terrorist and separatist organization "World Uygur Congress."
Furkhat went to the US in 2011 and later became a member of the "World Uygur Congress." Furkhat's father, brother and two sisters have obtained green cards in the US.
The Global Times reporters met with Alapat's mother who currently lives with Alapat's grandmother in Yining.
Gulnar Talat, Alapat's mother, told the Global Times that she lives a normal life and is not under detention. She plans to get medical treatment in Urumqi. She said she wants to tell Alapat that "you should not be influenced by your father or take part in something bad. You should not be manipulated by others."
"Do not believe those who have ulterior motives. We live a good life. You were born and grew up in China. Thanks to the development of the country, you have the opportunity to study overseas. Hope you can study hard in the US and come back to contribute to the country."
The Global Times reporters learned that Alapat's father Erkin Tursun is in prison for inciting hatred and discrimination among different ethnic groups and covering up criminals.
Alapat's deeds worried his relatives. Alapat's uncle Asat Talat hoped to tell his nephew that his father was imprisoned for breaching the laws. "You should neither believe in rumors nor spread it. We sent you abroad to study and to honor the country. Not for something bad," Asat said.
Pompeo also noted about Furkhat’s mother in his November 5 statement. Apart from Alapat, Furkhat's father, a younger brother and his two sisters, all live in the US now.
His mother failed to obtain her visa and now lives in their house in Yining.
Munawar Tursun, the mother, told the Global Times that she talks to her son almost every day. She pointed to a TV set in their house that her son bought online and was delivered to the house days earlier.
Furkhat did not admit that he is a member of the "World Uygur Congress." But he defended the organization on overseas social media and participated in its activities.
Munawar told the Global Times that she knows nothing about what her son has done overseas and persuaded him not to get involved in any illegal activities. "I told him, if he wants me to go abroad, it must be via legal means and that he must not engage in illegal activities."
Munawar believes Rebiya Kadeer, a separatist from Xinjiang, is a scum among the Uyghurs.
Furkhat claimed that the Chinese government harasses Muslim families in Xinjiang and they went abroad to seek asylum.
However, according to Munawar, Furkhat's father went to work in the US in 2006 and the children went to the US one after another within the next five years.
Furkhat's uncle Enwar Tursun told the Global Times that he used to be against all the children going to the US since Furkhat had good academic records and would have had a better future if he stayed in China and he can also take good care of his mother.
"Furkhat, you are a smart boy. What you are doing is wrong. You will regret it!" Enwar said, insisting that the "World Uygur Congress" is a separatist organization. "As for Pompeo, I think he took advantage of my nephew, which is ignominious."
RECEIVING HELP
In order to rally support from the overseas separatist groups, Zumrat, Alapat, and Furkhat distorted the truth and played victims. Separatists from China's Xinjiang share a common interest in hyping Xinjiang issues. "Detention" or "oppression" are the words usually mentioned by them. The Global Times reporters did not find any oppression or detention of their relatives. Instead, family members of these so-called Uyghur activists are taken good care by the local residential communities.
Alapat's mother Gulnar Talat told the Global Times that she was in hospital in Urumqi due to some ailment in her spine. Colleagues and head of the kindergarten where Gulnar works for, visited her and donated 2,000 yuan toward her treatment.
The Yining educational bureau also allowed her to take a long vacation so that she could fully recover.
Furkhat's mother Munawar has become "the relative" of Zhang Liping, secretary of the residential community, who has taken a good care of Munawar.
Munawar has no job or earnings aside from the governmental subsidiaries.
In September, there was something wrong with the water pipes in Munawar's house. Munawar also owed 500 yuan in water fees. Zhang paid that amount herself to help Munawar with the water fees.
"My monthly salary is around 3,000 yuan. I treat her as my family member and would not hesitate to help her," Zhang told the Global Times.
Zhang lost her 25-year-old son in 2017, while Munawar's children are far away in the US. The common emotion of parental love toward their children brings Zhang and Munawar together.
Zhang said she once saw Munawar shed tears while talking about her son. She comforted her by sharing the sorrow of losing her son.
"I often say to Munawar that I envy her because she can see her children via video chat. But I can only see the tomb of my son," Zhang said.
"There are many senior residents in my residential community. They comforted me and helped me get over my pang. As grassroots public servants, we need to devote our heart in helping the residents. The senior residents here also like me and greet me whenever we meet. This makes me happy," Zhang said.
Official communication(s)
Source: United Nations Human Rights Council
------
Report on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Session: 119
INFORMATION FROM GOVERNMENT
The Government reported that:
Aierken Tuerxun, male, journalist of Yi-Li TV Station, ID no. 654101196804220556, registered permanent residence in Yining City, Yili Zhou. On 5 May 2018, he was sentenced to 19 years and 10 months' of imprisonment and 2 years of deprivation of political rights for harboring criminal and inciting national enmity or discrimination. Victims among relatives
Gulnar Telet (1387), Abdushukur Abliz (1388), Halide Zordon (1389), Halit Abdushukur (5170), Mewjudem Abdushukur (5171), Hebibulla Tohti (1492), Ilzat Gheni (4340), Gulchekre Telet (1247), Eset Telet (5652), Gheni Abdushukur (5654), Gulzar Nizamidin (5653), Turmemet Nurmemet (5655)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA3sZHlE5YA Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxEqExTvaAA NBC coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI6cFiJ8A8w Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswvjXiu1JI story about mall: https://twitter.com/Alfred_Uyghur/status/1185232088288628736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 9: https://twitter.com/Alfred_Uyghur/status/1196530574099406849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 11: https://twitter.com/Alfred_Uyghur/status/1270631630198255617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with kids: https://shahit.biz/supp/179_2.png award photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/179_3.jpg photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/179_4.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/179_7.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/179_12.jpg proof-of-life video: https://shahit.biz/supp/179_14.mp4 photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_179.png official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_179.png
Entry created: 2018-10-24 Last updated: 2020-09-07 Latest status update: 2021-02-07 254. Abduqadir Jalalidin (阿不都卡德尔·加拉里丁)
Chinese ID: 65312119640311??O? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: East Turkestan Information Center, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 3|8: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 4: Feng Wenchang, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 5: Babur Jalalidin, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 6: Rachel Harris, as reported by New York Times. (friend)
Testimony 7|10: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (former student)
Testimony 9: Ondřej Klimeš, a researcher at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. (friend)
Testimony 11|12: Babur Jalalidin, son of famous scholar Abduqadir Jalalidin. He lives in the United States. (son)
Testimony 13: Joshua Freeman, a historian of China and Inner Asia, as well as a translator of Uyghur poetry. (friend)
About the victim
Professor Abduqadir Jalalidin was a renowned Uyghur poet and scholar, as well as a literature professor at the Xinjiang Normal University. He was a Communist Party member.
Victim's location
Back in April 2018, a security official at the Xinjiang Pedagogical University suggested that he may be in a large camp in Urumqi's Midong District.
[However, it is unclear what may have happened since. Given that he was based in Urumqi, it may be presumed that he is still in Urumqi somewhere.]
When victim was detained
On January 29, 2018, police reportedly raided Jalalidin's home, placed a black hood over his head, and took him into custody. According to a local official, authorities brought him to a political re-education camp.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
[Unknown, but ethnic-minority intellectuals in Xinjiang appear to have been heavily targeted during the recent repressions.]
Victim's status
Previously reported as having been taken for re-education. [However, there does not appear to have been any news since.]
Joshua Freeman has reported receiving a poem that Abduqadir allegedly composed while in detention, which was then memorized by fellow inmates and passed to the outside world.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The detention was confirmed by Feng Wenchang, the head of political affairs for the university's Public Security Office, who checked a list of arrested university staff to confirm the detention.
According to the RFA interview with the victim's son, Babur, it was his mother who told him of the detention before being detained herself a day later.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholar-04252018140407.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduqadir-jalalidin-01142019185353.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduqadir-jalalidin-terbiyelesh-lagerida-0427201821 0011.html
New York Times coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighur-intellectuals.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/opinion/uighur-poetry-xinjiang-china.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR031
UHRP statement: https://uhrp.org/news/release-professor-abdulqadir-jalaleddi
CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
This victim is also included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Victim's Baike Baidu page: http://archive.is/bA7F3
نىدىلالاج_رىداقۇدبائ/Victim's Uyghur Wikipedia entry: https://ug.wikipedia.org/wiki
A pro-Party article that he authored: http://www.uyghurnet.org/cn/文学院教授阿不都卡德尔·加拉里丁：践行党的教/
His tutor profile: http://archive.is/JO07O
Some of his poems, translated into Mandarin: https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137543 https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137524
Radio Free Asia calls transcript
Call No. 1 (with someone at Xinjiang Normal University): Staffer: Hello? RFA: Is this Xinjiang Normal University? Staffer: Yes. RFA: How long has it been since Dr. Abduqadir was taken to the training center? Staffer: How about this – this issue is kind of sensitive, can you give a call to my boss? I can give you his number.
Call No. 2 (with someone at Xinjiang Normal University): RFA: As a staff member at Xinjiang Normal University, weren’t you assigned to check up on the detainees in the training centers and see if there is any change/progress with them? Staffer: There used to be only one center in the region. Now there are three. The Xinjiang Normal University Police Station is in charge of these things. Only they know about them.
Call No. 3 (with local office, possibly police): Staffer: Can you tell me your ID number? RFA: Why is this so complicated? Such a simple thing… Staffer: What’s simple about this? Tell me your ID number. What’s simple about this?
Call No. 4 (not clear with whom): Staffer: 136999… [gives phone number, rest inaudible]. Try contacting our supervisor.
Call No. 5 (not clear with whom): Staffer: How can I help you? RFA: I have something [to ask]. Staffer: Wait a bit. RFA: Okay.
Call No. 6 (with university and local security/police): Staffer: Hello? RFA: How are you? Staffer: Good. RFA: Do you know anything about Abduqadir Jalalidin being taken to a training center? Staffer: What training center? RFA: “Transformation through education center” (教育转化中心) [said in Chinese]. Staffer: No. RFA: You don’t know about those places? Staffer: Mmm. RFA: So there aren’t any training centers in Urumqi, then? Staffer: Right. RFA: And there aren’t people being taken to the centers? Staffer: I don’t know anything about that. RFA: You don’t know? Staffer: I am hearing about it from you now. RFA: Oh, I see. So are the news on the Xinjiang People’s Radio Station fake? Saying “We are washing the brains of people, eliminating their extreme thoughts. For that reason, we are re-educating people.” Is that all fake? Staffer: I don’t watch the news. RFA: You don’t watch the news? Then, how about Shohret Zakir’s remarks a few days back? He said “we need to fight against extremism”. Are you also not aware of his remarks? Staffer: My supervisor might be aware of that. I’m not.
Call No. 7 (with public security at the Xinjiang Normal University): RFA: We heard that all the detainees from a university are taken to the same place. Do you know which training center that is? Staffer: As of today, they haven’t informed us where that is. RFA: You weren’t involved with the detention of Abduqadir Jalalidin? Staffer: The school handled that. They didn’t tell us about it. RFA: When people are being taken, you have to help out as well right? Staffer: We don’t know about that. RFA: How many teachers do you think have been taken so far? Staffer: I won’t answer questions like this. I’m sorry. I won’t answer if you ask for that many details. I’m sorry. RFA: What training school have they been taken to? We will contact them directly then. Staffer: They didn’t tell us what school. They just told us that they’ve been taken, but didn’t tell us where exactly they’ve been taken to. ... RFA: What’s the name of the school Abduqadir Jalalidin has been taken to? Staffer: They were saying in the Midong district (米东区). RFA: You heard Midong district, but don't know what school in Midong? Staffer: No, we don’t know. RFA: Is there a small branch of the training center at Xinjiang Normal University? Staffer: No, there isn’t. RFA: Then he’s in Midong. Staffer: Seems that way. RFA: Is your school close to Midong? Staffer: It’s about 20 kilometers away.
Call No. 8 (with Feng Wenchang from the university’s public security): Feng: Hello? RFA: Is this Feng Wenchang? Feng: Yes. RFA: I wanted to ask which training center Prof. Abduqadir Jalalidin was at. Feng: Just a minute, I’ll check for you… Which teacher? RFA: Abduqadir Jalalidin. A professor. Feng: It says he’s been taken by national security officers on January 29.
Source: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduqadir-jalalidin-terbiyelesh-lagerida-0427201821 0011.html
Victims among relatives
Jemile Saqi (2293)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxTAINDTjB0 Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbgOo26wgPc Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vZFwHO_4pU Testimony 12: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/baburjlld/posts/13737219 56124635&width=300 photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/254_2.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/254_4.jpeg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/254_7.jpeg
Entry created: 2018-10-28 Last updated: 2021-04-01 Latest status update: 2019-10-07 273. Nurzhaqyp Auelbek (努尔加合普·安吾勒贝克)
Chinese ID: 654126197806281012 (Mongghulkure)
Basic info
Age: 42 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (25 years) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1|3: Gulpash Bekinur, a citizen of Kazakhstan as of 2014. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 2: Unknown, but with a verified identity. (mother-in-law)
Testimony 4: Lazzat Belqozha, as reported by Qazaq Uni.
Testimony 5: Orazali Imatai, born in 1974, resides in Kazakhstan. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6: Bekinur Naqysbek, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (father-in-law)
Testimony 7|10: Gulzira Qalel, a resident of Kazakhstan. (aunt)
Testimony 8: Kenzhegul Alqaq, born in 1970, is now a Kazakhstan citizen. (from same town/region)
Testimony 9: Anuar Ardaq, born in 1985, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 11: Rights Protection Network (维权网), as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin.
About the victim
Nurzhaqyp Auelbek worked as an imam at the Dongmali (Dong Mehelle) Mosque in Mongolkure County, and was also a member of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress in Mongolkure.
Address: 48 Sulysai Street, Aqdala Township, Mongolkure County (昭苏县阿克达拉乡苏鲁塞路48号).
Victim's location
Gaoquan Prison (高泉监狱) in Wusu.
When victim was detained
Nurzhaqyp was first detained on August 4, 2017 according to the majority of testimonies. His father-in-law states that he was first sent to a re-education camp and was later sentenced to prison.
In 2020, it was reported by the Rights Protection Network that he had formally been sentenced to 25 years on March 4, 2020.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Tileutai Orazali and Quanysh, imams who worked at the same mosque as the victim, were also arrested.
According to the victim's aunt, Nurzhaqyp's father, Auelbek Alimzhan, and mother, Gulsharuan Qalen, have both developed heart problems after their son's detention.
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-09092019064214.html https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/3-06102020113656.html
This victim is included in the lists of detained individuals in Mongolkure County, provided to Qazaq Uni by Lazzat Belqozha (https://qazaquni.kz/2018/09/28/90575.html) and also available at: https://shahit.biz/supp/list_005.pdf https://shahit.biz/supp/list_006.pdf
Victims among relatives
Fatima Bekinur (274), Nurbaqyt Auelbek (4117), Abdulla Nurzhaqyp (8969), Kausar Nurzhaqyp (8970), Nazigul Zholaman (2839), Auelbek Sasyq (4116)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGwU5STne8U Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ydJbeEDN_c Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ameBI78WYBQ Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av0OXB4E6g0 Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCAxNaLI8uM Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHhcibQ-DeY Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NDRGJkv2oQ Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXZL_E4BodM Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/273_6.png Entry created: 2018-10-30 Last updated: 2021-03-05 Latest status update: 2020-09-29 275. Abdurahman Ebey (阿不都热合曼·艾白)
Chinese ID: 650102195303054578 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 67 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyg-Kaz Likely current location: Urumqi Status: no news for over a year When problems started: July 2018 - Sep. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|"separatism", "extremism", "terrorism" Health status: --- Profession: publishing
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: Xinjiang Youth Publishing House staff, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 3: Ataqai Tusip, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (uncle)
Testimony 4: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway.
Testimony 5: Eqide Polat, a student in the United States. (great-niece)
Testimony 6: The "Shanghai List", as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 7: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Abdurahman Ebey was born in Mongolia in 1953, to an Uyghur father named Ebeydulla and a Kazakh mother named Toqan Tusip. They came to Xinjiang in 1956.
Abdurahman had a 40-year career in writing and publishing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, serving as director of the official Xinhua Bookstore, and from 2005-2015 as director and Communist Party deputy secretary of the Xinjiang People's Publishing House. In the Chinese media he had been portrayed as an “energetic publisher” who won national awards in the field every year from 2003 to 2013. Local websites said that Ebey left his position as director of Xinjiang People's Publishing House in January 2015, and was appointed as the manager of the History Research Office of the Xinjiang Autonomous Political Expansion Committee. He left that post in January 2017.
Address: Urumqi. Victim's location
[Presumably in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
Abdurahman allegedly started to come under suspicion by the Chinese authorities at the beginning of 2015. He was later reported to have been arrested in July 2018.
(Police records note him going through at least three checks in October-November 2017, being deemed "completely normal" (一切正常), and allowed to move on (放行) each time.)
Likely (or given) reason for detention
For being "implicated in separatism and religious extremism activities" while he was working at the Xinjiang People's Publishing House, according to a staff member at the Xinjiang Youth Publishing House.
The victim's uncle, Ataqai, says that he was detained for translating the Quran and running a publishing house.
The "Shanghai List", a leaked police document, reported him as a "terrorist suspect" [though it is not clear what this really entailed].
Victim's status
Believed to be detained.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The staff member at the Xinjiang Youth Publishing House where the victim used to work is a primary source close to the case, and presumably has more direct knowledge of the matter.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/abey-arrest-10152018172356.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduraxman-ebey-tutuqlandi-10132018002342.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/shanghai-list/
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
An article on the WeChat account of the Xinjiang People's Publishing House mentions learning from Abdurahman Ebey's "mistakes" (以阿不都热合曼·艾白为镜鉴): https://archive.vn/WAcCG
Abdurahman Ebey's article about Uyghurs in Mongolia (his own family included): https://www.akademiye.org/ug/?p=6664
His Baidu Baike: http://archive.is/I2iXe The victim's Party-line article on ethnic unity: http://archive.is/vL8qv
Publishing-related article that he wrote: http://archive.is/rEYd8
Various articles mentioning him: http://archive.is/fq2kD http://archive.is/ujf5B http://archive.is/Bi956 http://archive.is/yx9T6
An article where he is quoted speaking against terrorist incidents in Kashgar: http://archive.is/VZ83f
A 2011 award list in which he is included: http://archive.is/D27Ex
Listed as one of the resignees from the 2017 Eleventh XUAR CPPCC Committee: http://archive.is/AS1Bv
Listed as being removed from his post as deputy secretary and director of the People's Publishing House in 2015: http://archive.is/LhSfl
Listed as being a member of a writers association: http://archive.is/VvspA
State-media report(s)
Source: https://archive.vn/WAcCG
Working Committee | Xinjiang People’s General Publishing House diligently launches campaigns to promote special lectures given by Party members, leaders, and officials on the Party’s political developments
Xinjiang People’s General Publishing House 2018-10-11
Source: Tianshan Pioneer
As the front line and major battlefield in the fight against ideological secession, the Xinjiang People’s General Publishing House must focus on its main goal of winning the battle and creating a firm-as-steel ideological frontline that reassures the Party and satisfies the people, playing a crucial part in fully promoting the Party’s political constructs, taking political responsibilities as the Party Committee, exerting the political functions of grassroots organizations, and creating an excellent political ecology for the Party Committee. The head office Party Committee thus attaches great importance to implementing classes that fully promote the Party’s spirit of political developments among the district authorities. Led by Party officials with the theme of Party political constructs, and combined with the practical reality of the Xinjiang People’s Publishing House, these classes define the Party Committee’s practice of “Two Protections” and bring into play the “Two Roles”. They fully promote the focus of the Party's political construction work.
First, video conferences are led by the Secretaries of the Party Committee to provide full coverage. Members of the Party go to different base work units to give lectures, secretaries of various levels of Party organizations live a “dual life” at various local organizations to give lectures there, and members of the grassroots Party organizations go to various villages, including those that are rural and poverty-stricken, to "Visit the People, Benefit the People, and Bring Together the Hearts of the People” and promote “Connections between Party and Local Units, Strengthening the Efforts on Diminishing Poverty” at support education sites in southern Xinjiang. The “Xinjiang People’s General Publishing House” WeChat is used to assist in deeper learning. Agents from the Party Committee and Discipline Inspection monitor the progress and promotion of the Party classes to make sure Party members and officials realize the action plan for the education of the Party’s political developments. The content of these lectures is closely related to the Party’s political constructs, combined with the Party Committee’s socialist ideologies and unique working environment, and putting forth the “Four Focuses on Making Clear” the importance of strengthening the Party’s political construction, the specific requirements of implementing the “Two Protections”, the specific requirements for bringing into play the "Two Roles" of the grassroots Party organizations and Party members, and the significant role that the Party’s political constructs play in creating a firm-as-steel ideological frontline in publications, ensuring that the lectures themed around the “Party’s political constructs” are closely integrated with reality, can get good results, and achieve full coverage.
Second, classes where Party members and officials talk about the Party’s political constructs are taken as a starting point and combined with inspection and ratification work to diligently analyze the shortcomings of the political constructs of the Party, establishing the “Implementation Measures of the Party Committee of Xinjiang People’s General Publishing House on Comprehensively Promoting the Party’s Political Constructs”, putting forth the reinforcement of the Party’s political constructs, implementing the “Two Protections” and bringing into play the “Two Roles”, which require focusing on the “Four Hard Works”: working hard to reinforce ideologies and “arm the mind”, working hard to focus on the center and serve the greater cause, working hard to strengthen Party building responsibilities and team building, and working hard on strict discipline and management of the Party. The Party’s political constructs thereby have content, criteria, standards, goals, and focus, and guidance to become ever more clear and concrete.
Third, classes where Party members and officials talk about the Party’s political constructs are taken as a starting point and focus on fully implementing the “Party Committee’s Opinions on the Implementation of the Work Responsibility System in the Ideological Field” and the “Party Committee Monitoring the Responsibility System for Ideological Work and Implementing the Assessment and Accountability Methods for Strengthening the Construction of the Publishing Field”, as content in specialized Party classes. Classic cases are used as examples to carry out cautionary education – notably, learning from Abdurahman Ebey’s errors – combined with the learning and testing of the newly amended “Chinese Communist Party Disciplinary Measures”, to promote all Party members in the head publishing system, especially publishing professionals, to always recognize the important position and role of the Party's publishing work in the ideological field, to always recognize the Party’s principle of adhering to the policy of politicians, to always adhere to the people-centered work orientation, and to always declare a firm political stance and strengthen political responsibilities. [Party members are taught] how to continuously enhance their political acuities and discernments, and how to become the loyal guards for the Party’s publishing industry, who are dedicated to securing the Party’s ideologies and who resolutely resist the infiltration and influence of the "Three Evil Forces" and the “Two Pan” reactionary thoughts, [with encouragement to] implement their clear political stance in every position, every task, every topic, and every publishing process, and to take the work of political construction to wherever their business extends, so that they can realize the political constructs and the Party's various tasks, as well as the deployment and implementation of their business, all at the same time.
Fourth, classes where Party members and officials talk about the Party’s political constructs are taken as a starting point to promote publication work as a powerful safeguard for ideologies and public opinions in the Party’s political constructs, to study and comprehend the “Nine Persistences” put forward in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference, consciously shouldering the flag and taking responsibility in uniting people’s hearts, educating newcomers, developing cultures, and becoming role models, taking the Party’s political constructs as the main command, focusing on the main goal of our work in Xinjiang, highlighting published works centered around the themes of centralization and serving the greater good, highlighting Xi Jinping’s new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics and disseminating the popular theories of Party building, highlighting socialist core values and the propaganda and guidance on the "five identities" and the "three inseparables”, highlighting the philosophical and social science theories with Chinese characteristics and the promotion of Xinjiang’s "Four Histories”, improving the Party publication’s communication, guidance, influence, and credibility, promoting the creative transformations and innovative developments of the traditional culture of China with high-quality publishing, telling the story of China and Xinjiang well, putting effort into making positive contributions in pushing forward the prosperity of socialist culture, ensuring that the socialist cultural undertakings with Chinese characteristics in the new era advance in the correct political direction, echoing the Party's rightful opinions and letting them become the strongest voice of this era, promoting people of all ethnic groups uniting closely in their ideals, beliefs, values, and morals, making greater contributions to serving the Party and the country, becoming a better embodiment of confidence, to unite people’s hearts, warm people’s hearts, and build unity in the community, making sure that the head office always remains the publishing bastion of firm-as-steel ideologies that the Party and the people can trust, rely on, and use, and ensuring that the Party Central Committee’s strategy of governing Xinjiang – especially the general goal of social stability and long-term stability – take root.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVNJDg5m0Gk recognition tweet: https://twitter.com/UyghurScientist/status/1095476554161745920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/akida_p/status/1363257548032204801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw interview in local paper: https://shahit.biz/supp/275_3.pdf photo (left): https://shahit.biz/supp/275_4.jpg article commemorating his work: https://shahit.biz/supp/275_5.pdf
Entry created: 2018-10-31 Last updated: 2021-07-01 Latest status update: 2021-02-21 396. Zhang Haitao (张海涛)
Chinese ID: 41132219710310??O? (inner China)
Basic info
Age: 49 Gender: M Ethnicity: Han Likely current location: Aksu Status: sentenced (19 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting subversion", "espionage" Health status: has problems Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Li Aijie, as reported by Associated Press. (wife)
Testimony 2: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
Testimony 3: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 4: Li Aijie, as reported by Chinese Human Rights Defenders. (wife)
Testimony 5|6|10: Li Aijie, the wife of imprisoned human rights activist Zhang Haitao. She is now in the United States. (wife)
Testimony 7: @aiwu8964, an unverified Twitter account. (acquaintance)
Testimony 8: China Aid, a non-governmental Christian nonprofit which focuses on raising awareness of human rights abuses.
Testimony 9: Li Aijie, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (wife)
About the victim
Zhang Haitao was an electronics salesman and has a high-school education. He was born in Fangcheng County in Nanyang (Henan), but would move to Xinjiang more than a decade ago.
He met his wife, Li Aijie, in November 2014, with the two getting married in the December of the same year. They have a child together.
His address in Urumqi: 6-3-604 Qingshuiwan Gardens Residential Area, 647 Taiyuan Road, Economic and Technology Development District.
His place of household registration: 3 Qiliyuan Village, Qiliyuan Township, Wolong District, Nanyang, Henan. Victim's location
Shayar Prison (沙雅监狱) in Aksu.
When victim was detained
According to his wife, he had been previously detained in his hometown back in 2009 (when he was charged with fraud and locked up in a detention center in Urumqi for 2 months without explanation). In 2014, he'd be taken into custody again for posting material related to the 25th anniversary of the Tian'anmen massacre.
According to the official court verdict, he was again detained on June 27, 2015 by the Urumqi Public Security Bureau and formally arrested on July 31 of the same year, to be held at the XUAR Pre-Trial Detention Center (his wife reported that he was actually detained in February 2015). The XUAR Urumqi People’s Procuratorate filed an indictment against him on December 25, 2015. An open court hearing was held on January 11, 2016, with him being convicted on January 15 (date of the published verdict).
He was transferred to the Shayar Prison in Aksu to serve his sentence on December 2, 2016.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
"Subversion and espionage" (for criticizing the policies in Xinjiang and talking to foreign reporters between 2010 and 2015, as well as providing photos of street patrols and other security presence in Xinjiang).
Victim's status
Serving a 19-year prison sentence.
According to his wife's tweet in November 2019, he hasn't been allowed to see relatives in 1.5 years, and has been kept in solitary confinement without sunlight or proper ventilation. An acquaintance confirms in a July 2020 tweet that his relatives haven't seen him in 2 years and 3 months now.
His wife also reports that he’s being mistreated even compared to other prisoners: he suffers repeated torture, receives less food, has not been given a walk outside since March 6, 2016 and has been deprived of sleep for periods lasting several days.
There is also the likelihood that he is subjected to forced labor, as the Shayar Tarim Runcheng Farming and Livestock LLC (沙雅塔里木润城农牧有限责任公司) operates out of Shayar Prison.
Zhang Haitao has sent his relatives in Henan a total of four letters from prison - dated December 2, 2018, June 9, 2019, October 6, 2020, and November 5, 2020. The contents are similar, telling his relatives not to visit him in prison, while saying that he is "studying", is "learning traditional Chinese culture", and is in good health.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
His wife was with him while he went through all of the detention and court proceedings, and could later visit him in prison as well. Additional information
AP News coverage: https://apnews.com/7b8cfc93570f4afba2496d232ce09ce8
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/sc-01132021140129.html
Coverage from Weiquan: https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2019/10/1.html
ChinaAid coverage: https://www.chinaaid.net/2016/08/blog-post_5.html
Coverage of Li Aijie's visit to Shayar Prison: https://www.hrichina.org/chs/zhong-guo-ren-quan-shuang-zhou-kan/li-ai-jie-mo-li-tan-wang-zhang-fu-zha ng-hai-tao-sha-ya-jian-yu
Zhang Haitao's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/xjvisa?lang=en
The victim claimed that his "confessions" were obtained by torture during his first 10 days at the detention house. However, the court dismissed this on the grounds that there were no records of Zhang officially filing any complaints about this to the authorities.
His case was mentioned in a report from Tortoise Media (https://members.tortoisemedia.com/2019/04/15/uighurs/content.html?sig=INMNBA7zzH4bl8chVk3Ko5p xAGqxAmFjLMkq3mwRMcY):
"In today’s Xinjiang, there is no debate on China’s minority policy. One of the few public voices to question Beijing’s policy was Zhang Haitao, a Han Chinese living in Urumqi. “The so-called ethnic or religious problems are basically a human rights problem,” he wrote on social media. “It is shameless that China’s communists act as saviours and declare that they have freed the Uyghurs from poverty.” Zhang was arrested and put on trial. The two quoted sentences were cited as proof of his alleged “incitement to undermine state power”. His sentence: 19 years in prison."
He has also been mentioned in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
Letter from detention
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/letori_6.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/lettran_6.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/letview.php?no=6
Supplementary materials
Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/xiaomandela/status/1018720904203862016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/xiaomandela/status/1191630441729576960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/aiwu8964/status/1279392217291948035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/396_1.pdf photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/396_2.png Testimony 2: https://shahit.biz/supp/396_5.jpg Entry created: 2018-11-07 Last updated: 2021-05-20 Latest status update: 2021-01-13 437. Zhanatbek Beksultan (加纳提别克·别克苏力旦)
Chinese ID: 654122198811131018 (Chapchal)
Basic info
Age: 32 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (15 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"extremism", "disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: farmwork, herding
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Aidunur Toqsunbai, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (relative of friend)
Testimony 2|4|8|10|12|15|16: Alia Beksultan, now a Kazakhstan citizen. She moved to Kazakhstan in 2015. (sister)
Testimony 3|5|11: Adilhan Izbasar, born in 1976, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (from same town/region)
Testimony 6|7: Quandyk Nursapa, born in 1983, is originally from China but immigrated to Kazakhstan and obtained Kazakhstan citizenship in 2008. (from same town/region)
Testimony 9: Zhanos Zheniskeldi, born in 1992, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 13: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
Testimony 14*: Alia Beksultan, as reported by Mehmet Volkan Kaşıkçı. (sister)
Testimony 17: Tursynbek Shynzhyrbai, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (cousin)
About the victim
Zhanatbek Beksultan is a farmer, and a father of two.
Address: No. 7 Company, No. 67 Corps, Chapchal Xibe Autonomous County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
Victim's location
Gaoquan Prison in Kuytun. [Actually, this prison is on the Wusu side of the Wusu-Kuytun border.]
When victim was detained He was among those who attended the birthday party organized by imam Nauryzbai Izbasar for his daughter on January 31, 2018. Many/most of the attendees were arrested about a week later and held in detention for a few months, before being publicly sentenced. Zhanatbek was taken on February 6.
Judging by the official incarceration notice, he was sentenced to 15 years and transferred to the Gaoquan Prison on June 11, 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
[As many/most of the people who attended the party were arrested and, in many cases, sentenced, it's possible that this was interpreted as an "illegal religious gathering".]
On the official incarceration notice, it says that he was sentenced for "propagating extremism" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order".
Victim's status
Serving a 15-year sentence.
According to Zhanatbek himself, a week at the prison involves 4 days of work and 2 days of study.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The victim's relatives do not state how they learned of the initial events. Alia later says that some of the information came from relatives and people coming to Kazakhstan, in addition to mentioning that Zhanatbek is able to talk to his relatives for a few minutes each week (in Mandarin) at the prison.
The incarceration notice is an official document from the Xinjiang prison system.
Additional information
Nauryzbai Izbasar's entry (for more details about the incident): https://shahit.biz/eng/viewentry.php?entryno=379
Radio Free Asia mention: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-01072021075222.html
Chinese authorities have been pressuring Alia's parents as a result of her campaigning.
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_14.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_14.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=14
Victims among relatives
Sauletbek Beksultan (2185) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvB19pi5s4g Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvnDrEpQRm4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-9OXmfJWWw Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlfWQZeZGL4 Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RyHRq1Bt60 Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUTJyYwvKqs Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDDd3SQMrpo Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRJRiegGGGE Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plHKTzTF6JI Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVv2f4Rxe08 Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wx_u8S1TFs Testimony 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECwKpbmejRE Testimony 15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kDZWimPm4 Testimony 16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvgnIj69UnQ Testimony 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqEjmkQ-rUo registration: https://shahit.biz/supp/437_13.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-11 Last updated: 2021-08-10 Latest status update: 2021-01-01 447. Gulmire Imin (古丽米拉·依明)
Chinese ID: 65290119780124??E? (Aksu)
Basic info
Age: 40 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism", revealing "state secrets", "disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1|3: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (trial attendee)
Testimony 2: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague)
Testimony 4: Behtiyar Omer, as reported by Committee to Protect Journalists. (husband)
Testimony 5: Behtiyar Omer, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (husband)
Testimony 6: Letter from the Chinese government, providing an official reply regarding a certain query or issue.
Testimony 7: China Central Television, the predominant state-owned television network in Mainland China.
About the victim
Gulmire Imin was a writer, website moderator, and government worker, originally from Aksu City. In 2000, she graduated from the Chinese-Uyghur translation department of Xinjiang University and started to work for a subdistrict committee in Aksu that the same year (in Aksu).
She contributed poetry and short stories to the cultural Uyghur-language website "Salqin", which she was invited to moderate in late spring 2009. Following her detention, she was awarded the Hellman/Hammett prize for her efforts to promote freedom of expression by Human Rights Watch in 2012.
Victim's location
The Xinjiang Women’s Prison.
When victim was detained
Arrested on July 14, 2009. Sentenced to life in prison on April 1, 2010, after being tried along with five others.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Authorities accused Imin of being an organizer of the demonstrations on July 5, 2009, and of using the Uyghur-language website to distribute information about the event (according to Radio Free Asia, more than 100 forum moderators who worked with Salqin were arrested because of July 5). In an offical reply regarding Imin's case, the authorities said that she had taken orders from the World Uyghur Congress to distribute information about the Shaoguan incident.
According to readers who talked to RFA, Imin had been critical of the government in her online writing. The website was shut down after the riots and its contents were deleted.
"Splittism, leaking state secrets, and organizing an illegal demonstration" (Articles 103, 111, and 296 of China’s Criminal Law) constituted the charges against her during her closed trial.
Victim's status
Presumably still serving a life sentence. Current health status unclear.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Some of the testimonies come from people who attended the victim's trial and are therefore eyewitnesses.
One corroboration of the victim's life sentence comes from a government employee who was a colleague of the victim and would presumably have relatively direct knowledge of her situation.
It is not completely clear how her husband got news of her situation.
The CCTV report about the victim and the official letter reply to the United Nations are essentially official government sources.
Additional information
Prior to her sentencing, Imin was forced to make false statements on state television about her actions and the actions of her husband, who was living in Norway. She alleges she was tortured and forced to sign documents while in detention, and couldn't meet with her lawyer before the trial.
Various publicly available reports mentioning the victim's case:
- https://uhrp.org/political-prisoners-2014/gulmire-imin - http://www.refworld.org/docid/586cb8e013.html - https://cpj.org/data/people/gulmire-imin/index.php - https://www.uscirf.gov/gulmira-imin - https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/sentence-08082010190802.html - http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2014/04/24/gulmire-imin-china-jailed-since-july-2009 - http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=9898 - http://www.observatori.org/paises/pais_81/documentos/asa170272010en.pdf - https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/tepsili_xewer/gulmire-imin-07102012133206.html - https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
Her case was also featured in Fortune: https://fortune.com/2020/10/01/most-urgent-cases-women-journalists-ranked-october-2020/
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Government (branch unclear)
------
The United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's letter concerning Gulmire Imin [G/SO 218/2] has been received. The Chinese government has diligently investigated the facts surrounding the letter, and the reply is as follows:
Gulmire Imin, female, Uyghur, born on January 24, 1977, from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s Aksu Prefecture, residing in Urumqi, studied culture as an undergraduate at university, previously the deputy director of the Riyue Xingguang Neighborhood Administration, Dongmen Subdistrict, Tianshan District, Urumqi.
On June 26, 2009, there was a conflict at a toy manufacturing plant in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province between workers from Xinjiang and other workers, resulting in the deaths of two Xinjiang workers. After the event, the webmasters - including Gulmire - of the Uyghur-language website “Salqin” acted on the instructions of the World Uyghur Congress to disseminate videos of the event, together with inflammatory speech, on its discussion forums and via its social networking tools. They also actively organized, planned, and directed the July 5 illegal gathering and activities aimed at stirring up trouble, bringing about the criminal acts of vandalism, robbery, and arson that took place in Urumqi. Gulmire actively participated in the abovementioned activities, and reported overseas both the plans for the disruptive activity as well as the developments on the scene, thereby attempting to support overseas separatist forces. After the incident, Gulmire was detained by the public safety bureau according to the law.
On April 1, 2010, the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court heard Gulmire's case according to the law, and issued the following judgment: Gulmire participated in and organized, planned, and carried out the "July 5" incident, causing extremely severe and harmful societal consequences, violating Paragraph 1 of Article 103 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, with her actions constituting the crime of splitting the state. Given Gulmire's primary responsibility/role in the July 5, 2009 organization of illegal gathering and activity to stir up trouble, and the great subjective malice, it follows that she should be severely punished, being sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights. Gulmire refused to comply and appealed. Following the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region High People's Court’s second-instance retrial of the case, the court decided to dismiss the appeal and uphold the original sentence.
In hearing this case, the local courts strictly followed the relevant provisions of the Chinese Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, with Gulmire entrusting a lawyer to defend her. During the trial, the court fully guaranteed the defendant’s litigation rights; in addition to the defendant's own right of legal defense, the defense lawyer also put forth the defense’s views to the fullest. During the trial, Gulmire's family arrived in court to listen.
From September 2010 to the present, Gulmire Imin has been serving her sentence at the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Women's Prison, and is in good physical condition.
The Chinese government sincerely provides the entirety of the above text for entry into the relevant UN documents.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 7 (1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a0kN7E4GlA Testimony 7 (2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaObRk6h7jY Testimony 7 (3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlg6sI7-3qA photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/447_4.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_447.png
Entry created: 2018-11-11 Last updated: 2020-06-11 Latest status update: 2018-10-11 477. Ablajan Hebibulla (阿布拉江·依不布拉木)
Chinese ID: 65400219540801??O? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 66 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uzbek Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (8 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|3|5|6: Mehbube Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Austria. (daughter)
Testimony 2: Mewlude Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Norway. (daughter)
Testimony 4: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter)
Testimony 7: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Global Voices. (daughter)
About the victim
Ablajan Hebibulla used to run a shop that sold imported goods.
Chinese passport: G33761953.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he has been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
He was detained (at home) in October 2017, but it was unclear where he was kept. In October-November 2019, the family got news that he had been sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
[Presumably] in prison serving an 8-year sentence. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Global Voices coverage: https://globalvoices.org/2020/12/04/dont-come-back-or-you-will-disappear-uyghur-mother-pleads-with-h er-daughter-abroad/
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-weziyiti-07182018142844.html
The victim was also included in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
Victims among relatives
Peyzohre Omerjan (478), Adiljan Ablajan (479), Gulbahar Eysa (6648), Shepqet Tohtasun (3384)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1EwRWt-8Vw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jjOk9HZ8RY Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHOvZBirPA Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7Q9WpaT4g Testimony 2: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/mavli.abdula/videos/2064 192526950746/&show_text=1&width=450 Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/477_4.png
Entry created: 2018-11-13 Last updated: 2021-04-13 Latest status update: 2021-04-06 478. Peyzohre Omerjan (拍孜佐合热·依麦尔江)
Chinese ID: 65400219580320??E? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 63 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (19 years) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1|3|5|6|7: Mehbube Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Austria. (daughter)
Testimony 2: Mewlude Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Norway. (daughter)
Testimony 4: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter)
Testimony 8: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Global Voices. (daughter)
About the victim
Peyzohre Omerjan was a tailor.
Chinese passport: G33760594.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as she has been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
She was taken from home on September 5, 2017 and put in camp, held in the same facility as her son, Adiljan, not far from their home. In June 2018, she was reportedly given a 20-year sentence and transferred to a women's prison in Ghulja City [presumably the Ili Women's Prison]. However, this sentence was voided in October 2018 and she was returned to camp. In October-November 2019, the family heard that she had been taken out of camp and re-sentenced, now being given 19 years.
On August 29, 2020, Mehbube reported that she "received greetings" from her mother, without specifying how these greetings were transmitted, and if her mother contacted her directly or not.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
--- Victim's status
[Presumably] in prison serving a 19-year sentence.
Mehbube's aunt is reportedly paying 300-400RMB [presumably per month] for Peyzohre's food and clothing in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Mehbube generally does not state how she learned the various details regarding her family's detention. However, her aunt did call Mehbube's sister in Norway to tell her that she had visited Peyzohre in prison, that Peyzohre was allowed visits twice a month, and that she was "doing fine". (Mehbube believes that the aunt was forced to call them as part of an attempt by the Chinese authorities to put a stop to her activism. The first thing that the aunt said was: "Don't ask me anything - just listen to what I have to say." The call from the aunt came just after a period when Mehbube had been very active on social media [campaigning for her family].)
However, she does report receiving "greetings" from her mother in August 2020 [though it's not stated how she received them].
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-weziyiti-07182018142844.html
Global Voices feature: https://globalvoices.org/2020/12/04/dont-come-back-or-you-will-disappear-uyghur-mother-pleads-with-h er-daughter-abroad/
The victim was also included in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
[There is a high likelihood that she was subjected to forced labor while at the Ili Women's Prison, as this practice has been documented there.]
Victims among relatives
Ablajan Hebibulla (477), Adiljan Ablajan (479), Gulbahar Eysa (6648), Shepqet Tohtasun (3384)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1EwRWt-8Vw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jjOk9HZ8RY Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHOvZBirPA Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7Q9WpaT4g Testimony 2: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/mavli.abdula/videos/2064 192526950746/&show_text=1&width=450 Testimony 5: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/mahbuba.abla/posts/3229 271170441437&show_text=true&width=300 Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/478_4.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/478_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-13 Last updated: 2021-04-13 Latest status update: 2021-04-06 479. Adiljan Ablajan (阿迪里江·阿布拉江)
Chinese ID: 654101198908300277 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 31 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyg-Uzb Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (5 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"problematic thoughts", related to religion Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|3|5|6|7: Mehbube Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Austria. (sister)
Testimony 2: Mewlude Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Norway. (sister)
Testimony 4: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (sister)
Testimony 8: Mehbube Abla, as reported by Global Voices. (sister)
About the victim
Adiljan Ablajan was a car salesman, often buying cars in inner China and selling them in Ghulja. He is married and has a daughter.
Address: 7 Sixth Alley, Fazhanxiang Street, Ghulja City, Xinjiang (新疆伊宁市发展乡街六巷7号).
Victim's location
A prison in Ghulja.
When victim was detained
He was originally detained (at home) on April 15, 2017 and taken to a camp (the same as his mother, not far from their home), before being sentenced to 20 years in June 2018 and transferred to Kunes Prison. However, on October 1, 2018, the family heard that the sentence had been voided and that he was sent back to camp. In October-November 2019, they heard that he had again been released from camp and now given a 5-year sentence.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
For "having poisonous religious thoughts". Victim's status
[Presumably] serving a 5-year sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Global Voices coverage: https://globalvoices.org/2020/12/04/dont-come-back-or-you-will-disappear-uyghur-mother-pleads-with-h er-daughter-abroad/
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-weziyiti-07182018142844.html
The victim was also included in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
A post by a Chinese car seller about Adiljan buying a new car from them (in 2015, presumably): http://archive.is/tlUeW
[There is a high likelihood of him having been subjected to forced labor while at Kunes Prison, as this practice has been documented there.]
His wife was also sent to camp.
Victims among relatives
Peyzohre Omerjan (478), Ablajan Hebibulla (477), Gulbahar Eysa (6648), Shepqet Tohtasun (3384)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1EwRWt-8Vw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jjOk9HZ8RY Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzK12MtCzuA Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHOvZBirPA Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7Q9WpaT4g Testimony 2: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/mavli.abdula/videos/2064 192526950746/&show_text=1&width=450 Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/479_4.png during a car deal in inner China: https://shahit.biz/supp/479_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-13 Last updated: 2021-04-13 Latest status update: 2021-04-06 484. Shaiyrbek Daulethan (沙尔别克·多来提汗)
Chinese ID: 650103196909153336 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 49 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Urumqi Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: energy
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|3: Asyla Alymkulova, a Kyrgyz citizen from Kyrgyzstan. (wife)
Testimony 2: Baibolsun Shaiyrbek, son of victim Shaiyrbek Daulethan, and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (son)
Testimony 4*: Asyla Alymkulova, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (wife)
Testimony 5: Asyla Alymkulova, as reported by Agence France-Presse. (wife)
Testimony 6: Asyla Alymkulova, as reported by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. (wife)
Testimony 7: Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, a Kyrgyzstan grassroots movement that existed briefly in late 2018 and early 2019.
About the victim
Shaiyrbek Daulethan, an ethnic Kazakh from China who had been living in Kyrgyzstan since 2005 with his Kyrgyz wife, Asyla. The couple have one underage son, Baibolsun.
Shaiyrbek used to work as an acting director at Zhongyuan Energy and Mineral Resources Co., Ltd, a Chinese company with a branch in Bishkek.
Address in China (according to ID): Apt. 401, Entrance No. 3, Floor No. 1, 4 Anningliang Road, Xinshi District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市新市区安宁梁路4号1号楼3单元401号).
His passport number is available but not legible in the photo provided.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained The last time that he went to China was in November 2016, for a business trip that was supposed to last 10 days. However, Shaiyrbek would call and say that he needed to stay longer, going on to spend the entire following year there and communicating with his family in Kyrgyzstan by phone. However, since October 2017, he has been completely out of touch, and it is presumed that this is when he was arrested.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
According to a company representative, Shaiyrbek was sent "to study" (i.e., to a camp). As of May 2019, Asyla still has not gotten any news of him.
According to her, the reply from Kyrgyz authorities has been that she should not worry as her husband is just "studying".
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Asyla learned that her husband was in a camp from a company representative.
When Shaiyrbek first disappeared, neither his company in Kyrgyzstan nor the one in China seemed to know where he was. Eventually, a representative told Asyla that he was "studying", but Asyla couldn't find out what this meant, thinking it was a type of training. The representative said that they would try to get Asyla's husband out, but that there were no guarantees. Three months later, the person who was hired to replace him contacted Asyla and told him that her husband was in a political education camp.
Additional information
Though not ethnically Kyrgyz, this victim has also been included in the list provided by the Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz: https://shahit.biz/supp/list_001.pdf
His story has also been written about by AFP (https://sg.news.yahoo.com/central-asians-cry-over-chinas-secret-detention-camps-101732331.html) and dpa international (http://www.dpa-international.com/topic/energy-executives-abroad-ensnared-china-xinjiang-crackdown-1 90221-99-75048).
His story has also been featured in Living Otherwise: https://livingotherwise.com/2019/07/04/gene-a-bunin-how-kyrgyzstan-abandoned-its-own-in-xinjiang-whi le-kazakhstan-didnt
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdLVcMFh5ok Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ1CiWc9QOg Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53_nwlYuRR8 photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/484_1.jpg Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/484_2.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/484_3.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/484_4.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-14 Last updated: 2020-12-05 Latest status update: 2019-05-18 644. Abdulla Memet (阿卜杜拉·麦麦提)
Chinese ID: 6528011998??????O? (Korla)
Basic info
Age: 22-23 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: other
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Hebibe Omer, originally from Korla but now living in Turkey. (cousin)
Testimony 3|5: Abdurahman Memet, a university student in Istanbul. (brother)
Testimony 4: WGEID submission, a completed form with the details of a missing or detained person, to be sent to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. (sibling)
About the victim
Abdulla Memet.
Address: Bostan Neighborhood, Korla City.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Abdulla was arrested after being called in by police for questioning on March 1, 2014. In September 2014, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He was 16 years old at the time.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Listening to religious content on WeChat and having the Quran on his phone.
Victim's status
[Presumably serving his prison sentence.] How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Hebibe mentions that her family had been under increased surveillance following an incident she had with the police when she was little (because of an East Turkistan flag).
Victims among relatives
Zeynepgul Omer (640), Mubarek Abduqadir (4931), Abduqadir Abdukirem (4338), Zeynepgul Abdukirem (5852), Abdugheni Abduqadir (4932), Abduqeyyum Abduqadir (4339), Memetabdullah Omer (643), Ebeydulla Omer (641), Ehmetjan Memet (642)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDOoT8U29A0 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_0P0wSQ0Os Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/magfire_emin/status/1342169767336153091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/KampMagdurlar/status/1346737759474614277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://shahit.biz/supp/644_3.png
Entry created: 2018-11-18 Last updated: 2021-03-20 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 714. Musa Hekim
Chinese ID: 6528011981??????O? (Korla)
Basic info
Age: 38-39 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Bayingolin Status: no news for over a year When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|"extremism" Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Eysa Hekim, a businessman from Korla who now lives in Germany. (brother)
About the victim
Musa Hekim has a primary-school education and worked as a gardener and businessman. He's married, has four children, and was the financial support for his family and parents.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Bayingolin, as that's where the family seems to be from.]
When victim was detained
He was initially detained in March-April 2017 and taken to what Eysa calls a "jail" [presumably, a pre-trial detention center]. Later, he was taken to camp, and there's been no news since.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
"Extremism" (having a beard and praying).
Victim's status
No news since the early stage of his detention. Possibly still in camp.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Eysa's other relatives in Xinjiang include his father, Hekim Imin, and siblings Reyhangul Hekim, Rahman Hekim, Ayshemgul Hekim, and Memetjan Hekim. He's had no contact with any of them since leaving Xinjiang in June 2017.
It's not clear what's happened to Musa's parents, wife, and four children since his detention, as all were financially dependent on him.
Victims among relatives
Ibrahim Seypulla (715), Seypulla Zayit (716), Memet Seypulla (717), Reyhangul Hekim (6209), Rahmanjan Hekim (6210), Muslime Izzetulla (10986)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXazZWH7xg Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZB1-4IQc44 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2g-ps4UVxI photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/714_3.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-21 Last updated: 2020-02-04 Latest status update: 2020-05-07 744. Heyrigul Niyaz
Chinese ID: 65292519851028??E? (Toksu)
Basic info
Age: 35 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Memet'eli Niyaz, originally from Toqsu, Aksu but now residing in Germany. (brother)
Testimony 3: Memet'eli Niyaz, as reported by Bitter Winter. (brother)
Testimony 4: Memet'eli Niyaz, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (brother)
About the victim
Heyrigul Niyaz completed her bachelor's degree in Russian studies. In 2011, she went to Turkey, and was awarded a Turkish government scholarship to complete her master's degree at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey, majoring in global business. At the end of 2015, she returned home and worked for a tourism company, organizing tours to Turkey, before starting her own travel agency in 2016. The latter was closed following a government order, after a person who had booked a tour to Europe did not return to China.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Aksu.]
When victim was detained
Heyrigul was detained in Urumqi on June 2, 2017 and taken to her hometown in Toqsu.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Possibly for her having studied in Turkey.
Victim's status
Unclear; she is either in a re-education camp or given a prison sentence. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
From relatives.
Memet'eli had been in contact with her until May 2017.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/jieduxinjiang/xj-01172020101242.html
Bitter Winter coverage: https://bitterwinter.org/how-the-ccp-destroys-uyghur-families/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR003
Victims among relatives
Yusup Niyaz (745), Yaqup Niyaz (746)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UVsj8fJHwU Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDyj3FWEKKk brother's birthday post: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/muhammadali.niyaz/posts /2604835229739803&width=300 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/744_2.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-23 Last updated: 2021-05-20 Latest status update: 2021-04-07 856. Beyshihan Hoshur
Chinese ID: 65322119????????E? (Hotan County)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Hotan Status: in custody When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5: Memettohti Atawulla, originally from Hotan, but living in Turkey since 2016. He recently completed a political-science master's program at the Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi. (son)
About the victim
Beyshihan Hoshur is 65 years old (as of 2019).
Address: No. 1 Neighborhood, Urnush Village, Seghizkol Township, Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture.
Victim's location
Believed to have been taken to the Hotan County Pre-Trial Detention Center.
When victim was detained
Arrested in March-April 2018 [testimonies differ].
Her son, Memettohti, states that a large number of other elderly women were taken along with Beyshihan on the same day.
In May 2019, local police contacted Memettohti, during which time he learned that his mother was still in detention.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Praying at an Islamic funeral approximately 3 years before the arrest.
Victim's status
Believed to still be detained. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Memettohti does not state how he learned about the initial detention. In May 2019, he was, however, contacted by local police and also allowed to talk to relatives who were not detained, during which time he learned that his mother was still in detention.
Additional information
Testifier's account as published by the Uyghur Human Rights Project: http://chineseblog.uhrp.org/?p=437
Testifier's account as published by Uyghur Times: https://uighurtimes.com/index.php/china-stillnoinfo-campaign-is-not-a-rumor-i-am-just-a-student-where- is-my-mother/
Victims among relatives
Rozimemet Atawulla (853), Memeteli Atawulla (854), Memettursun Islam (855), Memetabla Salamet (10992)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tui2R58dD38 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR4ZkNFTu1c Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Uyghur_0903/status/1094972277811277824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Entry created: 2018-11-25 Last updated: 2020-10-22 Latest status update: 2020-03-14 865. Aytursun Qurban (阿依吐尔逊·库尔班)
Chinese ID: 652901195711302525 (Aksu)
Basic info
Age: 62 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: concentration camp When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2|3|4*|5|7: Reyhangul Tohti, originally from Aksu but now living in Belgium. (daughter)
Testimony 6: Vanessa Frangville, a scholar at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. (friend of relative)
Testimony 8: Muhlise Tohti, originally from Aksu but now residing in Turkey. (daughter)
About the victim
Aytursun Qurban was a businesswoman.
Address: House No. 7, Group No. 3, Ara Mehelle Village, Qaratal Municipality, Aksu City, Xinjiang (新疆阿克苏市喀拉塔勒镇阿热买里村3组7号).
Victim's location
[Presumably in Aksu.]
When victim was detained
Taken by police from her home in March 2017 and detained in a camp.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Believed to still be held at a camp.
Her phone is off, and calls to the local police station(s) have led to the police telling the victim's daughter that she should come there herself if she wants to get information about her mother. Calls to various administrative offices have also proved fruitless. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
News of the detention was obtained through the testifier's sister.
It is not clear how it was learned that she is still in camp as of September 2020.
Additional information
Reyhangul has had no contact with anyone in her family for the past 2 years.
It is also mentioned that the victim wasn't let out of detention to attend her son's {866} funeral.
Victims among relatives
Tursun Qurban (867), Rozihaji Zunun (870), Yasinjan Tohti (866), Gulnur Tohti (4995), Abdullah Yasin (5077), Hebibulla Yasin (5078), Amine Yasin (5079), Teyibbe Yasin (5080), Sherinay Yasin (5076), Nurimangul Tohti (871), Ehmetjan Ghoja (872), Patimem Ehmet (5081), Salihe Ehmet (5082), Sidiqhaji Zunun (1604), Mukerem Tursun (6505), Hebibulla Tursun (6506), Intizar Parhat (873)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5XmNq5PMcA Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwjWCH7UOoc Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nElT7JWc6Rs Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fycb-2X2Sh4 Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZrMRcHJ98g Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWjrUKY-keA Testimony 8: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/muhammat.amat.3511/vi deos/935798663580643/&show_text=1&width=300 Testimony 4 (direct): https://shahit.biz/supp/865_4.png Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/865_9.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-26 Last updated: 2020-10-04 Latest status update: 2020-11-01 899. Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木·土赫提)
Chinese ID: 65300119691025??O? (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 50 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism", "inciting ethnic hatred" Health status: --- Profession: scholar
Testifying party
Testimony 1: New York Times, a major news outlet based in the United States.
Testimony 2: Sydney Morning Herald, a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Testimony 3: The Guardian, a British daily newspaper.
Testimony 4|5|6|12: Radio Free Asia Uyghur, the Uyghur-language service of Radio Free Asia.
Testimony 7|10: Jewher Ilham, the daughter of Ilham Tohti. She now resides in the United States. (daughter)
Testimony 8: Hu Jia, a Chinese human rights activist. (acquaintance)
Testimony 9: Li Fangping, as reported by South China Morning Post. (lawyer)
Testimony 11: Li Fangping, as reported by RTHK. (lawyer)
Testimony 13: BBC, a British public service broadcaster.
Testimony 14: World Uyghur Congress, an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups.
Testimony 15: Guzelnur Eli, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (wife)
Testimony 16: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 17: Li Fangping, the lawyer of Ilham Tohti. (lawyer)
Testimony 18: Official arrest notice, provided following the formal arrest of a suspect in the People's Republic of China.
About the victim Ilham Tohti was a prominent Uyghur economist, writer, and professor at the Minzu University of China in Beijing.
He has long been a well-known advocate for the respect of Uyghurs' rights and the rule of law in Xinjiang, and was considered as a moderate voice promoting dialogue between the Han and Uyghur. In 2006, he created the website Uyghur Online ("Uyghur Biz"), which tackled social issues in Uyghur and Chinese and was designed to promote understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. However, the creation of the website seems to have marked the start of the harassment from the authorities, and the website was later shut down.
He has won the 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award and was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for human rights in 2016, as well as the Liberal International’s Prize for Freedom in the Hague in 2017. In 2019, he was announced as the recipient of the seventh Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, and was awarded the Sakharov prize in late October of the same year.
Victim's location
The Xinjiang No. 1 Prison in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
In March 26, 2009, he was warned by the police not to speak to foreign media.
He was initially arrested and detained for over a month in July 2009, following the ethnic unrest in Urumqi.
In 2011, his class on the social politics of Xinjiang was cancelled by the Minzu University. In February 2, 2013, he and his daughter were detained at the Beijing Airport. While his daughter was later allowed to board the intended flight to the US, her father was forced to stay in China.
On January 15, 2014, he was detained again at his home in Beijing and then taken to Xinjiang, to be held at the Autonomous Region Pre-Trial Detention Center (自治区看守所). He was formally charged with separatism on February 20, 2014, and sentenced to life in a 2-day trial on September 23-24, 2014, with Western diplomats barred from attending. (His wife also reported that his location was not disclosed while he was in custody in February 2014, with even Ilham's lawyer not being given access.)
Since his incarceration, he has been subjected to recurring violations of international human rights standards with regard to detention conditions, such as limitations of family visits, intercepted communications, solitary confinement, deprivation of food, and intimidation. Ilham Tohti’s family and colleagues have also been subjected to judicial harassment.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Charged with separatism, on the basis of his teaching at the university and his writing on his website, Uyghur Online.
The Urumqi Public Security Bureau had also previously said in an online statement that Tohti recruited followers through a website he founded to "cause trouble, spread separatist thoughts, incite ethnic hatred, and engage in separatist activities". It also reportedly alleged that the victim "told students that Uyghurs should use violence and oppose the government as China opposed Japanese invaders during World War II".
Victim's status
Believed to still be serving his life sentence.
(According to the regulations, people sentenced to life for separatism have the opportunity to have their sentence reduced 3 years after the deciding trial. However, Ilham Tohti’s lawyer, Li Fangping, says that since it is also customary for the court to upload such decisions online, it is reasonable to assume the sentence has not changed.)
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
His case has been widely publicized, with lawyers, friends, and family - many of whom were closely involved with the case and attended the trial - all speaking to media.
Additional information
His case has been mentioned in numerous outlets: https://www.smh.com.au/world/uighur-scholar-ilham-tohti-sentenced-to-life-in-jail-by-chinese-court-2014 0923-10kxgp.html https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/world/asia/15china.html?scp=1&sq=Ilham%20Tohti,&st=cse https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/11/ilham-tohti-uighur-china-wins-nobel-martin-ennals-hu man-rights-award https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholar-09232014091017.html https://www.rfa.org/english/video?v=1_s48jijtq https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/awarded-11302017165248.html https://www.rfa.org/english/women/china-tohti-10172016170821.html https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/ilham-tohti-sentenced-life-imprisonment https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/hu-tohti-07272018160529.html https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1541335/detained-uygur-economist-ilham-tohti-denied-food-1 0-days-custody-lawyer https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/yq-08282019103216.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/daughter-09202019175029.html https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k2/1482031-20190923.htm https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/award-09302019133018.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50166713 https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/arrest-02262014185533.html
Baidu Baike entry: http://archive.is/9G3qm Sogou Baike entry: http://archive.is/JVfdn
Wikipedia entries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilham_Tohti https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/伊力哈木·土赫提
State-media coverage: http://archive.is/GC0Uz http://archive.is/B9DNr http://archive.is/EeXOP Record of court proceedings (not very detailed): http://archive.is/3zy9P
A book based on his various essays: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/678759/we-uyghurs-have-no-say-by-ilham-tohti/
Supplementary materials documentary about victim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yErkpBrHujI Abduweli Ayup's testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbgOo26wgPc interview clip: https://twitter.com/IntyPython/status/1184924577484300288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 14: https://twitter.com/UyghurCongress/status/1187412867542335488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw daughter's last photo: https://twitter.com/JewherIlham/status/1274744082993156097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw teaching photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_1.jpg after class: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_2.jpeg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_3.jpeg homage: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_5.jpg state media report: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_9.mp4 Testimony 17: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_11.pdf Testimony 18: https://shahit.biz/supp/899_12.jpg
Entry created: 2018-11-29 Last updated: 2021-03-07 Latest status update: 2020-06-21 915. Asqar Azatbek (阿斯哈·阿孜提别克)
Chinese ID: 654127197601180038 (Tekes)
Basic info
Age: 44 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"espionage", "fraud", "registration issues" Health status: has problems Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (relative)
Testimony 4: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, as reported by Taiwan Reporter. (relative)
Testimony 5: Qarlygash Diparova, as reported by Radio Azattyq. (aunt)
Testimony 6: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, as reported by Radio Azattyq. (relative)
Testimony 7: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, as reported by Total.kz. (relative)
Testimony 8: Qarlygash Diparova, as reported by Total.kz. (aunt)
Testimony 9: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, as reported by France 24. (relative)
Testimony 10: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (relation unclear)
Testimony 11|14: Gauhar Mamyrkanovna Kurmangalieva, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (relative)
Testimony 12: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 13: Oraz, as reported by Atazhurt Zhastary. (friend)
Testimony 15: Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by vlast.kz.
About the victim
Asqar Azatbek used to work for the National Immigration Administration in Ili, before retiring in April 2016 for health reasons. Migrating to Kazakhstan, he obtained Kazakhstani citizenship in 2017. He also formally renounced his Chinese citizenship.
Address in China: House No. 1, Series No. 2, Beiyuan Country Residences, 61 Airport Road, Ghulja City (伊宁市飞机场路61号北苑别墅区2排1号). Kazakhstan PIN: 760118000347. Chinese passport: E71985109.
Victim's location
Twin-Channel Village Detention Center (双渠村看守所) in Korgas County.
When victim was detained
On December 7, 2017, he went to the Qorghas International Center for Boundary Cooperation. According to a friend who was with him at the time, two jeeps pulled over close to them while they were in front of the Samuryq mall (on the Kazakhstan side of the cooperation zone), with 3-4 Chinese police getting out and coming down on Asqar, knocking him over. Putting his hands behind his back, they forced him to get into the car and effectively kidnapped him. (The official reply from the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2020 confirms the time, place, and arrest, though it also adds that, according to its embassy in Beijing, the victim was detained on January 4, 2018.)
No news about his case would be available until an official court verdict was leaked to his relatives in Kazakhstan in January 2020.
According to the verdict - which makes no mention of the kidnapping or what happened to Asqar in the following 3 months - he was detained by the Qorghas County Public Security Bureau on March 10, 2018 on suspicion of fraud, before being formally arrested on March 23, 2018. He was then formally prosecuted on September 17, 2018, with the court decision date marked as December 9, 2018 (subject to appeal).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The court verdict reports him as being guilty of "espionage" and fraud.
The pages related to the fraud charges are missing in the copy available here [for reasons unclear], but concluding remarks state that he had cheated people out of a total of ~1.7 million RMB.
The espionage charges come from his allegedly having taken a Kazakhstan consulate visa official, Daniyar Serikbayev, to visit some of the hydraulic stations and reservoirs in Ili. The verdict states - without evidence - that Serikbayev was actually a Kazakh spy and intelligence agent (not just a consulate visa-service worker), and that Asqar was quickly made aware of this by Serikbayev's peculiar interest in the water-conservation system, which the verdict states is a state secret and cannot be shown to foreigners ("and especially Kazakhstanis"). Asqar allegedly acted as a guide anyway, in return for visa favors, and thereby violated Article 110 of the criminal code (he is also stated as violating Articles 266, 61, 52, 53, 56, 64, and 69).
His migration to Kazakhstan and his obtaining Kazakhstan citizenship are thus presented in the verdict as fleeing from potential investigation in China.
Asqar is also presented as allegedly admitting all of this [it is not clear how "clean" such a confession is, however, especially given his 3-month kidnapping prior to being officially detained].
In its formal reply in February 2020, the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that it has received no news of the espionage and fraud charges, and that the latest news is from its embassy in Beijing, which said that Asqar was detained for having dual citizenship and for thereby violating China's citizenship law. The MFA also confirms that (a) the victim cancelled his Chinese citizenship and (b) did not take part in Kazakhstan national security's operations. However, diplomatic demands to the Chinese side regarding his case have gone unanswered.
Victim's status
The court verdict says that Asqar has been sentenced to 20 years of prison, with 5 years of deprivation of political rights (in addition to a 50000RMB fine).
As of February 2020, it appears that he has yet to be transferred to a formal prison, however, as sources have reported to his relative in Kazakhstan that he is still being held at a detention center.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The eyewitness account of Asqar's disappearance was obtained from his friend Oraz, who went to the Qorghas economic cooperation zone with the victim.
The court verdict is an official document from the Xinjiang judicial system.
The Kazakhstan MFA presumably got its information through official channels.
Additional information
Coverage by vlast.kz, together with the formal reply from the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://vlast.kz/obsshestvo/42132-kto-ukral-askara-azatbeka.html
Media coverage of this case: http://archive.is/bp6cR (Total.kz) https://observers.france24.com/en/20190703-kazakhstan-china-xinjiang-families-detained https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/kazakh-missing-12272017141959.html
What appears to be an investment fund owned by Asqar in the Qorghas cooperation zone: http://archive.is/sT9gu
Official communication(s)
Source: Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
------
The consular-services department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan has reviewed your complaint regarding the case of your relative A. Azatbek, who was arrested on December 7, 2017 by the PRC public-security authorities at the Korgas International Center for Boundary Cooperation. Please be informed of the following:
According to the Kazakhstan embassy in Beijing, Chinese citizen Asqar Azatbek was detained by the Chinese public-security authorities on January 4, 2018 for having violated the “Chinese citizenship law” (dual citizenship) and is under investigation.
In accordance with the “Republic of Kazakhstan citizenship” law, Asqar Azatbek obtained Kazakhstan citizenship in October 2017. He renounced his People’s Republic of China citizenship on September 27, 2017 through the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan, and the Chinese embassy placed the “cancelled” stamp in his passport.
In relation to this, the ministry sent a diplomatic demand to China’s MFA on January 15, 2018, so as to, as accorded by the provisions of the “Agreement on mutual legal assistance”, look into the Azatbek issue and agree on a meeting between the individual in question and the Kazakhstan consul.
However, the Chinese side did not reply to this demand, and so the ministry addressed the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan with the request to organize a meeting between the Kazakhstan consul and A. Azatbek, and to have him returned to Kazakhstan in 2018. Another diplomatic demand was sent on December 6. There has still been no reply from the Chinese side.
In what concerns the information provided in your statement, the Kazakhstan side has not received any information from the Chinese judicial bodies regarding Azatbek being sentenced to 20 years on the charges of “spying for Kazakhstan” and “fraud”.
Additionally, as per your demand, a demand has been sent to the competent authorities in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The competent authority has informed that there is no information regarding A. Azatbek being part of the Kazakhstan national security’s operations.
Taking into account your request, as well as with the intention to protect the rights and interests of A. Azatbek, the Kazakhstan MFA plans to send another diplomatic demand to the Chinese side and to raise his issue at the upcoming bilateral consular meetings.
You will be informed in reply to your demand.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlfWQZeZGL4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDEu4RVcBGg Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hF70PPtTLA Testimony 1: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/100012011741023/videos /503086636768390/&show_text=1&width=450 Testimony 5: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/notes/gene-bunin/the-stor ies-of-kazakhstan-citizens-arrested-in-china/2244405605791286/&width=450 Testimony 6: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/notes/gene-bunin/relative s-of-those-arrested-in-china-are-asking-for-help/2246761502222363/&width=450 Testimony 13: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/100012011741023/videos /498949057182148/&show_text=1&width=300 Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/915_6.png Testimony 12 (p. 4-5 missing): https://shahit.biz/supp/915_8.pdf official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_915.png
Entry created: 2018-11-29 Last updated: 2021-01-31 Latest status update: 2020-02-28 965. Yalqun Rozi (牙里坤·肉孜)
Chinese ID: 650102196603044034 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (15 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting subversion", "separatism", "inciting ethnic hatred" Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Anonymous letter, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 3: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 4: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 5: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6|7: Kamalturk Yalqun, the son of victim Yalqun Rozi, now residing in the US. (son)
Testimony 8: Kamalturk Yalqun, as reported by New York Times. (son)
Testimony 9: Rushan Abbas, an Uyghur-American activist.
Testimony 10: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 11: CGTN, an international English-language news channel based in Beijing and owned by China Central Television.
About the victim
Yalqun Rozi is a famous Uyghur literary critic, writer, public speaker, and publisher, known for his writing on Islam and the Uyghur identity.
Born in Atush's Aghu Township, he graduated from the Xinjiang University Department of Literature in 1987 and worked as a journalist at the Xinjiang Radio Station upon graduation. From 1991 till 2015, he worked as an editor at the Xinjiang Education Press.
His career as a literary critic started in 1986, and he would go on to publish over 60 critiques. From 1995 on, he also wrote a number of social commentaries - publishing more than 30 - which addressed topical and sometimes unexpected issues, and were known for their provocative and debate-inducing character.
Rozi is also known as one of the most authoritative researchers on the Uyghur jadidisim movement, and has conducted in-depth research on the Jadids and Jadidism - a reform movement among Muslim intellectuals in Central Asia at the beginning of the 20th century. He wrote books and articles about several famous Uyghur Jadids, such as the Musabayev Brothers, Abdulkadir Damolla, Mehsut Muhiti, Mr. Memtili, and Gulendam Abistay, as well as about their efforts to modernize the industrial and educational system, and to bring enlightenment to the Uyghurs.
As a public speaker, Rozi has, since the mid-1990s, given over a hundred lectures and speeches at literature seminars, schools, universities, and on television and radio. The topics of his lectures and speeches included educational and curriculum reform, literature education, literary criticism, social morality, and family education.
Rozi made major contributions to education through his work of compiling and editing Uyghur-literature textbooks. From 2001 to 2011, he focused on compiling Uyghur-literature textbooks and was directly involved with the compiling of 12 textbooks to be used in Uyghur middle and high schools across the region. He also independently compiled 4 extra-curricular humanities reading books for middle school students and 9 teaching manual books for literature teachers. He also compiled a "College Literature" textbook. He was the chief editor of more than 90 textbooks and extra-curricular books about Uyghur literature education, and gave several dozen lectures for Uyghur elementary and middle-school literature teachers in various prefectures, counties, and cities across the Uyghur region.
Finally, as a publisher he planned and published around 20 books about religion and history, culture and education, politics, and politicians. Most of these were the works of famous Uyghur scholars Abdushukur Muhemmed Emin and Eset Sulayman, and include such titles as: "Ancient Central Asia", "Nine Maxims on the Silk Road", "The Soul Buried Under the Taklamakan", "Uyghur Totem Culture", "The Mystery of Kroren", "International Islamic Wave", "Islamism in Current Times", "Questions and Answers on Islam", "Arab-Islam Philosophy in Today's World", "The History of the Rise of Jews", and "Mustafa Kemal".
Victim's location
His exact location is unknown [as he has been sentenced].
When victim was detained
According to his son, Yalqun was taken away in October 2016 and investigated for “ideological problems”. After being detained in an undisclosed location for over a year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on January 3, 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to media reports, he was accused of attempting to incite separatism and promoting "Turkism", a reference to the Uyghurs' historical cultural and linguistic connections to Turkic-language speaking people in Central Asia and Turkey.
According to his son, he was officially sentenced for "subverting state power".
In the CGTN propaganda film, it is stated that both Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman {2361} were responsible for the textual content of the 2003 and 2009 Uyghur-language textbooks for primary- and middle-school students. It is said in the propaganda film that these textbooks contained "a lot of gore, violence, terrorism and separatism", and did not contain the national flag, emblem, or anthem of the People's Republic of China. The authors are accused of wanting to "instill separatism in students and incite ethnic hatred, with the end of splitting the motherland".
Victim's status
Serving a 15-year prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Radio Free Asia confirmed the victim's status, first reported by anonymous sources, through several calls to regional offices, with police and government employees confirming the detention.
Yalqun Rozi's status was further confirmed in a government-produced propaganda film - "The Plot Inside the Textbooks" (教科书里面的阴谋) - that covered the alleged crimes of certain Uyghur intellectuals [this has been reported, including by the anonymous sources mentioned above, but no copy is publicly available]. In the film, Rozi appears alongside Sattar Sawut, Tashpolat Teyip, and other prominent scholars. All are wearing prison uniforms and are described as separatists. The film has allegedly been shown to multiple audiences, including all the students and teachers at one Xinjiang middle school.
It is not clear how Kamalturk got the news of his father's arrest and sentence.
CGTN is a government media outlet, with direct access to the relevant information.
Additional information
Coverage and mentions: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/intellectuals-jailed-10102018172605.html https://pen.org/press-release/chinas-targeting-uyghur-scholars-outrageous-abdication-rule-of-law/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/01/china-xinjiang-islam-salman-rushdie-uighur/ https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/2-10172019114859.html https://share.america.gov/china-targets-intellectuals-to-eradicate-uighur-culture/ https://www.ft.com/content/48508182-d426-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/opinion/uighurs-china-camps.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/03/politics/capitol-hill-uyghur-reception/index.html https://newrepublic.com/article/153089/united-states-role-chinas-persecution-uighurs https://www.apnews.com/4f5f57213e3546ab9bd1be01dfb510d3 https://twitter.com/usa_china_talk/status/1108570668382257152 https://www.chinesepen.org/english/pen-international-resolution-on-the-peoples-republic-of-china-2018 https://www.demdigest.org/china-in-danger-of-losing-its-grip-over-tibet-and-xinjiang/ http://www.worldcat.org/identities/np-rozi,%20yalqun/ https://unpo.org/article/21675 https://twitter.com/melissakchan/status/1167090570382196736?lang=en https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/040919_Abbas_Testimony.pdf https://chinese.uhrp.org/article/2024574494 http://wahrheitskaempfer.de/portfolio/yalgun-rozi-china-xinjiang-in-chinesischer-haft https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/08/28/asia-pacific/saga-one-man-textbooks-uighurs-see-chines e-bid-erase-culture/#.XdUs71czbcc change.org petition for his release: https://www.change.org/p/pen-america-free-uyghur-editor-and-writer-yalqun-rozi-from-the-chinese-gove rnment-s-detention
Rushan Abbas mentions the victim in her written testimony: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/040919_Abbas_Testimony.pdf
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
State-media report(s)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlzunwilGM
Almira Muhter: "It was terrifying."
Kadir Memet: "Not an isolated attack."
Reporter: "Not a lone-wolf?"
Kadir Memet: "No."
Adil (Police Officer): "They're in the shadows."
Reporter: "The recruits?"
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "Young people."
Abdul Tursuntohti: "I'm proud of my deeds."
Kadir Memet: "If we didn't, Urumqi would be..."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I'm a 'two-faced' man."
Murat Sheripjan: "Get rid of the 'two-faced'."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "Get them on the right track."
Dilnur Eziz: "I've grown up."
Kadir Memet: "The cost is high."
[Identity unclear]: "A battle without smoke."
=== The War in the Shadows.
A CGTN Production 2021. ======WARNING
The following documentary contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Some footage is released to the public for the first time. Viewer discretion is advised. The terrorist attacks in the documentary are only a small part of the archives.
All interviewees have given permission to use their images. At the request of certain counter-terrorism organizations, the identity of some interviewees has been obscured for security reasons. ===
=== Part One The Networks ===
=== Urumqi ===
Yang Shaoheng (Victim's Family Member): "You see this little courtyard. My father-in-law was always working here... You can see all the tomatoes and peppers he planted."
Reporter: "He really loved life."
Yang Shaoheng: "Yes, he really loved life."
Reporter: "Did he spend a lot of time here every day?"
Yang Shaoheng: "Yes, every day, the whole morning, working in the garden."
Yang Shaoheng: "Whenever I enter the courtyard, I think of him. He left on the morning of May 22nd and never came back..."
[On-screen]: "May 22, 2014, Urumqi. 39 civilians killed, 94 injured."
Yang Shaoheng: "His face was unrecognizable."
Yang Shaoheng: "We'd been together for so long, but I couldn't recognize him."
Narrator: "Police officer 'Adil' says whenever he thinks of the victims, it's hard to take."
[On-screen]: "North Park Street, Urumqi"
Narrator: "This incident keeps torturing him."
Adil (Police Officer): "There were fire engines, ambulances and SWAT teams... Many people were lying on the ground. Smoke was rising from two SUVs."
Yang Shaoheng: "There was a morning market on the street, with fresh produce at reasonable prices." Adil: "I questioned the main suspect. He said they had surveyed the area many times. They thought more deaths guaranteed entering Paradise."
Kadir Memet (Fmr. Deputy Chief, Urumqi Public Security Bureau): "Two off-road vehicles had exploded. Four of the bodies we confirmed to be the suspects."
Kadir Memet: "Look at the aftermath. 39 people died, and over 90 were wounded. It was still very dangerous. There might be a second explosion. Once I arrived, I sensed it must be a terrorist attack."
Reporter: "So it wasn't a lone wolf attack?"
Kadir Memet: "No. Because there were many explosives, one or two persons couldn't have built them. After the Urumqi attack, they had planned something similar in Hotan's Pishan county."
Reporter: "Where did they get the materials?"
Kadir Memet: "They bought potassium permanganate and other chemicals on the internet and produced them. They learned on the internet.”
Reporter: "Was there other evidence?"
Kadir Memet: "Yes, his cellphone. He used a chat app to contact terrorist groups outside China and to download videos. The flags were also taken from Hotan. They hung the flags on top of the vehicles beforehand."
Reporter: "What did this mean?"
Kadir Memet: "It's a statement of their 'jihad'. It was a suicide mission."
---
Reporter: "What stands out in your memory?"
Yang Shaoheng: "They are also human beings, those terrorists. Well... I don't know what they were thinking, either. Didn't they have parents and children at home? How could they be so brutal?"
---
Adil (Police Officer): "We soon caught the main suspect, about six or seven hours later."
Kadir Memet: "After the interrogation, we had a clear picture of the case. The terrorist group headed by Abliz orchestrated the incident."
Adil: "He was so resistant. We explained the state's policies and laws, he just wouldn't listen. I tried to explain it from a religious perspective. He just sat there and looked at me. 'If there had been someone who explained to me about Islam and the Quran like you, I wouldn't have taken part in the terrorist attack'."
Kadir Memet: "They are also victims. Why? Their minds were poisoned by the 'Three Evil Forces'. None of the masterminds committed suicide. They just took control of their minds and instructed them to (undertake suicide attacks) like a death squad. The significance was that it prevented similar incidents from happening."
Narrator: "Kadir Memet is a highly respected veteran of the Public Security Bureau of Urumqi. He has solved numerous cases. He figured out the attacks were part of a region-wide network."
Kadir Memet: "We've come to see the pattern that so many cases of violent terrorism were not isolated. They had unified command and planning. And they had very specific targets."
[On-screen]: "June 21, 2014, Yecheng County. 13 terrorists killed, 3 policemen injured."
Narrator: "Years of investigation have shown Kadir Memet the big picture."
[On-screen]: "February 25, 1997, Urumqi. 9 civilians killed, 68 injured."
Narrator: "He says the terrorists are working in the shadows, forming a vast network."
[On-screen]: "April 30, 2014. 3 killed, 79 injured."
Narrator: "His job is to bring them to light. Extremism ruins lives. Young people are radicalized in various ways."
Almira Muhter: "At first it didn't leave much of an impression on me. There're instructions like 'Only satisfying your mother's wishes ensures a place in Paradise'... Then it gradually moved to 'jihad', martyring oneself to enter Paradise. It was terrifying."
Muhter Kadir (Father of Almira): "She was a very hardworking student, first in her school."
Almira Muhter: "I came to believe the teachings, such as women should stay at home. Then I figured that continued education in college would be the wrong direction, and that I should give up. So I refused to go to college."
Muhter Kadir: "I was so angry. The extremist ideas ruined her."
Almira Muhter: "Back then I longed to live in another country and thought about moving there for the 'jihad'."
Narrator: "In 2012, Almira Muhter was convicted of inciting 'jihad' and extremism online, and other crimes. She was sentenced to 10 years."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "She thought she was correct. She was eager to sacrifice her youth to the so-called 'jihad'."
Almira Muhter: "I thought I was doing the right thing and it didn't count as breaking the law. I'd considered the consequences, but I thought my goal was to wage 'jihad' and I must carry it to the very end. After I entered prison, I was still influenced by such ideas. So I committed more crimes."
Narrator: "In 2018, Almira was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the prison. Her sentence was extended to 2035. Radicalized individuals can be a hard case. Abdul Tursuntohti is serving 9 years for inciting terrorism and other crimes."
Reporter: "Do you still believe you've done nothing wrong or illegal?" Abdul Tursuntohti: "I committed no crime, I'm proud of what I did."
Reporter: "You're willing to kill for Allah?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "If Allah orders, I will even kill my son, to say nothing of infidels."
Reporter: "What is your biggest wish?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "To do Allah's bidding, of course, and enter Paradise to fulfill myself."
Reporter: "What's Paradise like?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "Paradise is a beautiful garden, broader than Heaven and Earth. There are 72 houris for the faithful. There're divine delicacies mortals have never seen, never really appreciated and never heard of. There're double the amount of rewards ever imagined by humans. And it's eternal."
Reporter: "If Paradise is so great, why not go there now?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "The days in prison are the highest test Allah has given me. And it's the best life Allah has given me."
Reporter: "You don't think you're being deceived?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "Rather than regret, I'd leap into fire and burn to death."
Reporter: "Will you change your mind some day?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "When I wake up each morning, I pray 100 times to Allah that I will never change."
=== Urumqi ===
Narrator: "Dilnur Guanfengbao is a police officer. She is also a prison psychological consultant. She says she studies why some young people become easy targets for extremists, and how to bring them back to normal."
Dilnur Guanfengbao (Psychologist): "We find some of the convicts are very obstinate. They fit the anti-social personality profile. It's hard for them to change... Their minds are like alkaline soil, hardened alkaline soil. You can't grow anything there. This group of people craves help but pushes you away at the same time. Their religious fervor pursuit is a psychological distortion. So during the counseling, we keep them company to find the reasons. I will keep bringing him back to reality. He might insist what he's been pursuing was what he needed. We aim to offer them a link. So the counselors offer warmth, which will be internalized. They would learn for the first time that 'I've actually never known myself'."
Reporter: "What are we doing to prevent recidivism?"
Dilnur Guanfengbao: "After he returns to society, his family has to re-understand him and accept him as someone new. Society might have to provide him all kinds of opportunities, in terms of employment, education, and skill training. Our efforts in prison are far from enough for them." ---
Almira Muhter: "Now I truly realize that I had really been an ignorant fool."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "I keep having heart-to-heart talks with her. I try to approach it in terms of feelings and understanding of the law."
Almira Muhter: "I used to think that law was a word far removed from our life."
Bai Fengjie: "I hope even more they will truly transform on the inside."
Almira Muhter: "The Paradise I used to yearn for is a fiction. It's a cancer."
Bai Fengjie: "I think it's necessary to crack down on the dissemination of such misleading information."
Almira Muhter: "I think I failed my mother the most. She had such great expectations of me. I just want to be a good daughter."
Bai Fengjie: "I'm a police officer. But I'm more like a teacher. I want to help these straying children, these students, back on the right track. We shouldn't be afraid that one or two heart-to-heart talks have no effects. We mustn't give up on them. We have to believe they will eventually change."
---
Bai Fengjie: "How's your health recently?"
Almira Muhter: "Really good."
Bai Fengjie: "Did you make the video call?"
Almira Muhter: "Dad was busy. Mom and my brother came. They are both well.
Bai Fengjie: “Keep your confidence up."
Almira Muhter: "Thank you, instructor."
---
Kadir Memet: "Urumqi is the political, economic and cultural center of the autonomous region. The enemy aims their destruction at Urumqi."
Narrator: "Some of the cases have never been made public before."
Kadir Memet: "This is the foiled December 11 terror plot in 2014. They had planned explosions and knife attacks around Urumqi. If it hadn't been stopped, Urumqi could've been... This is a violent terrorist group. It was controlled by a family. Two daughters joined. The father was the leader. Both sons-in-law were part of it. They recruited a dozen more people. They were going to convert a gas cylinder into a bomb. They were going to drive the car into a shopping center."
Reporter: "What is the priority of the crackdown?" Kadir Memet: "Foiling their plans would be..."
Adil (Police Officer): "This is the most difficult."
Reporter: "We've paid such a high price."
Adil: "The biggest challenge is that they're hidden in the dark. They can see our operations. But we can't see their plans. If we go soft, there might be more deaths and suffering."
[On-screen]: "April 23, 2013, Seriqbuya. 15 police officers & community staff killed."
Adil: "So this is a lesson learned from blood."
[On-screen]: "2020 Counter-terrorism Drills. Urumqi Public Security Bureau"
[Footage of counter-terrorism drills plays.]
Kadir Memet: "Urumqi is such a beautiful place. Solidarity and prosperity, that's an Urumqi I'd like to see."
=== Part Two The Enemies Within ===
=== Hotan ===
Narrator: "Hotan was one of the hardest hit by terrorism in Xinjiang. Murat Sheripjan showed us the weaponry seized. He said many young people had been brainwashed. Insiders, dubbed the 'two-faced persons', were able to exploit the system."
Murat Sheripjan (Deputy Director, Hotan Public Security Department): "The infiltration of extremism had taken root. Also, some 'two-faced people' among us were secretly collaborating with them and facilitating their activities. This presentation lists a number of 'two-faced people' once occupying our key positions. A case in point is Shirzat Bawudun. He had been long hidden buried deep in our system as a 'two-faced person'. He created many obstacles in our work. He used to be one of us, and he protected many separatist forces. He finally became an agent for ethnic separatists and terrorists from outside China. He helped them expand their influence."
Shirzat Bawudun (Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Political & Legal Committee, Xinjiang): "All this now feels like a nightmare. It's like a bottomless pit, in which I kept sinking."
=== Shirzat Bawudun Fmr. Director, Public Security Bureau, Moyu County Fmr. Director, United Front Work Department, Urumqi Fmr. Director General, Department of Justice, Xinjiang Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Political & Legal Committee, Xinjiang ===
Narrator: "Shirzat Bawudun became a teacher at the Xinjiang Police College in Urumqi after graduating in 1988. But he applied to return to his hometown in Hotan. Even then he had certain ambitions."
Shirzat Bawudun: "Veteran separatists vigorously promoted their ethnic separatism and religious extremism, which began to spread and take hold. So I decided to go back and see what I could use to do something big."
Narrator: "During a crackdown on terrorists, Shirzat Bawudun was wounded and commended as a 'Counter-terrorism Hero'. For this, in 2001 he became the head of the Moyu County Public Security."
Shirzat Bawudun: "Then I got the position and the power. I had long considered the so-called dream of a country of our own. So I began to get in touch with prominent figures in religious extremism."
Narrator: "Shirzat Bawudun chose Ablajan Bakri."
[On-screen diagram: A photograph of Shirzat Bawudun is shown connected to a photograph of Ablajan Bakri. The word "Egypt" is displayed below the diagram.]
=== Ablajan Bakri Fmr. Imam, Moyu Mosque Fmr. President, Islamic Association, Moyu County Fmr. CPPCC Member, Xinjiang Fmr. Member, China Islamic Association ===
Shirzat Bawudun: "His words and theories all contained religious extremism. I knew many things about it."
Ablajan Bakri: [sic] "I was promoted to the Iman of the Grand Mosque in 2005. At the same time, people started to gossip behind my back. As the Moyu county chief, Shirzat Bawudun used all means to suppress those people to remove the negative comments about me."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I regarded him as an instrument to draw believers to our cause."
Memet Memetimin (Imam, Moyu Mosque): "Ablajan Bakri was the mosque's imam. He used the religious platform to promote extremism. To achieve his own ends, he was distorting the teachings of Islam. I remember when I was small, religious extremism in Moyu was very deep. They said dancing was not allowed; weeping was not allowed at funerals. They even forbade living in government-built housing and using IDs and RMB. Some of the preachers had their own motives. They had parents send their kids to underground madrasas to be indoctrinated. Many young people strayed and became criminals."
Murat Sheripjan: "That kind of fallacy confuses them and drives them to engage in terrorist activities."
Ablajan Bakri: "I believe Shirzat Bawudun had a role in this change."
[On-screen diagram: The photos of Shirzat Bawudun and Ablajan Bakri are connected to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas. The word "Egypt" is displayed below the diagram.] Narrator: "In 2003, Ablajan Bakri introduced Shirzat Bawudun to Tayir Abbas, a key member of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, or ETIM."
=== Tayir Abbas East Turkistan Islamic Movement (Islamic Party of Turkistan) ===
Narrator: "It's been listed as a terrorist organization by the UN since 2002."
=== United Nations Security Council Since 2002, the ETIM has been listed as a terrorist organization by the UN. In 2004, the ETIM changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkistan, or TIP. ===
Narrator: "In 2004, the ETIM changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkistan, or TIP."
Shirzat Bawudun: "He said he mainly worked in tourism over there. And he was in touch with an ETIM (TIP) Egypt branch. I was thinking of Uygurs having a country of our own. I was muddle-headed and stupid."
Narrator: "Connecting with the ETIM (TIP), Shirzat Bawudun took action."
Shirzat Bawudun: "To accomplish anything, you need an economic base."
[On-screen diagram: The photo of Shirzat Bawudun is connected to Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri.]
Shirzat Bawudun: "So I thought about the Ablimit family and recruited the two brothers."
=== Ablimit Ababakri ETIM (TIP) Member ===
=== Abduehet Ababakri ETIM (TIP) Member ===
Abduehet Ababakri: "Shirzat Bawudun told my elder brother he was born in Moyu county. He urged us to invest here. He asked us whether we had any projects needing his support and help."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Now I realized that while he seemed to push us to do business in Moyu, he actually had some other motive, which we weren't aware of."
Narrator: "With the help of Shirzat Bawudun, the two brothers soon made money and their business began to thrive." Ablimit Ababakri: "Of the four companies with which he had financial connections, these three -- real estate, road transport and gas stations, in each firm, Shirzat had a half-million shares. All did good business and paid dividends every year. He could draw funds as needed. That's how it was for a long time."
Narrator: "In 2011, Shirzat Bawudun was appointed Director of the United Front Work Department of Urumqi. Police say he secretly supported the spread of extremism. The same year, he encouraged the brothers to go to Egypt and meet with Tayir Abbas."
[On-screen diagram: A photo of Shirzat Bawudun is linked to photos of Ablajan Bakri, Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri. The latter three photos are linked to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas, next to which the word "Egypt" is displayed.]
Ablimit Ababakri: "In September 2012, my brother told me his wife had a baby there and asked me to come over. Nearly 30 people were there, including Tayir Abbas. One of them said, 'Let us work for Xinjiang's independence, for founding the Islamic Caliphate.' While talking with Abduehet, I found he was on good terms with some members of the group. They were key members of the ETIM (TIP). He wanted to join their organization. I said Tayir Abbas knew Shirzat Bawudun, who knew about the organization. After all, he was a police officer, we should ask Shirzat Bawudun when we got back."
Shirzat Bawudun: [sic] "From what they said, I thought they had found the right people or that organization."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Shirzat said, 'That's right. You should join the organization.'"
Shirzat Bawudun: "They had given more than 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to the ETIM (TIP) people."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Then Shirzat asked how much his half-million shares in the transport firm were worth. I said the shares plus dividends were worth some 1.2 million yuan. He said, 'You give all 1.2 million to Tayir Abbas and the ETIM (TIP) people as operation funding.'"
Shirzat Bawudun: "The two brothers told me they bought a 200-square-meter apartment for me in Cairo. I said I couldn't go and had to wait until I retired, and Tayir Abbas and his people could use it for the time being."
Ablimit Ababakri: "After saying this, he stressed three times, 'What I told you must not be told to a second person and must be kept secret."
Narrator: "In 2013, the ETIM (TIP) had a meeting and brought together some Uygur students. They were planning to send some to join the IS and work for 'jihad'. They were supposed to train for war. When they were ready to return, they could make greater contributions for the next step."
Abduehet Ababakri: "They had to do the ETIM (TIP) 'jihad' training. The aim was to turn these trainees into future successors of the ETIM (TIP)."
[On-screen diagram: A photo of Shirzat Bawudun is linked to photos of Ablajan Bakri, Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri. The latter three photos are linked to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas, next to which the word "Egypt" is displayed.]
Narrator: "Police investigation shows that over 60 Uygur teenagers aged 14-18, have been sent overseas by the two brothers - Ablimit and Abduehet." [On-screen: "Some joined ISIL"]
Narrator: "Some of them have joined the so-called Islamic State group, some have come back to Xinjiang."
[On-screen: "Some came back to Xinjiang"]
Ablimit Ababakri: "They said once Xinjiang was liberated, Shirzat would become the national leader of East Turkistan."
Shirzat Bawudun: "They appointed me the leader of ETIM (TIP) in Xinjiang and after nationhood, I'd be the leader. I was so excited and happy. I was muddle-headed."
Ablimit Ababakri: [sic] "He told us, 'When you work outside China, in China you must keep a low profile and work secretly. Don't draw the attention of public security and learn to be patient. You should wait for the chance.'"
Narrator: "Police say in 2015, during an official visit overseas, Shirzat Bawudun secretly met with key members of the ETIM (TIP) twice. He revealed anti-terrorism information in Xinjiang. And Shirzat Bawudun had his own strategy."
Shirzat Bawudun: "So I only rooted out those units already exposed and left alone those only suspected and being groomed. On the one hand, once they were ready, I'd have targets to strike. On the other hand, I could protect some of them. So the result was repeated strikes which just missed, and the ashes could burn again. After the strike, it's like chive roots. Prune the stalks and leaves, and fresh sprouts grow."
Murat Sheripjan: "Such arrangements gave terrorists an advantage. While we struggled to discover, the terrorists already knew. There was one of their own in our ranks. That's why they could act so boldly."
Ablajan Bakri: "Now I realize that Shirzat Bawudun had been using me all along. He was trying to use me as a front in Moyu to control the local clergy."
Ablimit Ababakri: "We were in a trap. We didn't clearly see Shirzat's true intentions. I should have seen through him earlier, but I didn't, and I didn't have the guts to do it."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I believe I kept it rather clandestine and well concealed. It's not easy to see through these. But one must wake from a dream."
=== Shirzat Bawudun Two-year Suspended Death Sentence Deprived of Political Rights for Life ===
Murat Sheripjan: "We have to first remove the 'two-faced persons' in our ranks. Otherwise, we can never remove the soil for terrorism."
Narrator: "Murat Sheripjan says even the term 'two-faced' doesn't properly describe such persons. They are the enemy, the enemy in the shadows." === Part Three The Textbooks ===
=== Urumqi ===
Narrator: "In 2016, there were reports of errors in the 2003 and 2009 editions of the Uygur-language textbooks for primary and middle schools. An investigation followed. Shehide Yusup, who worked on these textbooks, showed us the problems."
Shehide Yusup (Art Editor, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "These are textbooks published by our company. They contain many errors. I worked on the 2003 editions of the primary school textbooks, mainly in cover design and illustration coloring. Take this graphic for example. The national emblem is that of East Turkistan. It shouldn't appear in textbooks at all. This is the legend of seven heroic Uygur girls. It's all fabricated. Han Chinese soldiers trapped them at a cliff and they jumped to their death to defend their homeland. It's meant to incite ethnic hatred and it will misinform the students."
Shehide Yusup: "That's unimaginable. The mere thought of this would scare me."
=== Sattar Sawut Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Education & Work Committee, Xinjiang Fmr. Director General, Education Department, Xinjiang Fmr. Leader, Basic Education Curriculum Reform Group, Xinjiang ===
Narrator: "An investigation shows that starting in 2002, the then Director General of the Xinjiang Education Department, Sattar Sawut, set up a special group, as a front for criminal activities."
[On-screen diagram: A photograph of Sattar Sawut is shown connected to photographs of Alimjan Memtimin, Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir. The latter two are connected to photos of Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman.]
Narrator: "It included the Deputy Director General of the Education Department, the two consecutive presidents of the Xinjiang Education Publishing House, as well as two editors with radical separatist thoughts."
Sattar Sawut: "The idea was to use the power given by the Party and the people to spread our ethnic chauvinist sentiments and extremist errors among more Uygurs. It was meant to control their minds, influence them in childhood in order to turn them into separatists. In 2003, new Uygur-language textbooks were scheduled to be compiled for primary and middle schools. I was head of the Xinjiang Basic Education Curriculum Reform Group. So I saw an opportunity. I assigned Alimjan Memtimin and Abdurazaq Sayim to the project."
[Photographs of Alimjan Memtimin, Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir are displayed on-screen.]
Sattar Sawut: "I had several meetings with them and instructed them about compiling the textbooks." Abdurazaq Sayim (Fmr. President, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "He said the textbooks were an excellent opportunity and it should proceed as we meant it to. It could help groom our 'successors'. So I picked Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman, who were quite persuasive, to join the committee. I instructed them to include more content on 'ethnic oppression' in the textbooks, mainly 'woeful tales' about the past. I asked them to add more Turkic heroes, especially those revolting against the state for independence."
[Photographs of Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman are displayed on-screen.]
Alimjan Memtimin (Fmr. Deputy Director General, Xinjiang Education Department): "Such textbooks would be approved and issued to all schools and allow many teachers to elaborate and incite ethnic hatred and such thoughts."
Narrator: "When Tahir Nasir succeeded Abdurazaq Sayim as president of the publishing house, he continued the editorial policy."
[Photographs of Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir are displayed on-screen.]
Tahir Nasir (Fmr. President, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "When Sattar and Alimjan approached me and proposed that the new textbooks should push religious extremism, my mind was excited and clear about the meaning."
Shehide Yusup: "The art director is supposed to handle all the visuals. But in making the 2003 and 2009 textbooks, the editors intervened quite a lot."
Suriya Mirhadam (Editor, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "For the 2003 and 2009 textbooks, Wahitjan Osman and Yalqun Rozi were responsible for text content. They simultaneously served as text editors, publishing editors, and initial and final proofreaders. Exercising such authority violates publishing protocol. Their superiors arranged it. They put it into practice."
Narrator: "Police say Sattar Sawut acted unilaterally to determine textbook content. Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman were instructed to fabricate separatist material for the 2003 and 2009 textbooks."
Alimjan Memtimin: "The primary school Uygur textbooks are full of 'Pan-Islamism' and 'Pan-Turkism'. The historical figures in them were meant to encourage the kids to seek their cultural origins and roots from outside China."
Suriya Mirhadam: "The 2003 and 2009 textbooks contain a lot of gore, violence, terrorism and separatism. By distorting historical facts, they wanted to instill separatism in students and incite ethnic hatred, with the end of splitting the motherland."
Shehide Yusup: "As guidance for students, such textbooks would obscure and undermine their sense of national identity; also the students would be exposed to 'Pan-Islamism' and 'Pan-Turkism'."
Suriya Mirhadam: "Textbooks should include the national flag, emblem and anthem. But these textbooks had none."
Narrator: "Investigation found a large quantity of material inciting extremism was included in the textbooks. From 2004, these textbooks were used region-wide for 13 years."
Shehide Yusup: "They were using such textbooks from primary school through junior high. So the insidious effects must be enduring. Some might be led astray and even led to commit crimes."
Sattar Sawut: "Many participants in the July 5 Incident and following terrorist attacks had used our textbooks. I think we had ruined these children."
=== Atikem Rozi Born: April 1991 Four-year sentence ===
Atikem Rozi: "When I was in junior high school, I learned some things from the textbooks. I also got the idea of doing something, too."
Kadir Memet: "The 'Three Evil Forces' have been trying to infiltrate our ideological sectors such as education, culture and religion. They've never given up. The sustained increase in terrorism in recent years is closely linked to such efforts."
Narrator: "Kadir Memet says the greatest danger often comes from the enemy within."
Alimjan Memtimin: "I am a double-dealing 'two-faced man'."
=== Sattar Sawut Two-year Suspended Death Sentence Deprived of Political Rights for Life ===
=== Alimjan Memtimin Life Sentence ===
=== Abdurazaq Sayim Life Sentence ===
=== Tahir Nasir Life Sentence ===
Narrator: "The war in the shadows is being fought on many fronts. Kadir Memet says ideology is only one of the battlegrounds. Suriya Mirhadam was responsible for editing part of the new editions of the 2019 and 2020 textbooks."
Suriya Mirhadam: "This is Part One of the first grade's Uygur-language textbook. Here's the national emblem, and the national flag, and the statement 'We are Chinese'. Here is the flag-raising ceremony."
Narrator: "Suriya Mirhadam says the Kazak- and Kirgiz-language textbooks have the same content." Reporter: "What are we telling the students with these pictures?"
Suriya Mirhadam: "They should know that they are citizens of the People's Republic of China, that Xinjiang is an inalienable part of the motherland. The textbooks are meant to keep students from separatism and ensure they have a sound mind so they can serve their family, their society and their nation."
=== Part Four The Black Hands ===
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "The internet is truly a battlefield without the smoke. I'm a special ops soldier. I identify and neutralize the threats, so youngsters won't be misled. I wipe the propaganda from the internet. I think our work is very meaningful. The violent ETIM (TIP) audios and videos have a domestic target, especially in Xinjiang, with specific purposes. The groups they try to recruit are mainly young people. Terrorist audios and videos are often well-concealed. They use special packaging, like encryption. And they use covert channels to transfer and share the content. Some are camouflaged, so to say. It looks like a regular video, but when it reaches a specific point, it will switch to terrorist content."
Narrator: "'Abduweli' has been working at the Xinjiang Internet Information Office since it was established in 2013. From his experience, the online materials are categorized as preaching, training, making weaponry, and specific groups like women and students."
Abduweli: "For a time after 2008, about ten each year on average. Since 2012, there has been an increase, with 200 to 300 each year."
Mirzat (Police Officer): "The terrorist audios and videos actually serve as their initial approach. It resembles a pyramid scheme in a way. It tries to brainwash its audience repeatedly. If the brainwashing succeeds, people will join the violent terrorist activities. Such activities aim to cause maximal impact at minimal cost, that is, maximal destruction. That's their aim."
Narrator: "The fight against the criminal activities to spread radicalization materials has been going on for some 20 years. Police officer 'Mirzat' says nearly 90 percent of young people participating in terror attacks have watched such products. The main sources are from outside of China, mostly from the ETIM (TIP)."
Mirzat: "The terrorist content often wraps itself in religion and conceals its ulterior motive through such pretense. The observation and analysis in recent years indicate that the content has been produced by professional teams. They used to distribute the content at specific websites. But now they are using regular social media apps and point-to-point messaging apps. The storage devices are mostly hard disks. Other common devices are flash drives, storage cards, smartphones, tablets and so on."
Mirzat: "Here are the storage devices we seized in 2014 and 2015; they were all used to store terrorist audio and video."
Reporter: "Where did the content come from?"
Mirzat: "They were all downloaded from outside China." Mirzat: "These are some CD-ROMs. All the content promotes violent terrorism."
Narrator: "Young people have always been the key recruitment targets."
Abduweli Heber: "They showed us ETIM (TIP) members doing physical training and making explosive devices. They asked us to join the ETIM (TIP). And they urged us to learn the skills so that we could use them some day. That is, after returning to Xinjiang, we could carry out 'jihad' and 'hejiras'."
Narrator: "Dolqun Yalqun went abroad for an advanced degree. While there, he became involved with a terrorist organization, the ETIM (TIP). In 2019, Dolqun was sentenced to 7 years for inciting terrorism and other crimes."
Dolqun Yalqun: "My thinking was gradually eaten away. I began to regard people with no religious faith as infidels. I now think the ideological damage is even greater. The philosophical influence can be gradual and subtle. Once I was taken in by such religious extremism, the pursuit of my life goals shifted to those of religious faith. I began to seek self-fulfillment in this regard. I felt all I'd done was worthless."
Reporter: "How can you help them change?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I can explain my current thinking to them, and this will inspire them to think for themselves. Through these lessons and examples, people can re-establish their hopes for a future life."
Narrator: "Girls were also recruited."
Dilnur Eziz: "They were all like me. At first it's just curiosity, and then only going to the Quran lectures. It was a steady trickle of indoctrination. At first I thought nothing of it, but just felt the inside atmosphere was off, everyone wearing black. Watching videos, then training, then going to do stuff in some countries, like this, like that."
Mother of Dilnur: "I never regret she came back."
Reporter: "And if you hadn't come back?"
Dilnur Eziz: "I don't know where I would be."
Mother of Dilnur: "She was quite a handful, but very smart and sweet."
Dilnur Eziz: "At first I hated myself for going there. Then I came to learn enough to conclude that they had ulterior motives. Otherwise it wouldn't be free. At first they sweet-talked me, then they told me you must wear this and must do that. I think if I had stayed there for a long time, I could possibly become like those others."
Mother of Dilnur: "I hate them. They led my daughter astray."
Dilnur Eziz: "I feel deceived and used. I hate them so much."
Mother of Dilnur: "Whenever she could call, she said 'Mom, I miss you and want to go home soon.'"
Dilnur Eziz: "I regret it very much."
--- Reporter: "What's the greatest meaning in life?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "It is to walk the right path and realize one's value. I think this is also what the Quran says. People should do good works, deal with others harmoniously."
Reporter: "Do you dare face this matter (when made public)?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I can totally face this. I've made mistakes, and I don't want to see more people follow my example."
Reporter: "You're not afraid this will have a negative influence on you?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I'm not afraid."
---
Abduweli Heber: "When I sleep at night, I always dream about them. I dream about dinner with my family and a happy life. I dream about playing with my younger brothers. I really miss hearing them call me 'Brother, Brother'. I also want to go back to study and have fun with my friends. Although I want all this very much, I've committed a crime and these chances can never come back."
Mother of Dilnur: "I hate those who took her away. If they hadn't done that, we would be having a normal life."
Dilnur Eziz: "I'm sorry for them."
Mother of Dilnur: "[She could be at home] helping me and talking with me."
Dilnur Eziz: "Her beloved daughter has grown up. I know I was wrong."
Narrator: "Lawmakers also grapple with cause and effect."
Li Juan (Chairperson, Legal Affairs Committee, People's Congress of Xinjiang): "Among the Measures for Implementation of the Counter-Terrorism Law for Xinjiang, Section 7 is about educational management. Articles 38 and 39 provide for the establishment of vocational training centers and their training content and methods. They serve as a solid legal basis."
Li Juan: "These are common practices in many other countries. We've seen such measures adopted in Singapore and Britain. They all use such practices in educating people misled by extremist thinking, including vocational training centers. It's an international practice. It's about how to educate and rectify."
Li Juan: "The Autonomous Region also enacted the Internet Security Regulations. Online dissemination of violent content, especially incitement, are our crackdown priority."
Reporter: "What if some internet companies don't follow the rules?"
Li Juan: [sic] "Then we will hold them accountable. When we saw some young people carry out violent crimes and being charged, we felt they were actually victims. They were victims of those who incited them. They themselves didn't commit terrorism but they incited others. So it was based on the harm to society, China's Criminal Law stipulates that we hold you responsible for the making and dissemination of violent terrorist audio and video materials. Even if we block violent terrorist content, terrorism and extremism will not cease and they will try to find new ways. Terrorism is one of their methods. So I believe the challenge will remain for a long time."
Mirzat (Police Officer): "The challenges are more likely from outside China. The invisible hand of incitement from outside China has always been trying to mislead our people."
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "Now we're focusing on identifying the source of terrorist content and taking targeted measures. When such content appears on internet platforms, we can find it as early as possible and then block it."
Mirzat: "We used to watch a number of spots, but now we're covering the whole picture. We have to cut off the paths by which terrorist content enters our country."
Abduweli: "We should work with other countries regarding the sources, including national security cooperation. Through such cooperation we can curb the terrorist organizations' living space. As long as terrorist organizations are out there, we can't relent in cracking down on such audio and video content."
Mirzat: "The ultimate goal is to uproot extremism and leave it no soil to grow back. That is the way to solve the problem effectively."
Kadir Memet: "Four years without violent terrorism. This is a preliminary victory of our previous work. It's hard won."
Adil (Police Officer): "I have two kids. But in a year, I have to be away for some 300 days. Why? Because the duty on our shoulders is so heavy. I hope more police officers' kids can have more time with their fathers."
Narrator: "'Adil's' greatest hope is to walk out of the War in the Shadows... in a safe and secure Xinjiang."
[Credits begin. A propaganda song about Xinjiang plays to clips from various state media documentaries.]
=== Special thanks to: The China Society for Human Rights Studies The Xinjiang Development Research Center The Public Security Department of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ===
Supplementary materials
Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbN-yF5d2QU Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgg5nlgs5rc Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlzunwilGM Testimony 6: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/kamalturk.yalqun/videos/ 2195899097158829/&show_text=1&width=300 photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_4.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_5.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_6.jpg photo (4): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_7.jpg photo with son (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_8.jpg photo with son (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_9.jpg biography (written by relatives): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_10.pdf photo (5): https://shahit.biz/supp/965_11.jpg TV show appearance: https://shahit.biz/supp/965_12.jpg photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_965.png
Entry created: 2018-12-02 Last updated: 2021-05-19 Latest status update: 2021-08-07 984. Nurmambet Osmon
Chinese ID: 65302319770412??O? (Akchi)
Basic info
Age: 42 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (13 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2|3: Seiitbek Isa, originally from Akchi Township in Kizilsu Prefecture, but now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (relative)
Testimony 4: Bubuazhar Orozobai, originally from Akchi Township in Kizilsu Prefecture, but now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (niece)
Testimony 5*: Almambet Osmon, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother)
Testimony 6: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 7: Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, a Kyrgyzstan grassroots movement that existed briefly in late 2018 and early 2019.
About the victim
Nurmambet Osmon was a TV reporter, editor, cameraman, and poet from Kizilsu's Aqchi County, where he worked for the local TV station.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
In the summer of 2016. At least one of the video testimonies gives his arrest date as June 2016. His brother Almambet reports it as July, saying that he was hastily sentenced to 13 years in proceedings that took less than a month, with his family threatened into signing a statement that they agreed with the sentence.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Almambet, the charge wasn't clear. An RFA report from August 2017 has a source claiming that he was sentenced on vague religious charges, however.
Victim's status
Presumably serving a 13-year sentence, but his relatives have had no news of him since the sentencing.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Presumably through relatives in the region, especially as this happened in 2016.
Additional information
Mentioned in an RFA report (https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/kyrgyz-08212017162912.html):
"The businessman gave several examples of Kyrgyz in Xinjiang who received harsh punishments for so-called religious violations, including a herder named Abu Talip that was sentenced to 17 years for “growing a beard” and a television reporter from Kizilsu’s Akchi (in Chinese, Akeqi) county who received 13 years for “praying.”"
This victim is also included in the list provided by the Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz: http://shahit.biz/supp/list_001.pdf
Victims among relatives
Sulaiman Orozobai (995), Oruunqan Osmon (3863), Malik Masmakun (991), Gulshaiyr Sultan (992), Amantur Malik (901), Aidarbek Osmon (997), Orozobai Mamaizhuma (3864), Almambet Kadyrkul (998)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nsoi7bLMC0 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQryhhwNPVg Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXrT3IfvL7A Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/984_3.mp3 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/984_4.jpeg
Entry created: 2018-12-04 Last updated: 2020-07-24 Latest status update: 2019-07-04 995. Sulaiman Orozobai (苏莱曼·肉孜巴衣)
Chinese ID: 653023198504290019 (Akchi)
Basic info
Age: 34 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: Kizilsu Status: sentenced (5 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Jusup Malik, an ethnic Kyrgyz from China and now citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 4: Bubuazhar Orozobai, originally from Akchi Township in Kizilsu Prefecture, but now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (sister)
Testimony 5: Seiitbek Isa, originally from Akchi Township in Kizilsu Prefecture, but now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (relative)
Testimony 6: Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, a Kyrgyzstan grassroots movement that existed briefly in late 2018 and early 2019.
Testimony 7: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Sulaiman Orozobai was a successful businessman from Kizilsu's Aqchi County.
Address: 125 South Main Street, Akchi County, Xinjiang (新疆阿合奇县南大街125号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
According to his sister, he was detained in 2016.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Jusup, the reason for the sentence is unclear, but it is believed that he was arrested for having visited Kyrgyzstan. His sister, Bubuazhar, believes it likely that he was arrested simply for being a prominent member of society.
Victim's status
In principle, he should be serving his 5-year sentence. However, his relatives in Kyrgyzstan are worried as they've been unable to get any news of him recently.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through relatives in the region.
Additional information
This victim has been reported in the list provided by the Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, available at: http://shahit.biz/supp/list_001.pdf
Victims among relatives
Nurmambet Osmon (984), Oruunqan Osmon (3863), Malik Masmakun (991), Gulshaiyr Sultan (992), Amantur Malik (901), Aidarbek Osmon (997), Orozobai Mamaizhuma (3864), Almambet Kadyrkul (998)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_XRt_feBTY Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwU_gTJUSlo Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0Ri46SrTQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXrT3IfvL7A Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWH0U0uucg4 Voxpot coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQcfjHpTfbM from sister's video petition: https://shahit.biz/supp/995_6.png Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/995_7.png
Entry created: 2018-12-04 Last updated: 2020-08-02 Latest status update: 2019-06-18 997. Aidarbek Osmon
Chinese ID: 6530231968??????O? (Akchi)
Basic info
Age: 51-52 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (13 years) When problems started: Oct. 2018 - Dec. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Jusup Malik, an ethnic Kyrgyz from China and now citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (relative)
Testimony 4: Almambet Osmon, a publisher and intellectual, originally from Akchi County but now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (brother)
Testimony 5: Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, a Kyrgyzstan grassroots movement that existed briefly in late 2018 and early 2019.
About the victim
Aidarbek Osmon was a teacher and a poet. From 1988, he worked as a Chinese-language teacher at township-level schools in the Qarabulaq and Qarachi townships, as well as at the county-level middle school. He also served as a school principal, and retired in 2010.
Address: Akchi County, Kizilsu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Some earlier testimonies (from late 2018) had claimed that he was detained in 2016, but - following clarification - it seems that this was largely speculative and done as part of a batch testimony for multiple detained Kyrgyz.
More recently, his brother clarified that he was arrested in around late 2018, and in April 2019 was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
--- Victim's status
Serving a 13-year prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The victim's brother learned the news of his arrest and sentence through contacts in China.
Additional information
This victim is also included in the list provided by the Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz: http://shahit.biz/supp/list_001.pdf
Victims among relatives
Nurmambet Osmon (984), Sulaiman Orozobai (995), Oruunqan Osmon (3863), Malik Masmakun (991), Gulshaiyr Sultan (992), Amantur Malik (901), Orozobai Mamaizhuma (3864), Almambet Kadyrkul (998)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_XRt_feBTY Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwU_gTJUSlo Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0Ri46SrTQ Testimony 4: https://shahit.biz/supp/997_4.png photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/997_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-04 Last updated: 2020-07-22 Latest status update: 2020-07-22 1069. Omerjan Hesen (吾买尔江·艾山)
Chinese ID: 652926196502????O? (Bay)
Basic info
Age: 51-52 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: in custody When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred", "separatism" Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party
Testimony 1: XJ Discipline Inspection Commission, a government body charged with, among other things, finding Party officials who have breached Party discipline.
Testimony 2|3: Memet Qari, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relative of friend)
Testimony 4: World Uyghur Congress, an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups.
About the victim
Omerjan Hesen, also known as "Bozqir", was an Uyghur journalist, writer, and webmaster. From 1989 to 2003, Hesen worked as a translator, editor, and communications department deputy director for Aksu Television and the Aksu Bureau of Radio and Television. In 2003, he started working for the "China Nationality Unity" magazine as its Xinjiang regional assistant editor. Hesen has published numerous essays and short stories, and was the administrator of the popular Uyghur-language website and discussion forum, "Bozqir". His most recent position was as deputy director of the Urban Greenery Office in Aksu Prefecture's forestry bureau.
Victim's location
Aksu Prefecture Detention Center (阿克苏地区看守所).
When victim was detained
According to Memet Qari, Omerjan was detained in March 2016.
On May 31, 2016, it was announced that the Discipline Inspection Commission had begun their investigation of him, with his Party membership being revoked. He was also removed from his position at the forestry bureau for “violating Party discipline”.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
He was accused of publishing articles that harmed the Party and the government's policies, violating Party discipline by publishing an unofficial history of Xinjiang, spreading harmful information, defaming the Communist Party and government, and sabotaging ethnic unity and social stability.
Memet Qari mentions that Omerjan's case is also connected to that of the former's son, Tursunjan Memet. A paper that Omerjan Hesen published on Misranim (managed by Tursunjan Memet) was seen as "instigating ethnic hatred and separatism".
Victim's status
Detained.
[The World Uyghur Congress has reported that he has been sentenced to 15 years, but it is not clear what the source of the information is, and whether or not it might be a mistake.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The Discipline Inspection Commission is an official government source.
Memet Qari knew of Omerjan's case because it was closely linked to that of his son, to which he was an eyewitness.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia Coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/authorities-detain-uyghuer-web-masters-and-writers-in-chinas- xinjiang-06132016153910.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/chinese-authorities-turn-02032017141629.html https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/uyghurs-06012016103537.html
World Uyghur Congress entry: https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/omerjan-hasan-hesen/
Entry by Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org/data/people/omerjan-hasan/
Entry by the Uyghur Human Rights Project: https://uhrp.org/news/authorities-detain-uyghur-web-masters-and-writers-china%E2%80%99s-xinjiang
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://shahit.biz/supp/1069_1.jpeg
Entry created: 2018-12-06 Last updated: 2021-02-17 Latest status update: 2017-02-03 1185. Ehmetjan Jume
Chinese ID: 653121197405????O? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 46-47 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|"extremism", "problematic" literature Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Memetjan Jume, as reported by New York Times. (brother)
Testimony 2: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3|4: Memetjan Jume, deputy director of Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service. (brother)
Testimony 5: Yasin Eshmet, originally from Shayar County, now residing in Turkey. (former student)
Testimony 6: Nathan, a participant in the Silk Road Peace Project. (relation unclear)
Testimony 7: Abduweli Ayup, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (friend)
Testimony 8: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 9: Memetjan Jume, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Ehmetjan Jume graduated from Kashgar University, where he majored in political science. He later became a teacher of comparative literature at the Konasheher No. 1 High School in Kashgar, as well as the academic director there, in addition to teaching at the Mahmudie language school in Urumqi.
He had written such high-school textbooks as "The World and I", "History and I", and "Society and I". He also translated Chinese books into Uyghur and wrote articles. At the time of his detention, he was working on an Uyghur translation of Khaled Housseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns".
He is married and has an underage son.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.] When victim was detained
He was first arrested in 2006, while his brother, Memetjan Jume, was in the US for a leadership training workshop. He was allegedly tortured and beaten during this time, spending a month in detention and being released after colleagues from his school and the education bureau advocated on his behalf.
He was detained again from July 2009 to November 2009, for going to the US embassy not long after the July 5 incident to get a US visa. Again, he was released following advocacy from his colleagues.
More recently, he was detained in May 2017, spending two years at a camp in Opal Township [presumably the facility in the industrial park, as there do not appear to be others], before being sentenced to around 14 years in prison in 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
It is strongly suspected that his recent detention is related to his being the brother of Memetjan Juma, a journalist working for Radio Free Asia.
According to a local police officer, he was arrested and sentenced because of an "extremist book" that was found in his home.
Victim's status
Sentenced.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not clear how friends and relatives abroad learned about Ehmetjan's detention.
The police officer who spoke to Radio Free Asia presumably had relatively direct knowledge of the case, however.
Additional information
Mentioned by the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/world/asia/china-xinjiang-rfa.html
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/brother-05032021182707.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR029
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Mentioned in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
Victims among relatives Abduqadir Jume (1184)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q2vQ8nUlvM Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/NewsMemet/status/1133790804546396162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/NewsMemet/status/1264019731742445572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/yasinsahyar/status/1264320834946170881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1185_1.png photo with father and brother: https://shahit.biz/supp/1185_5.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-10 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-03 1225. Aitugan Turlan (艾托安·托尔兰)
Chinese ID: 654126197510251914 (Mongghulkure)
Basic info
Age: 45 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Ili Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion Health status: --- Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Kulan Turlan, born in 1977, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (sister)
Testimony 2|3|4|8|9: Aitalim Beisenbai, born in 1980, now resides in Kazakhstan. (cousin)
Testimony 5|6|10|11|12: Aqan Turlan, born in 1980, now resides in Kazakhstan. (brother)
Testimony 7: Sakem Bolpan, born in 1962, is now a resident of Kazakhstan. (uncle)
Testimony 13: Ershat Asanqadyr, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (from same town/region)
Testimony 14: Aitalim Beisenbai, as reported by National Public Radio. (cousin)
About the victim
Aitugan Turlan is a Chinese citizen from the 76th production corps in Mongolkure County. He worked in the Qarasu village government office and was responsible for the village's religious affairs from 2011 to March 2018. He's a graduate of Tarim University, and had worked for the government for a total of 18 years.
Residential address: 32 Liberation Road, Tasarna Village, Qarasu Township, Mongolkure County, Xinjiang (新疆昭苏县喀拉苏乡塔什尔那解放路32号).
Victim's location
[Presumably in Ili.]
When victim was detained
He was detained by police on March 5, 2018 at around 1 (not clear if afternoon or night), in front of his wife and child.
On October 10, 2018, he was transferred to another camp, where - according to what the testifier's heard - he's been [forced to work as] an instructor/teacher.
There are some reports that he may have been sentenced since.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The testifiers have heard of a number of accusations against him, all of which essentially relate to his work in the religious affairs office.
According to one accusation, he had allocated more land than was required for the construction of a local mosque, adding 20 square meters above the quota. According to another accusation, he was guilty of having appointed an imam who would, at one point, officiate the marriage of a 16-year-old girl at a mosque.
Victim's status
He appears to still be in detention, though it's not clear what type exactly, as there have been some reports of him being sentenced to 2-3 years.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated, though it is mentioned that Aitugan's father frequently relays messages through others, telling the testifiers to stop appealing.
Additional information
Mentioned in National Public Radio report: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/764153179/china-has-begun-moving-xinjiang-muslim-detainees-to-form al-prisons-relatives-say
Mentioned in Voices on Central Asia: https://voicesoncentralasia.org/between-hope-and-fear-stories-of-uyghur-and-kazakh-muslim-minorities-i n-the-xinjiang-province/
The phone number of the village administration office where the victim used to work: 869996238003.
On January 24, 2019, at 4:02 in the afternoon, Aitalim got a phone call from the Chinese consulate in Almaty, with the caller introducing himself as Erbolat and asking if Aitalim had appealed for his relatives. Aitalim was invited to come to the consulate, but refused, saying that they could answer his request through the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5V6tQxNoRI Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKZWnJq2q1I Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ld5WNBTVok Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rh2bAC762I Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnkRDptGvSE Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COUFL9zUFDE Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdWA_cmZOMA Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjo3smtNal4 Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tnUuCynmRw Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSc0gkVfqyE Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIRMNwamGOE Testimony 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAcqlyPHhQ4 Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1225_11.png relatives with victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1225_14.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-11 Last updated: 2020-02-10 Latest status update: 2021-02-27 1240. Shattyq Daulet (恰特合·达吾列提)
Chinese ID: 654122198812021013 (Chapchal)
Basic info
Age: 32 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (19 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred", "disturbing public order" Health status: critical Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Erqanat Beisen, born in 1986, is a Kazakhstan citizen as of 2017. (cousin)
Testimony 3|4|7|11: Baqytqan Qurmanali, a resident of Kazakhstan. (aunt)
Testimony 5: Adilhan Izbasar, born in 1976, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (relative of friend)
Testimony 6: Alia Beksultan, now a Kazakhstan citizen. She moved to Kazakhstan in 2015. (relative of friend)
Testimony 8: Official right-to-legal-counsel notice, sent by a local procuratorate to inform the prosecuted party of their right to seek legal counsel.
Testimony 9: Official indictment, issued by a procuratorate and charging a given person(s) with an offense.
Testimony 10: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (aunt)
Testimony 12: Anonymous, as reported by Amnesty International. (relative)
About the victim
Shattyq Daulet ran a small phone-repair business. He is married, and has a son and daughter.
Residential address: Yard No. 452, No. 8 Company, No. 68 Corps, Chapchal County.
ID address: House No. 56, No. 8 Company, No. 67 Corps, Jirenbulaq Municipality, Chapchal County (察布查尔锡伯自治县捷仁布拉克镇67团8连56号).
Victim's location
A prison in Kuytun. [Presumably Kuytun Prison.] When victim was detained
In one of the testimonies, the victim's aunt reports his detention as being in April 2017. [However, this is likely an error, as in a later testimony she reports it as April 2018. There is also a local media article praising the victim in June 2017, which would be unlikely to be published if he was already detained by then.]
The initial detention seems to have taken place on February 12, 2018. The victim was released on bail then, but appears to have been detained again in April, before being formally arrested on May 5, 2018, but released on bail again the next day. On May 7, 2018, he was notified by the Ghulja Reclamation Area People's Procuratorate that they had received the public security bureau's case materials and were starting the review and prosecution process (notifying him of his right to attorney).
His aunt has reported that he was later given a 19-year prison term.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His aunt has listed attending Friday prayers (even though he's not religious), helping people in need, and visiting Turkistan in Kazakhstan as all being possible reasons for his arrest.
In her testimony for a large number of people who were all detained together for attending the birthday party of imam Nauryzbai Izbasar's daughter, Alia Beksultan lists Shattyq as being one of the detainees. Shattyq's aunt adds that he was arrested together with 16 other couples present, the group being accused of having illegal connections to Kazakhstan and Shattyq being accused of sponsoring this group.
In the official notice from the local procuratorate, it is stated that he and 6 others are charged with "inciting ethnic hatred, inciting ethnic discrimination, and gathering a crowd to disturb social order" (煽动民族仇恨、民族歧视、聚众扰乱社会秩序罪). In the indictment, it says that he was detained on the suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb social order".
Victim's status
Presumably serving a 19-year prison term. [There is also a likelihood of his being subjected to forced labor, as this practice has been documented at the Kuytun Prison.]
He suffers from a serious illness, having first been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (慢性髓性白血病) by the Bingtuan No. 4 Agricultural Division Hospital on October 27, 2014, and being transferred to the No. 1 Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University for 8 days on November 7, 2014. In 2017, he went to Beijing twice for in-hospital treatment, but ultimately could not afford it and had to give it up midway. The illness recurred on April 10, 2018, with him being admitted to the No. 1 Affiliated Hospital for treatment (prior to being arrested).
Relatives were initially allowed to visit him in prison once a month, but following the COVID-19 pandemic only sporadic calls were allowed.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not clear how his aunt and others in Kazakhstan learned about the detention [presumably through contacts in Xinjiang]. The procuratorate notice and indictment come from official sources, however.
Additional information
Baqytqan mentions that the local authorities have started pressuring the victim's relatives following her video appeals.
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-04022020072302.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR004
Business listing for his phone-repair shop: http://archive.is/iYo4A
A local media report praising him: http://archive.is/PDoXx
Nauryzbai Izbasar's entry (for more details about the incident): https://shahit.biz/eng/viewentry.php?entryno=379
Court verdict
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/verori_46.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/vertran_46.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/verview.php?no=46
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_7.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_7.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=7
Victims among relatives
Saltanat Beisen (1241)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z0yJhOTofg Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGOKMvtwCjY Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fg2L7EwLjA Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD8PHpDM3wg Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wx_u8S1TFs Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECwKpbmejRE Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWAivmR7NDI Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BzI5MRWRO0 Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1240_5.png medical results: https://shahit.biz/supp/1240_9.png
Entry created: 2018-12-12 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 1252. Memetjan Abdulla (买买提·阿布都拉)
Chinese ID: 6502??19770921??O? (Karamay)
Basic info
Age: 41 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|other Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous letter, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (friend)
Testimony 2: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3: China Central Television, the predominant state-owned television network in Mainland China.
Testimony 4: Rights Protection Network (维权网), a Chinese blog covering rights abuses in China.
Testimony 5: Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an independent agency of the U.S. government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People's Republic of China.
About the victim
Memetjan Abdulla worked for 8 years as a journalist for the China National Radio Uyghur-language service. In his free time, he also worked for the Uyghur website "Salqin".
Victim's location
Wusu Prison.
When victim was detained
Detained in mid-July 2009, following the 7-5 incident in Urumqi. He was sentenced to life on April 1, 2010, in Urumqi, following a closed trial.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Charged with instigating the 7-5 Urumqi incident, for having allegedly translated a call that was issued by the World Uyghur Congress and that called on Uyghurs to protest against the Shaoguan incident in their respective countries. He published the translation on Salqin. Victim's status
Serving a lifelong prison sentence.
[Because the Zhongxin LLC (乌苏众鑫农工贸有限责任公司) operates out of Wusu Prison (http://archive.is/RbYxM), there is the likelihood of the victim being subjected to forced labor.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
One of the anonymous sources who spoke to Radio Free Asia says that they attended the trial.
China Central Television, which confirmed Memetjan's sentence and portrayed him as a criminal in its documentary, is a state media outlet with direct access to all required information.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/journalist-12212010162519.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/sentence-08082010190802.html
Mentioned in EU joint motion for a resolution: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-8-2018-0460_EN.pdf
Mention in German media: https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article175943585/FreeThemAll-Memetjan-Abdulla-China-Uigure-und- Journalist.html
Mentioned in CECC article: https://www.cecc.gov/publications/commission-analysis/uyghur-political-prisoners-mehbube-ableshs-and -abdulghani
His friend's blog entry, written in support of Memetjan: https://archive.is/rgCqY
Chinese PEN entry: https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/1623
He is also mentioned in a long list of victims compiled by the Rights Protection Network: https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2019/08/201983147-1040_48.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3 (1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a0kN7E4GlA Testimony 3 (2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaObRk6h7jY Testimony 3 (3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlg6sI7-3qA photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1252_1.png on state media: https://shahit.biz/supp/1252_2.jpg press card: https://shahit.biz/supp/1252_6.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1252_7.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-12 Last updated: 2021-05-31 Latest status update: 2019-08-31 1255. Tursunjan Memet (吐尔逊江·买买提)
Chinese ID: 65280119????????O? (Korla)
Basic info
Age: 18-35 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: in custody When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred", "separatism" Health status: --- Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Memet Qari, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (father)
About the victim
Tursunjan Memet was an active blogger and one of the chief administrators for the popular Uyghur-language website "Misranim".
Address: Shanghu Village, Shanghu Township, Korla City, Bayingolin Prefecture.
Victim's location
Detained in Aksu [most likely at the Aksu Prefecture Detention Center].
When victim was detained
On March 29, 2016, six plainclothes police officers entered Tursunjan's home in Korla, confiscated his desktop computer and some of his books, and arrested him. He was initially held in Aksu, but was reportedly transferred to a railway detention center in Urumqi. Then he was transferred back to Aksu and held at the Aksu Prefecture Pre-Trial Detention Center. In February 2017, it was reported that the Aksu police had denied the victim's mother a visit.
The police told Tursunjan's father not to speak of his son's arrest to anyone, even close relatives. At the time of his arrest, Tursunjan's mother was terminally ill. All requests for her to speak to her son were denied, with Aksu police telling Tursunjan's father: "Your son is a political prisoner. He is accused of the crime of instigating ethnic hatred and separatism. None of your family members, not even your sick wife, can meet or speak with your son until he is taken to trial."
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Tursunjan's family received an official letter of arrest, which allegedly read: "Tursunjan Memet, 25, from Korla City, Shanghu Township, was officially arrested and accused of the crimes of instigating ethnic hatred and separatism. He uses the Misranim website as his platform to publish illegal writings." Victim's status
Detained.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Tursunjan's father was present for his arrest and interacted with the authorities afterwards.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/authorities-detain-uyghuer-web-masters-and-writers-in-chinas- xinjiang-06132016153910.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/chinese-authorities-turn-02032017141629.html
World Uyghur Congress entry: http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?page_id=32771
CECC entry: http://ppdcecc.gov/QueryResultsDetail.aspx?PrisonerNum=11774
Mentioned in UHRP report: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/UHRP_Disappeared_Forever_.pdf
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1255_1.png
Entry created: 2018-12-12 Last updated: 2021-06-27 Latest status update: 2017-02-03 1264. Imamhesen Memetrusul (依马木艾山·买买提肉苏力)
Chinese ID: 653126200510120336 (Kaghilik)
Basic info
Age: 14 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: Kashgar Status: no news for over a year When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|--- Health status: --- Profession: minor
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Memetrusul Hesen, born in 1964, is now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. He is originally from Qaghiliq County. (father)
Testimony 2: Memetrusul Hesen, as reported by Human Rights Watch. (father)
Testimony 3: Rayim Pulatov, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (great-uncle)
Testimony 4: Halimahan Ahunzhan, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (grandmother)
About the victim
Imamhesen Memetrusul.
[The ethnicity of this family is bureaucratically confusing, since some are marked as Uyghur, some as Uzbek, and some as Kyrgyz. The current victim's ID says Uzbek, but this appears to be taped over the original. However, the testifier claims that their whole family is Kyrgyz and so we report them as Kyrgyz here.]
Address: 80 Wuhaozha Alley, Qaghiliq Municipality, Qaghiliq County, Xinjiang (新疆叶城县喀格勒克镇五号闸巷80号).
Victim's location
[Presumably in Kashgar.]
When victim was detained
His father (the testifier) left for Kyrgyzstan some time before the mass incarcerations started, and has not been able to come back. His mother was taken to camp in March 2017.
It is not clear if he was ever "detained" or taken anywhere following his mother's detention. Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Out of contact since his mother's detention.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
[Presumably by virtue of not being able to contact him.]
Additional information
Mentioned in Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/15/china-xinjiang-children-separated-families
His grandmother [and presumably other relatives] in Kyrgyzstan have written letters to the Chinese embassy around 50 times, in addition to sending many invitation letters.
Victims among relatives
Imamhuseyn Memetrusul (1265), Meryemgul Hesen (1266), Imammemet Eziz (4908), Melikehan Hesen (4902), Zabira Hisamidin (4904), Memetomerjan Hisamidin (4903), Halishan Hesen (4896), Nurnisahan Abdurusul (4899), Memeteli Eziz (4906), Hisamidin Hamidin (4905), Merhaba Eziz (4907), Nurmangul Abay (1271), Patemhan Hesen (1270), Zubeyre Neymet (4898), Amirulla Neymet (4897), Ehmet Hesen (1268), Memetrehim Hesen (1269), Muhemmedtahir Ehmed (4900), Rumaisa Ehmed (4901), Hoshqurulla Tursun (4909), Pehrulla Tursun (4910), Muhemmetnurulla Hesen (1267), Nusrethan Tohsun (1263), Mijit Osman (4895), Bilal Tohsun (4891), Paruq Tohsun (4892), Halid Mijit (4893), Halmurat Mijit (4894)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg3NiPBfBcQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9JDc3N_6B8 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1264_2.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1264_3.png Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/1264_4.png
Entry created: 2018-12-13 Last updated: 2020-08-15 Latest status update: 2020-05-07 1265. Imamhuseyn Memetrusul (依马木玉山·买买提肉苏力)
Chinese ID: 65312620051012031X (Kaghilik)
Basic info
Age: 14 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: Kashgar Status: no news for over a year When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|--- Health status: --- Profession: minor
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Memetrusul Hesen, born in 1964, is now a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. He is originally from Qaghiliq County. (father)
Testimony 2: Memetrusul Hesen, as reported by Human Rights Watch. (father)
Testimony 3: Rayim Pulatov, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (great-uncle)
Testimony 4: Halimahan Ahunzhan, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. (grandmother)
About the victim
Imamhuseyn Memetrusul.
[The ethnicity of this family is bureaucratically confusing, since some are marked as Uyghur, some as Uzbek, and some as Kyrgyz. The current victim's ID says Kyrgyz, but this appears to be taped over the original. However, the testifier claims that their whole family is Kyrgyz and so we report them as Kyrgyz here.]
Address: 80 Wuhaozha Alley, Qaghiliq Municipality, Qaghiliq County, Xinjiang (新疆叶城县喀格勒克镇五号闸巷80号).
Victim's location
[Presumably in Kashgar.]
When victim was detained
His father (the testifier) left for Kyrgyzstan some time before the mass incarcerations started, and has not been able to come back. His mother was taken to camp in March 2017.
It is not clear if he was ever "detained" or taken anywhere following his mother's detention. Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Out of contact since his mother's detention.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
[Presumably by virtue of not being able to contact him.]
Additional information
Mentioned in Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/15/china-xinjiang-children-separated-families
His grandmother [and presumably other relatives] in Kyrgyzstan have written letters to the Chinese embassy around 50 times, in addition to sending many invitation letters.
Victims among relatives
Imamhesen Memetrusul (1264), Meryemgul Hesen (1266), Imammemet Eziz (4908), Melikehan Hesen (4902), Zabira Hisamidin (4904), Memetomerjan Hisamidin (4903), Halishan Hesen (4896), Nurnisahan Abdurusul (4899), Memeteli Eziz (4906), Hisamidin Hamidin (4905), Merhaba Eziz (4907), Nurmangul Abay (1271), Patemhan Hesen (1270), Zubeyre Neymet (4898), Amirulla Neymet (4897), Ehmet Hesen (1268), Memetrehim Hesen (1269), Muhemmedtahir Ehmed (4900), Rumaisa Ehmed (4901), Hoshqurulla Tursun (4909), Pehrulla Tursun (4910), Muhemmetnurulla Hesen (1267), Nusrethan Tohsun (1263), Mijit Osman (4895), Bilal Tohsun (4891), Paruq Tohsun (4892), Halid Mijit (4893), Halmurat Mijit (4894)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg3NiPBfBcQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9JDc3N_6B8 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1265_2.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1265_3.png Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/1265_4.png
Entry created: 2018-12-13 Last updated: 2020-08-15 Latest status update: 2020-05-07 1297. Askar Zhunus (阿斯卡尔·居努斯)
Chinese ID: 6541011969??????O? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 50-51 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kyrgyz Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (11 years) When problems started: Oct. 2018 - Dec. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: scholar
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz, a Kyrgyzstan grassroots movement that existed briefly in late 2018 and early 2019.
Testimony 2|3: Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences staff member, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague)
Testimony 4: Adil Zhunus, as reported by New Survey of the Silk Road (丝路新观察). (brother)
Testimony 5: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6: Ilyar, the nephew of Kyrgyz scholar Askar Zhunus. (nephew)
About the victim
Askar Zhunus is a Kyrgyz historian who worked at the Academy of Social Sciences in Xinjiang. His work over the past several decades has covered the ethnic history of Xinjiang and Central Asia, with a focus on the Kyrgyz people. He has published over 40 articles and several books.
His brother, Adil Zhunus, is a member of parliament in Kyrgyzstan.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Askar was taken into custody in late October 2018 from his home in Urumqi. As of January 2019, it was reported by his brother through Chinese state media that Askar was in a "training center".
He was later sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to his nephew in September 2020. Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unclear.
A colleague stated that he was unsure of why Askar was detained and that his crime “hadn’t been decided yet”, without providing further information.
Victim's status
Serving an 11-year prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The people who confirmed the detention to Radio Free Asia were staff at the same institution as the victim, and would presumably have more direct knowledge of the case. One of them stated that they were informed at a meeting.
It's not stated how exactly the others - Askar's family and activists abroad - heard the news.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia investigation: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/historian-11302018164026.html
The story of his brother has also been covered on Eurasianet: https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-mps-brother-swept-up-in-xinjiang-crackdown
Chinese state media has interviewed his brother, in which Askar's detention is also confirmed: https://archive.vn/mhrtg
The victim is also included in the list provided by the Committee in Support of the Chinese Kyrgyz (https://shahit.biz/supp/list_001.pdf), as well as in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs (and other ethnic minorities), available at: https://shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
His Baidu Baike: https://archive.is/NWjK5
One of the victim's books: https://archive.vn/49Wam
State-media report(s)
Source: https://archive.vn/dbQLS
KYRGYZSTAN MP: "XINJIANG VOCATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL TRAINING CENTERS ARE A GOOD MEANS OF PREVENTING EXTREMISM"
Lately, a number of fake videos and news have been circulating on social networks in Kyrgyzstan, creating rumors and distorting the nature of the vocational and educational training centers (hereafter referred to as “training centers”) in Xinjiang, presenting them as “re-education camps” and the like. Because of this, a reporter from the New Survey of the Silk Road interviewed Adil Zhunus, a Kyrgyzstan parliament member, to have him tell the readers, based on his own personal experience, what kind of place Xinjiang really is. The vocational and education training centers have brought Xinjiang happiness, not disaster. XINJIANG IS CHINA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL PROVINCE, AND ONE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD TREASURE
An ethnic Kyrgyz, Adil Zhunus was born in Xinjiang’s city of Ghulja on May 15, 1963. His father, now retired, used to work as a teacher at the Ili Veterinary College. After graduating from Xinjiang University with a major in geography, Adil was appointed to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Research Laboratory in 1987.
Adil went to Kyrgyzstan for the first time in 1991, to visit relatives and to travel. In 1993, he moved to Kyrgyzstan to study at Bishkek’s newly founded humanities university, where he taught Chinese and learned Russian. He later created his own company and started his career in commerce. He spent over ten years as the vice-president of Kyrgyzstan’s overseas-Chinese association, doing very much to help maintain good relations between the two countries.
Adil obtained Kyrgyz citizenship in February 2001. In 2015, he successfully ran for a seat in the country’s sixth parlimentary elections. He also served as the vice chairman of the China-Kyrgyzstan relations group, continuing to contribute to collaboration between China and Kyrgyzstan.
According to Adil, his parents, siblings, relatives, old classmates, and friends and colleagues are all in China, and he often comes to China to see family and travel despite already having gotten Kyrgyz citizenship. China, he says, is his favorite place. In his opinion, Xinjiang is China’s most beautiful province. As the people of Xinjiang themselves say: "Our Xinjiang is a great place – home to the Han, Uyghur, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, Mongol, and 47 other ethnic groups."
"There were people of 15 different ethnic groups living in the courtyard at the Ili Veterinary Hospital, where I was born and raised," Adil reminisces. "We lived harmoniously without paying attention to ethnicity or financial status. At that time, all of Xinjiang lived that way – everyone getting along peacefully."
He then adds, with sorrow:
"But later, terrorism, separatism, and extremism destroyed the original, harmonious Xinjiang. A lot of families were destroyed, and a lot of people started to go down criminal paths after being influenced by extremist demagoguery."
Adil expresses his heartfelt desire to see Xinjiang regain its initial tranquility. He doesn’t want to hear about or see those bad things anymore. He hopes for peace in China, peace in Kyrgyzstan, and especially peace in Xinjiang. He hopes that all ethnic groups can live harmoniously in Xinjiang, and cherish this wonderful place.
TRAINING CENTERS ARE AN INGENIOUS MEANS OF DERADICALIZATION
Faced with complex and severe circumstances, the Xinjiang authorities have chosen the principle of "strike hard but emphasize prevention", developing the vocational and educational training center system to prevent the appearance and spread of extremism, thereby protecting the most fundamental human right of the populace and safeguarding them from terrorism and extremism in the greatest way possible.
However, following the premeditated incitement of certain destructive forces, some people have started to have misgivings about Xinjiang’s vocational and educational training centers. Some have previously asked Adil if the Kyrgyz in China were being locked up or tortured. His answer is as follows:
"I feel pity for those who have been blinded by the fake news. The Xinjiang vocational and educational training centers are an ingenious means of deradicalization."
As he puts it, China is a country of law, but the "three evil forces" have encroached deeply into Xinjiang. With the help of teachers, people at the training centers learn the national language, obtain a better knowledge of the law, and acquire vocational skills that then help those having been influenced by extremism and those having committed minor crimes transform their thoughts and to return to normal society, effectively curing and preventing the apparition of the "three evil forces" and the spread of extremism.
Adil is fully supportive of the means and resolution of China’s preventive attack on the "three evil forces".
"In December 2018, I made a trip to China to see with my own eyes the Kyrgyz who graduated from the training centers," he says. "All of them have found good jobs now, and their Chinese has gotten a lot better. Their national awareness, awareness of themselves as citizens, and awareness of the law have clearly been strengthened. Most importantly, they all learned one or multiple trades to make a living, and aren’t idle do-nothings anymore."
As it turned out, Adil’s niece, Dinara Kamil, has just graduated from a training center recently.
"After she graduated from the training center, the government prepared for Dinara two jobs for her to choose from," Adil says. "She could go work for the neighborhood administration or go work at a kindergarten. The work is a reliable source of income, and her parents don’t need to worry about her."
Additionally, Adil’s younger brother, Askar Zhunus, is currently studying at a training center. Adil expresses that he has no right to get involved in this matter, seeing as his brother is a Chinese citizen. As an individual and a citizen, his brother acts responsibly so long as his actions are good and proper. However, if he has done something wrong, then it is only natural that he bear the responsibility according to Chinese law. As an older brother, Adil is also very worried about the other’s future.
THE FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND KYRGYZSTAN ARE A PRODUCT OF A LONG HISTORY, AND THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES CANNOT BE EASILY BROKEN
As Adil puts it, the friendly relations between China and Kyrgyzstan are a natural product of a long history. The two have been the friendliest of Silk Road neighbors since ancient times. Over the course of history, many ethnicities would come in contact with one another and engage in trade. Trade then led way to cultural exchange, which would only strengthen the links between the two areas.
He says that after Kyrgyzstan’s independence in 1991, the two countries have really put in motion the historically friendly relations to achieve many breakthroughs on the political, economic, and cultural fronts.
For example: following the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries opened up the Torugart and Erkeshtam border crossings. There are currently direct flights between China and Kyrgyzstan every day. Student exchanges have also became a highlight of the collaboration between Chinese and Kyrgyz institutes of higher education. One after another, Kyrgyzstan has conceived and implemented a number of large projects with China’s technological support. All sorts of cultural exchanges and tourism are developing rapidly in both countries. Following a June 2018 meeting in Beijing between the highest delegates from both countries, the relations between China and Kyrgyzstan have evolved to those of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Adil believes that the establishment of this comprehensive partnership is a new page for the relations between the countries, and something that the people from both should cherish.
Adil states that China has always faithfully upheld the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefit, peaceful co-existence) since Premier Zhou Enlai proposed them in 1953. This set of principles has also seen approval from many other countries, and has become a fundamental guide for navigating relations between nations.
Victims among relatives
Dinara Kamil (2210)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/ilyar76626862/status/1300817927961223170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1297_4.jpeg academic article (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1297_5.pdf academic article (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1297_6.pdf academic article (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/1297_7.pdf academic article (4): https://shahit.biz/supp/1297_8.pdf
Entry created: 2018-12-15 Last updated: 2020-09-08 Latest status update: 2020-09-01 1388. Abdushukur Abliz
Chinese ID: 65400219????????O? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: critical Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2*|3|5*: Arafat Erkin, originally from Ghulja, but now living in the United States. (great-nephew)
Testimony 4: @VOgc2ESyOSX7Yw3, an unverified Twitter account. (nephew)
About the victim
Abdushukur Abliz, commonly known as Abdushukur Hajim, was a businessman who did business in Ghulja and Urumqi. He knew several languages and was also into poetry. In the 1990s, he served as the president of the government-organized Ghulja Islam Association.
His home is in Ghulja's Dong Mehelle Subdistrict.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
He had previously been sentenced to 10 years following the 1997 Ghulja incident. When he was released, he had severe back and neck problems, and had to spend much time in hospitals.
He was detained again in August 2017. It was later learned that he had been sentenced to life.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Sentenced to life. He was in very poor health at the time of his detention.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Arafat heard about the initial detention from a Kazakh family friend who had fled to Kazakhstan.
Additional information
The victim's son, wife, and daughters were later also detained, taken to camp but possibly released in 2019 after over a year of detention.
Victims among relatives
Erkin Tursun (179), Gulnar Telet (1387), Halide Zordon (1389), Halit Abdushukur (5170), Mewjudem Abdushukur (5171), Hebibulla Tohti (1492), Ilzat Gheni (4340), Gulchekre Telet (1247), Eset Telet (5652), Gheni Abdushukur (5654), Gulzar Nizamidin (5653), Turmemet Nurmemet (5655)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVIW3MQWKwA Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/VOgc2ESyOSX7Yw3/status/1257518261350129664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1388_1.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-17 Last updated: 2021-02-08 Latest status update: 2021-02-08 1395. Nurzada Zhumaqan (奴尔扎达·居马汉)
Chinese ID: 652524196407010023 (Shawan)
Basic info
Age: 56 Gender: F Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: Apr. 2018 - June 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"using superstition to undermine law enforcement", "disturbing public order" Health status: critical Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|6|7: Aibota Zhanibek, born in 1984, now a Kazakhstan citizen. (daughter)
Testimony 8|10: Aibota Zhanibek, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (daughter)
Testimony 9: Aibota Zhanibek, as reported by Mehmet Volkan Kaşıkçı. (daughter)
Testimony 11: Aibota Zhanibek, as reported by National Public Radio. (daughter)
Testimony 12: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
About the victim
Nurzada Zhumaqan was a small-shop owner, a business that she ran from 1988 - selling traditional items/goods - until 2016, when she closed the business and became a housewife. Following her husband's retirement, the couple bought a house in the outskirts of town, where they raised some poultry and domestic animals.
The couple had two girls, Aibota and Kunekei, but more recently had adopted a son (who is 6 years old, as of September 2019).
Address: West Tacheng Road 61-211, Shawan County, Xinjiang (新疆沙湾县塔城西路61-211号).
Kazakhstan green card: 026370972. Chinese passport: G48708786.
Victim's location
The Xinjiang Women’s Prison.
When victim was detained She was detained on June 8, 2018 and taken to "camp" [though it's possible this was just a detention center] in Shawan County. News that the victim was sentenced reached her daughter in January 2019. On June 5, 2019, it was confirmed that she was sentenced to 20 years. An official incarceration notice then said that she had been transferred to the women's prison on June 14, 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Aibota cites a number of reasons that were given for her mother's detention, virtually all of them being related to religion: praying, teaching others to pray, having studied with an imam for 2 months in 2005, having her daughter (Aibota's sister) go to Yunnan for religious education, telling women that they should cover their faces (Aibota says this last one is ridiculous - i.e., her mother would never do that).
The official reasons in the incarceration notice say that she was sentenced for "using superstition to undermine law enforcement" and "gathering a crowd to disturb social order".
Victim's status
She is serving her sentence at the Urumqi women's prison.
According to her daughter, her health has deteriorated significantly, and she can barely see now.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through contacts in the region.
Additional information
Written about in: https://livingotherwise.com/2019/10/05/from-camps-to-prisons-xinjiangs-next-great-human-rights-catastr ophe-by-gene-a-bunin/
NPR coverage: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/764153179/china-has-begun-moving-xinjiang-muslim-detainees-to-form al-prisons-relatives-say
Mention in Voices on Central Asia: https://voicesoncentralasia.org/between-hope-and-fear-stories-of-uyghur-and-kazakh-muslim-minorities-i n-the-xinjiang-province/
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_2.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_2.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=2
Victims among relatives
Kunikei Zhanibek (1396) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=welZPGQrayo Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yAaRXd7oWw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8krE4QoFLec Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hYNtT5JU7o Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odm6jyk2VkM Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B2ocqROSvw Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dPoKn36zOc testifier with victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1395_8.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1395_12.png Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/1395_13.png relatives with victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1395_14.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-18 Last updated: 2020-02-10 Latest status update: 2021-05-12 1484. Aliyem Urayim (阿丽艳·吾拉音木)
Chinese ID: 652401197109172424 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 49 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (18 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|6: Eli Yarmemet, originally from Ghulja but now residing in Norway. (son)
Testimony 7: Eli Yarmemet, as reported by Living Otherwise. (son)
Testimony 8: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Aliyem Urayim is an Uyghur businesswoman from Ghulja and a mother of three, with her and her husband having divorced when the children were still very young. After the divorce, she first went into business and worked as a street vendor, selling perfume and makeup. Later, she would open a small store, before starting to travel to Kazakhstan (and other countries) for trade purposes.
Address: No. 22, No. 12 Alley, Behit Street, Ghulja City, Xinjiang (新疆伊宁市幸福街12巷22号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
She was taken to camp in February 2017, not long after going to see relatives in Turkey in late December 2016. After staying for a week or two in Turkey, she disappeared after returning to China in early January (with relatives abroad unable to contact her after her arrival in China).
At some point, she was given a 17-year, 10-month prison sentence, of which her son learned in April 2020.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown, though the testifier does mention that she went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in the past. The testifier also mentions that she used to help others apply for visas and passports [which could be a potential reason].
Victim's status
Sentenced to 17 years and 10 months in prison.
A relative reportedly visited her in prison and saw that her health had deteriorated, with Aliyem asking for money to see a doctor.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
From relatives, who told Eli and others that his mother was taken to camp (before themselves falling out of contact).
It's not stated how Eli learned of the prison sentence, though he does say that a relative had visited her there.
Additional information
Eli says that he contacted the Red Cross to ask for help, but was told by the organization that their staff in China told them not to inquire the victim's whereabouts as this could put her in more danger.
Article about the victim in Living Otherwise: https://livingotherwise.com/2020/04/16/17-years-and-10-months-a-uyghur-son-learns-of-his-mothers-pri son-sentence-%ef%bb%bf/
Victims among relatives
Abdugheni Yarmemet (1485), Abdulla Ablimit (1486)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipk7zZaxtpU Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuZ1tXouQAQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZJaPJCXiPA Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNIf-YrVIYU Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Hettap1989/status/1095125981310922752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/Hettap1989/status/1249899788084162560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1484_4.png
Entry created: 2018-12-21 Last updated: 2021-01-14 Latest status update: 2021-04-07 1528. Mutellip Imin (穆塔力浦·伊明)
Chinese ID: 653224198802010537 (Lop)
Basic info
Age: 26 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): "separatism"|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Mutellip Imin, a student of Ilham Tohti, and formerly a student in Turkey. He was arrested and sentenced with a number of other Tohti students in 2014. (the victim)
Testimony 2: Li Fangping, as reported by Reuters.
Testimony 3: Global Times, as reported by Reuters.
Testimony 4: Atikem Rozi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (girlfriend)
Testimony 5: Ilham Tohti, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (former teacher)
Testimony 6: Guzelnur Eli, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (acquaintance)
Testimony 7: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 8: Rights Protection Network (维权网), a Chinese blog covering rights abuses in China.
About the victim
Mutellip Imin was a sociology student at Istanbul University, and a moderator of "Uighur Online" (a website founded by Ilham Tohti). He had graduated with a bachelor's in English from Minzu University in June 2012, after which he received a Turkish government scholarship and went to study in Istanbul for his master's.
Victim's location
Sentenced in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
His first detention started in July 2013, when he went from Istanbul to Beijing to visit his girlfriend, Atikem Rozi. As he was about to return to Turkey to continue his studies, he was detained at the Beijing Airport on July 14, 2013, just before his flight took off.
The next day, three security officials escorted him to Urumqi, where he was detained and periodically interrogated for almost three months. On October 1, 2013, authorities escorted him to Lop County (his home region), but his documents and other items remained confiscated, making it impossible for him to leave or to return to Turkey to continue his studies.
Around January 15, 2014, he was arrested again, this time in Lop County, at around the same time as Ilham Tohti.
On December 8, 2014, he was among the seven students sentenced to 3-8 years in prison (all having worked for Ilham Tohti).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Presumably the same charges as Ilham Tohti ("separatism").
Victim's status
Sentenced to 3-8 years in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Mutellip Imin's account of his initial detention is an eyewitness testimony.
Li Fangping was able to obtain some information about the trial from the victim's lawyer.
Global Times is a state-media outlet, with direct access to the victims and relevant information regarding their case.
Additional information
Reuters coverage: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-rights-xinjiang/china-jails-seven-students-of-uighur-scholar-for-se paratism-idUKKBN0JN0B020141209
Mentioned in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/04/21/welcome-to-the-uighur-web/
Mentioned in the New York Times: https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20141124/c24uighurs/
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/student-07222013204016.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/arrest-02262014185533.html
Uyghur Human Rights Project entry: https://uhrp.org/political-prisoners-2015
Eyewitness account on the victim's blog: https://archive.vn/jadkA (Mandarin version: https://www.uyghur-archive.com/uighurbiz-net/20336.html)
He is also mentioned in a long list of victims compiled by the Rights Protection Network: https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2019/08/201983147-1040_48.html
His Weibo (inactive since January 14, 2014): https://archive.vn/ko9S4
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1528_1.png Turkish student ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1528_2.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-23 Last updated: 2021-05-20 Latest status update: 2014-12-09 1565. Adilgazy Muqai (阿地力阿孜·木哈依)
Chinese ID: 650203197211180076 (Karamay)
Basic info
Age: 47 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (9 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|"extremism", "terrorism", "disturbing public order" Health status: has problems Profession: energy
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|4|5|6|7|9|11: Bikamal Kaken, born in 1976, now a citizen of Kazakhstan. (wife)
Testimony 3: Bulbulhan Karipkan, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (mother)
Testimony 8: Bikamal Kaken, as reported by Radio Azattyq. (wife)
Testimony 10: Bikamal Kaken, as reported by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. (wife)
Testimony 12: Bikamal Kaken, as reported by The Believer. (wife)
Testimony 13: Zhang Xiao, as reported by Global Times.
Testimony 14: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Adilgazy Muqai is a Chinese citizen who, nevertheless, has been approved for Kazakhstan citizenship since September 2017. Prior to retiring in 2016 because of health reasons, he used to work in the oil industry in Karamay, generating steam for the oil pumps.
He and his wife, Bikamal, have two (underage) children together.
Address: No. 7, Building 30, Beidou Neighborhood, Karamay District, Karamay City, Xinjiang (新疆克拉玛依市克拉玛依区北斗小区30幢楼房7号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he has been sentenced.]
When victim was detained He was initially arrested on his way back from Kazakhstan on May 2, 2017 at the Korgas border crossing, originally being sent to a camp in Karamay proper, but later being transferred to one in the Maytagh district as the first was too crowded. At some point after the Chinese spring festival of 2019, he was reportedly transferred to another facility (unclear if camp or a detention center).
As reported by Zhang Xiao of the Chinese mission in Kazakhstan, he was given a 9-year prison sentence by the Karamay City Intermediate People's Court in December 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to his wife, he was detained because of their having an alcohol-free wedding party back in 2013. A copy of the Quran was also found at their house.
His wife also believes that her giving birth to their children in Kazakhstan may be a reason, as officials reportedly came to the victim's sister's house and told the sister that the wife of the victim was as guilty as the victim, because the wife had given birth to their children in Kazakhstan.
The official reasons, as reported by the Chinese ambassador in Kazakhstan, were "encouraging acts of extremist terrorism" and "disturbing the region's social order" (the victim was allegedly found "acquiring, storing, and spreading a large number of video and audio files which encouraged terrorism and religious extremism").
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
He presumably has certain health issues, as signaled by his early retirement.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Bikamal and Bulbulhan presumably learned about the detention and subsequent transfers from relatives.
Zhang Xiao is a Chinese ambassador and presumably got the information from the Xinjiang government directly.
Additional information
The victim was written about, albeit anonymously, by dpa international (http://www.dpa-international.com/topic/energy-executives-abroad-ensnared-china-xinjiang-crackdown-1 90221-99-75048):
"Kaken Bikamal’s husband, who also used to work for a Chinese oil and gas company in Kazakhstan, was detained in April 2017 in Karamay, she said.
"They said if he didn’t go to China, they would stop paying his salary," Bikamal said.
Now, she and the couple’s two young daughters support themselves with the help of relatives and local nonprofits." ---
Bikamal's interview to The Believer (https://believermag.com/weather-reports-voices-from-xinjiang/):
In China, my husband was working at the Karamay oil fields. He’s a steam worker, generating steam for the oil pumps.
When he retired, we moved to Kazakhstan with our two children. Then my daughter was born here, in December 2016. In May 2017, when she was six months old, his oil field boss called and said he had to come back to China. There was no reason. You have to visit us, they said. Just come. He did as he was told. As soon as he crossed the border at Khorgos, he was taken away. First they took him back to the oil fields. From there, they took him to a reeducation camp nearby—the Maytau camp. The police brought my husband’s bag to his sister’s and told her they were interrogating him. She knew this meant he was heading to study.
It’s been two years now and he hasn’t been released. I heard he was transferred to a second camp, and as far as I know, he’s still there. The irony is that not long before he went to China, he’d submitted our paperwork for Kazakh citizenship. As of September 2017, we’re all Kazakh citizens! But I can’t even tell him. I have no communication with my husband. Last winter I heard that my mother-in-law had a meeting with him at the camp. But there was a mesh screen between them. They could speak only by phone. I asked her why he was detained, but no one knows. We don’t have any debts. We have no legal issues. I just can’t think of a reason.
My relatives did tell me this: They said officials came to my husband’s sister’s house and told them I was as guilty as my husband, due to the fact that I gave birth to my child in Kazakhstan, and implied that if I came to China, I, too, would be detained. They simply said it was the wrong thing to do, to go to Kazakhstan and have a child.
State-media report(s)
Source: https://archive.vn/P7BRG
CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO KAZAKHSTAN REFUTES US EMBASSY’S SMEARING OF XINJIANG
By Liu Xin and Deng Xiaoci
Source: Global Times
Published: 2020/6/26
It is an old trick for the US to use amateur "actors" to play victims and smear the vocational education and training centers in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Zhang Xiao, Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan, told the Global Times, responding to the US Embassy in Kazakhstan's recent attempt to release stories on its website and social media accounts, claiming they are "interviews" from people or relatives of those who have been mistreated in Xinjiang.
The series of stories as well as the recent Uygur bill signed by the US President Donald Trump last week, attempts to "hype up" the topic of Xinjiang, interfere with China's domestic affairs, creates obstacles for harmony in Xinjiang among the region's ethnic groups, restricts the region's economic development and stability, and sows unnecessary discord between China and its Central Asian neighbors, Ambassador Zhang said. The stories, titled "Voices from Xinjiang," are from those who claim they or their relatives were detained in "training centers" in Xinjiang; for example, one woman, named Bikamal, now based in Kazakhstan, claims her husband is being detained in "camps" in Xinjiang.
Ambassador Zhang clarified that Bikamal's husband, Adelhaze, was actually sentenced to prison for nine years in December 2019 by the Intermediate People's Court in Karamay for encouraging acts of extremist terrorism and disturbing the region's social order. In fact, Adelhaze was found acquiring, storing, and spreading a large number of video and audio files which encouraged terrorism and religious extremism, violating China's Criminal Law.
Bikamal claimed her husband was detained in a "camp," but the fact is her husband is serving his prison sentence, and was never in any training center.
Bikamal and her husband were never fined for having more than two children, and US Embassy's propaganda is "full of lies, without a single sentence of truth," Ambassador Zhang said, noting that it updated "my knowledge of its [the US'] bottom line."
For a long time, the US has crowned itself as defenders of human rights, falsely pretending to care about Muslims from around the world; however, it has only stained the world with Muslim mistreatment. For example, after the Cold War, the US has taken its military operations to many Muslim countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, bringing pain and suffering to Muslims (and non-Muslims) around the world. In fact, the majority of those individuals detained and tortured in Guantanamo Bay are Muslims, Zhang noted.
The current US administration, since it took office in 2016, only continued to block those wishing to enter the US from Muslim countries, and its policies reflect the country's anti-Muslim agenda, vigorously trampling international laws. It's hard to believe that a country that is so very anti-Muslim would truly argue that it cares about the human rights of Muslims in Xinjiang, several thousands of miles away.
With its domestic failure of dealing with COVID-19, and endless protests and social disputes, the US has ramped up its efforts to cover Xinjiang-related topics in an attempt to shift its troubles from domestic issues to blaming China, distracting the public's attention, Zhang noted.
The Chinese government's moves to curb terrorism and extremism have earned the support of people from all ethnic groups in Xinjiang as well as across the country; and they also benefit those countries in Central Asia, as well as the international community, the Ambassador said.
In fact, there have not been any violent attacks in Xinjiang for nearly three years, and with only three deaths related to COVID-19 among the region's 24 million people, there is clear evidence that the region has been developing, and its people's health is guaranteed.
"No matter how hard the US hypes up topics related to Xinjiang, it can never change the Chinese government's resolution to crack down on terrorism and extremism; it can never impede China's development, nor can it drive a wedge between China and Central Asian countries. It can only hurt itself," Ambassador Zhang said.
Victims among relatives
Nurdana Qabden (1566) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZr_XjF4888 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvxp4lWwpd0 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFXugIcAXvk Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TqrIVdVp5w Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNdKZ7ci7q4 Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9J9KfyR_dE Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MIjzkvC-QY Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iij60hJ9lLM Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz8RLCQJrkY Kazakh + Chinese IDs: https://shahit.biz/supp/1565_7.png Testimony 9: https://shahit.biz/supp/1565_11.png
Entry created: 2018-12-23 Last updated: 2020-06-28 Latest status update: 2020-08-07 1601. Minewer Tursun (米乃外尔·吐尔孙)
Chinese ID: 65410119??0218??E? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: unclear (soft) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|--- Health status: critical Profession: housemaker
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Nazaket, originally from Ghulja but now living in the United States. (niece-in-law)
Testimony 2|3|4|5|10|13|14|16: Ferkat Jawdat, a software engineer living in the Washington, DC area. (son)
Testimony 6: Le Monde, a French daily afternoon newspaper.
Testimony 7|9: Ferkat Jawdat, as reported by New York Times. (son)
Testimony 8: Ferkat Jawdat, as reported by Newsweek. (son)
Testimony 11: Ferkat Jawdat, as reported by Byline Times. (son)
Testimony 12: Ferkat Jawdat, as reported by Deutsche Welle. (son)
Testimony 15: Minewer Tursun, as reported by New York Times. (the victim)
About the victim
Minewer Tursun is a stay-at-home mom from Ghulja City. She has been living alone since 2011, as all of her family members (husband and four children) were able to immigrate to the United States, while Minewer was refused a passport on several occasions despite her attempts to do the same.
Victim's location
Ghulja City.
When victim was detained
She was first arrested on October 16, 2017 and taken for 2-3 weeks, being released but then taken again - this time for longer - on February 6, 2018 (presumably to a camp). According to her son, she was taken out of the camp once in order to call him and tell him to stop his campaigning. Ferkat notes that, during this call, there were police officers in her room, adding that he was later contacted by an unnamed individual who claimed to have the power to release Ferkat's mother in exchange for Ferkat’s silence. When Ferkat saw his mother’s health condition, he demanded that the person arrange for a passport for her within two weeks, but was told off and warned that his efforts were "insignificant compared to the might of China".
During her stay at the camp, she was transferred to a hospital because of a broken backbone, before being forcefully sent home later (exact time unclear).
On January 7, 2019, she was sent to a harsher detention facility [presumably a pre-trial detention center] - believed by Ferkat to have been done in retaliation for his meeting with Mike Pompeo. There, she was, by her own account, held for three months and interrogated/tortured, in addition to being denied her medication, which caused her blood pressure to go out of control and her face to swell. (Her son mentions that - as of December 2019 - she had been to the hospital a total of 7 times in the sixth months following her release.)
On September 24, 2019, her son wrote that she was at home and alone, and that her back was broken and there was no one to look after her. According to him, she needed to crawl to get food and drink. Paul Mozur, who visited at around this time, confirmed the condition (though other relatives were present when he visited).
On February 18, 2020, her son wrote to say that he had lost contact with her following the quarantine measures in Ghulja.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Contacting family members abroad.
Victim's status
Believed to be at home, but her exact circumstances are unclear. In June 2020, her son mentioned that she was being closely monitored by the local police (asked about her whereabouts every 2 hours and asked to go home). In late August 2020, he reported that his mother has been locked in her home for a month, with no internet and no working cellular phone.
She is believed to be in poor health - not only because of the broken backbone but also owing to preexisting health conditions, for which she had to be hospitalized several times in 2017.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Ferkat heard about the detention from the victim directly, as she told him in November 2017 [possibly October, as this is what the victim herself said later] that she was "going to study" for a couple of weeks. Before her second arrest, she sent him a voice message, in a crying voice, saying that she was being taken again.
Family friends have also told Ferkat of the detention, and journalists from Le Monde who visited the region were able to confirm it on the ground, when they tried to look for her.
Paul Mozur from the New York Times visited the victim at home, with everything that she told him and her son over the phone being an eyewitness account. Additional information
Testimony as given to Uyghur Aid: https://uyghuraid.org/blog/2019/01/31/ferkat-s-story
Covered in Byline Times: https://bylinetimes.com/2019/11/19/they-asked-her-to-record-a-video-about-how-much-love-she-gets-de bunking-chinas-uyghur-propaganda-videos/
Featured in Le Monde: https://www.lemonde.fr/long-format/article/2018/11/09/au-xinjiang-en-chine-sur-la-trace-des-ouigours-di sparus_5381215_5345421.html
Featured in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/world/asia/uighur-muslims-china-detainment.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/podcasts/the-daily/a-womans-journey-through-chinas-detention-c amps.html
Covered by Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/xinjiang-uyghur-release-threaten-us-citizen-1435984
Ferkat Jawdut was also mentioned by U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in a statement regarding the intimidation of Uyghurs abroad: https://www.state.gov/harassment-of-the-family-members-of-uighur-activists-and-survivors-in-xinjiang-ch ina/
The Chinese media have replied to Pompeo's remarks (http://archive.is/hK2X0), claiming that Ferkat Jawdat is a member of the World Uyghur Congress and that his mother has been living a peaceful life and has even kept in contact with Ferkat throughout the period of her “supposed detention”.
A week after this reply, the Global Times posted a video statement by Minewer (https://archive.vn/rOpoZ), in which she claimed that the government was helping her and that her life was much better. She was quoted reminding Ferkat that he should be grateful towards his "motherland" and should not be influenced by his father. She also said that she was planning to get medical treatment in Urumqi.
According to the article, Minewer was living together with Zhang Liping [a cadre likely assigned by the local community as part of the "Pair Up" initiative]. Global Times claimed that Minewer called Zhang a "relative".
---
From a Deutsche Welle report (https://www.dw.com/zh/环球发视频打脸蓬佩奥-海外维族人驳斥北京指控/a-51331503):
During conversations with Ferkat, Minewer repeatedly asked him if he was a member of the World Uyghur Congress, to which Ferkat said no, displaying tax records from the last 8 years as proof.
Victims among relatives
Enwer Tursun (2983), Nurtai Tursun (2982) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JGhXODewc0 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66pGWXEXPGw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1131226756717928449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw son's tweet with photos: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1093179672723185665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1176340559641948160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1229815491755216904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Al Jazeera feature: https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1228041903146512384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 13: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1277820866949152768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 14: https://twitter.com/ferkat_jawdat/status/1297410121778245633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Paul Mozur's visit: https://twitter.com/paulmozur/status/1204020657228410882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 16: https://twitter.com/camanpour/status/1206645632359968768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 9: https://shahit.biz/supp/1601_6.mp3 Global Times propaganda video: https://shahit.biz/supp/1601_10.mp4 proof-of-life video: https://shahit.biz/supp/1601_15.mp4 photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_1601.png
Entry created: 2018-12-25 Last updated: 2020-10-11 Latest status update: 2021-04-10 1626. Berzat Bolathan (别尔扎提·波拉特汉)
Chinese ID: 654221198504290616 (Dorbiljin)
Basic info
Age: 34 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (17 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|"extremism" Health status: has problems Profession: farmwork, herding
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|9|12: Erzat Bolathan, born in 1982, is a painter who now resides in Kazakhstan. (brother)
Testimony 6: Erzat Bolathan, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother)
Testimony 7: Erzat Bolathan, as reported by National Public Radio. (brother)
Testimony 8: Erzat Bolathan, as reported by The Believer. (brother)
Testimony 10: Mekei Qani, born in 1962, is a citizen of Kazakhstan. (relative)
Testimony 11*: Official arrest notice, as reported by Gene A. Bunin.
About the victim
Berzat Bolathan was a farmer, who also did woodworking on the side and devoted significant time to looking after his sick father. His brother, Erzat, describes him as very shy and modest.
Address: Narynshagankol Village, Zhel Agash Municipality, Dorbiljin County, Tacheng Prefecture.
Victim's location
Believed to be in Wusu Prison.
When victim was detained
He was initially detained in April 2017, taken to a "prison" [unclear what exactly this was, likely custody], but then transferred to a detention center [possibly camp] as it was too crowded. In April-May 2018, he was allegedly given a 17-year sentence - the verdict given orally. According to the report from National Public Radio, he was sentenced in August 2018 [this may have been the formal sentencing].
He was transferred to Wusu Prison sometime in 2019. Likely (or given) reason for detention
In one testimony, his brother says that he was originally detained for sharing Kazakhstan-related things on WeChat, although he admits in another interview that he really cannot imagine what he could have been detained for (and even guesses that it may have been Berzat's abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol).
Another relative of his says that it was for having a prayer mat at home.
The official arrest notice says that he was detained for "extremism".
Victim's status
Allegedly imprisoned for 17 years and subjected to forced labor, according to his brother. The prison he is at has a registered agricultural products company, further suggesting the likelihood of the inmates there being forced to labor.
His relatives allegedly have to pay 200RMB per month for his meals, though sometimes this can go up to 100USD [unclear why the difference in currency]. His father has visited him several times, each time bribing the police in order to be given permission. Erzat notes that their father would bring Berzat medicine, as the latter is suffering from some health issues.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
[Presumably through the victim's father.]
The official arrest notice comes from the government bodies responsible for his arrest.
Additional information
NPR coverage: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/764153179/china-has-begun-moving-xinjiang-muslim-detainees-to-form al-prisons-relatives-say
Mention in Voices on Central Asia: https://voicesoncentralasia.org/between-hope-and-fear-stories-of-uyghur-and-kazakh-muslim-minorities-i n-the-xinjiang-province/
Erzat found a photo from a prison on the internet and says that one of the men in the photo is the victim.
---
Erzat Bolathan's interview to the Believer (https://believermag.com/weather-reports-voices-from-xinjiang/):
There was no reason. You have to understand—none. My brother never committed a crime. He got detained, and my father, who lives in China, couldn’t meet with him. For more than two years, my father couldn’t see his son.
Bierzat is three years younger than I am. I came to Kazakhstan to study painting at the arts academy, but my younger brother and father have always lived in China. Bierzat visited me here twice, but that’s all. He doesn’t travel much. He’s a farmer like our father. Mostly wheat. He was always modest, very shy—almost debilitatingly shy. We never argued growing up; he was so quiet. He liked working with wood. As a side job, he was producing unfinished wood for furniture makers in our village. But his main job was taking care of our father. I was out here; he was close by. Our father is old and crippled, and Bierzat cared for him and worked the farm.
They came for him last April while he was treating wood in his workshop. At first, they brought him to a detention center of some kind. As soon as he was arrested, our father went to the police station. They told him not to worry. Probably we’ll let him out soon, they said. We already have too many people in prison. Instead, he was sentenced to seventeen years in prison. Neither my father nor I know why. They notified my father only once he’d already been sentenced. I’m not even aware of any trial having taken place. But my brother didn’t pray. He didn’t practice Islam. He didn’t even keep a Koran in the house. He never touched anyone, he was so reserved. He was married briefly, but they got divorced the very next year.
I’ve tried to find out through my father what kind of crime he committed and why he received such a long sentence. But he didn’t know anything. I know that he doesn’t drink or smoke. That’s all I can think of. This has become a liability in Xinjiang. It’s the religious implications. One of my relatives told me a story about visiting a nearby village and finding a cultural association there, and the members were all drunk. They were always drunk, he learned. One of them explained why. If we don’t drink, he said, they’ll get us. So maybe—I’m guessing—my brother’s guilt was that he doesn’t drink or smoke. I don’t know. He’s a loner, shy and modest. They couldn’t just leave him alone.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTaKdE1An7A Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJrwx9Q8Yv4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQ0tpOmrAQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk8I9yGfBU0 Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2lkOAp2htQ testifier with victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_5.png registration: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_7.png Testimony 5: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_8.mp3 Testimony 12: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_9.jpg brother with victim's photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_11.jpg resemblance photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1626_12.png
Entry created: 2018-12-27 Last updated: 2020-07-12 Latest status update: 2020-02-29 1727. Gulshen Abbas (古丽先·阿巴斯)
Chinese ID: 650103196206122322 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 58 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: July 2018 - Sep. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|"terrorism", "disturbing public order", assisting "criminals" Health status: has problems Profession: medicine
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Rushan Abbas, as reported by Associated Press. (sister)
Testimony 2: Rushan Abbas, as reported by Washington Post. (sister)
Testimony 3: Rushan Abbas, as reported by New York Times. (sister)
Testimony 4: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5|6|9|12: Ziba Murat, the daughter of Gulshen Abbas, lives in the US. (daughter)
Testimony 7: Hanna Burdorf, a postgraduate research student at the University of Newcastle.
Testimony 8: Rushan Abbas, an Uyghur-American activist. (sister)
Testimony 10: Nurbagh Petroleum Hospital employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague)
Testimony 11: Zemire Murat, a resident of the United States. (daughter)
Testimony 13: Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Testimony 14: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Gulshen Abbas was a doctor at the Xinjiang Nurbagh/Mingyuan Petroleum Workers Hospital. She spent her whole life in Urumqi, and at one point had to retire because of personal health issues.
Address: Apt. 302, Third Floor, 318 Shengli Road, Urumqi.
Chinese passport number: E23022399 Phone number: 13999880877
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
She was disappeared on September 11, 2018.
In March 2019, she was reportedly sentenced to 20 years in prison.
(Police records from Urumqi make note of her undergoing a check on March 7, 2018, at which time she was marked as "completely normal" (一切正常). The police office carrying out the check was the Donggou Police Station in Dabancheng, with the police officer (冯晓刚, 15276650696) an "intelligence People's policeman" (情报民警). The GPS coordinates of the check are not provided, which is rare. [It is not clear if this was a routine and inconsequential check or something more.])
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Both Rushan Abbas's sister and aunt disappeared soon after Rushan spoke publicly about the situation in Xinjiang, and so it is very likely that the reason is Rushan's activism.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, she was sentenced for "participating in a terrorist organization", "assisting in terrorist activities", and "gathering a crowd to disturb social order".
Victim's status
Sentenced to 20 years.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Rushan Abbas got information about her sister's disappearance from contacts in the region. There is also eyewitness information from someone who went to her apartment to find it sealed off.
Her detention was also confirmed by a staff member at the hospital where she used to work.
Ziba Murat learned of the prison sentence from an informed source in late 2020. Days later, this was confirmed by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a press conference.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia investigation: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detained-06022020173828.html
Daughter's website: https://all4mom.org/
Sister's written testimony: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/040919_Abbas_Testimony.pdf
Coverage in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/10/19/my-aunt-and-sister-in-china-hav e-vanished-are-they-being-punished-for-my-activism/
Coverage in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/world/asia/uighur-muslims-china-detainment.html
Coverage in the New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2019/08/chinas-missing-million-search-disappeared-uyghurs
Mention in UHRP report: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/UHRP_RepressionAcrossBorders.pdf
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Official communication(s)
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
------
[This is an excerpt from the regular press conference held by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 31, 2020.]
Reuters: The United States has called for the release of a Uyghur named Gulshan Abbas. Do you have any comment on this?
Wang Wenbin: Gulshan Abbas was sentenced to jail by Chinese judicial authorities for crimes of participating in a terrorist organization, aiding terrorist activities and assembling crowds to disrupt social order. China is a country with rule of law, where criminals must be held accountable.
We urge some American politicians to respect facts, stop making lies to smear China, and stop interfering in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Xinjiang-related issues.
Victims among relatives
Maynur Abliz (2289), Abdurehim Idris (5411)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7SEuS4Q3Cw Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn2cIwj6CSw Testimony 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J84mUp0BXDs Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/ziba1218/status/1095522844983869441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw CNN interview: https://twitter.com/ziba1218/status/1126129193966817280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 9: https://twitter.com/ziba116/status/1293962395593965569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 11: https://twitter.com/zamira207/status/1333468063740665857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with sister: https://shahit.biz/supp/1727_2.jpg Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/1727_3.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_1727.png
Entry created: 2018-12-31 Last updated: 2021-08-23 Latest status update: 2021-03-28 1734. Ekber Eset (艾克拜尔·艾赛提)
Chinese ID: 652201198501055410 (Kumul)
Basic info
Age: 36 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: sentenced (15 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|"inciting ethnic hatred" Health status: has problems Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Imam'eli Hesen, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (acquaintance)
Testimony 2: Abduweli Ayup, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (acquaintance)
Testimony 3: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague)
Testimony 4: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (acquaintance)
Testimony 5: World Uyghur Congress, an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups.
Testimony 6: Reyhan Eset, as reported by New York Times. (sister)
Testimony 7: Emine Kumcu, a Turkish-American former employee of Eli Lilly and Company, now retired. (acquaintance)
Testimony 8|9|10|11: Reyhan Eset, a graduate of the Harvard Law School and resident of the United States. (sister)
Testimony 12|13: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 14: Reyhan Eset, as reported by Amnesty International. (sister)
About the victim
Ekber Eset was an entrepreneur, the founder of the popular website baghdax.com and the director of the Baghdax Digital Design Company. His site, which had around 100000 users, served as a progressive platform to discuss such issues as Uyghur human rights and the preservation of Uyghur language and culture.
In 2014, he was among those selected to meet with US ambassador Max Baucus during the latter's visit to Xinjiang. In 2016, he visited the US as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. Chinese passport: E18230820.
Victim's location
The latest news was that he had been transferred to Aksu.
When victim was detained
He was briefly detained after the July 5, 2009 incident and forced to shut down baghdax.com, though he would restart the site again later after being released.
After his trip to the US in 2016, he would make an appearance during a televised boxing match, but would essentially disappear from the public eye on April 7, 2016. It is around this time that he is believed to have been detained.
He was later given a 15-year prison sentence, with his sister reporting in November 2020 that he had been transferred to Aksu [unclear, however, when exactly].
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His sister believes that he was sentenced for his trip to the US. The official reason, according to her, is that he "incited ethnic hatred".
Victim's status
Believed to be serving a 15-year sentence.
In February 2021, Reyhan reported that her relatives were able to have a short video interaction with Ekber, in which he was unrecognizable, was "all skin and bones", and had black spots on his face.
In early September 2021, Reyhan reported that another phone call between her parents and her brother had been arranged, with the interaction filmed (which Reyhan fears may mean that this is to be used for propaganda purposes).
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It's not completely clear how the various sources learned about his initial arrest, though many of them knew the victim and had contacts in the region.
Reyhan learned about the sentence from a letter sent by the Chinese embassy to US senator Chris Coons in January 2018, in response to a letter sent by several lawmakers to the Chinese ambassador, asking him about Ekber’s case.
It is not stated how Reyhan learned about her brother's transfer to Aksu.
Additional information
Featured in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/us/politics/china-uighurs-arrest.html Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/authorities-detain-uyghuer-web-masters-and-writers-in-chinas- xinjiang-06132016153910.html
Mentioned in Uyghur Human Rights Project report: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/UHRP_Disappeared_Forever_.pdf
Mentioned by World Uyghur Congress, who seems to provide an erroneous date for his arrest (January 2016): http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?page_id=32767
Short case file by Amnesty International: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR007
The victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Mention in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
The Chinese business registry qichacha.com still has the record of Ekber’s company, Baghdax (http://archive.ph/HnPIz). He is listed as a shareholder. Contacts of the company are also available: phone number: 13659997679 e-mail: [email protected]
He is included in a 2010 recruitment list: archive.is/Bnfl7
Senators' letter to Chinese ambassador to the US: https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6938-senators-ekpar-asat/b23f1159370b5d1ad5a8/optimized/f ull.pdf#page=1
Joint statement from Harvard: https://clinics.law.harvard.edu/advocates/2021/01/01/joint-statement-call-to-free-ekpar-asat-and-end-ma ss-atrocities-against-the-uyghur-community-in-xinjiang/
Site dedicated to campaigning for his freedom: https://www.ekparasat.com/
On March 30, 2021, Reyhan reported that the local authorities had confiscated her parents' cell phones.
Supplementary materials sister's tweet (1): https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1262767181156229120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw sister's tweet (2): https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1265322575930032129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw US congresswoman support Tweet: https://twitter.com/EleanorNorton/status/1266004411014352900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1330234808056901632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw letters of support: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1263867089481347074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 9: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1364111374473953280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1376932814805950465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw pressure on parents: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1379077399149752323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 11: https://twitter.com/RayhanAsat/status/1435161193262555141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1734_1.jpg Testimony 7: https://shahit.biz/supp/1734_5.jpg senators' letter: https://shahit.biz/supp/1734_6.pdf photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1734_7.jpg
Entry created: 2018-12-31 Last updated: 2021-09-16 Latest status update: 2021-09-07 1753. Saule Meltai (萨吾列·米勒太)
Chinese ID: 654325197211280023 (Chinggil)
Basic info
Age: 47 Gender: F Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Altay Status: documents withheld When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): "two-faced"|"untrustworthy person" Health status: has problems Profession: medicine
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|6|8|9|10|11|13|16|17: Zhenis Zarhan, a citizen of Kazakhstan as of 2018. (husband)
Testimony 7: Muqadys Zhengis, a resident of Kazakhstan. (son)
Testimony 12: Zhenis Zarhan, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (husband)
Testimony 14|18: Saule Meltai, a nurse from Qinghe County, is a survivor of the mass incarcerations in Xinjiang. (the victim)
Testimony 15: Zhenis Zarhan, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (husband)
Testimony 19: Official detention notice, provided after the initial detention of a suspect in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 20: Zhenis Zarhan, as reported by Eurasianet. (husband)
About the victim
Saule Meltai is a professional nurse, the wife of Kazakhstan citizen Zhenis Zarhan, and a mother of two. She has previously been awarded several times in her workplace and has co-authored at least one article in her field.
ID address: Apt. 301, Entrance No. 1, Building No. 2, Guangming Street, Chinggil Municipality, Chinggil County, Xinjiang (新疆青河县县青河镇光明街2号楼1单元301室).
Registration address: 7-4-802 Jindi Garden Residential Area, West Unity Road, Chinggil Municipality (青河镇团结西路金帝花园小区7-4-802).
Chinese passport number: G26467501. She obtained a Kazakhstan residence permit in 2008.
Victim's location Believed to be at her home address.
When victim was detained
She went from Kazakhstan to China on September 12, 2017 to sell her apartment, but had her documents confiscated after arrival. As a result, she ended up working for 4 months at a hospital in Chinggil as a nurse. According to materials found on local websites, it appears that she and her son, Muhtar, took part in the "becoming family" campaign during this time, both as the visitors (visiting an elderly lady) and the visited (being visited by a male Han cadre).
On January 10-11, 2018, she was arrested and later taken to a concentration camp, where she would spend about nine months. According to Saule, the interior was freezing cold and the guards would leave the windows open. Steamed buns would be thrown in through a hole in the door, if at all, and there was very little time allotted to use the washroom.
At one point, Saule was allegedly taken by wheelchair to what appeared to be a courtroom and told that she would be sentenced to 7 years.
She remained in camp until September/October 28, 2018 (testimonies differ on the month), at which point she needed to have an operation and was rushed to Urumqi - having metal implants inserted into her lower spine. While at the hospital, she was supervised by six people and had to pay for her own meals and accommodation (according to her husband, the hospital bill reached around 100000RMB). She was then released and allowed to stay with her mother, Sabila Merke, who would take care of her for the coming three months. She was essentially under house arrest during this time.
On February 14, 2019, she had to have a craniotomy, spending 17 days in the hospital, with costs totaling 80000RMB. According to the victim herself, people from state security visited her while she was at the hospital and not yet fully recovered, telling her to cooperate with them and silence her husband in exchange for them returning her passport and allowing her to go abroad. [It is not 100% clear if this happened during the first hospital stay or the second, although the latter is more likely given as her husband had already become much more vocal by then.]
Since then, Saule has remained under what essentially appears to be house-town arrest, unable to get her documents and rejoin her husband and other son in Kazakhstan. According to her husband, his petitions in Kazakhstan have led to some improvements for her, with the government paying some of the medical bills and giving Saule her full salary. However, judging by his continued campaigning and Saule's own desperation (as seen in her video testimony), things are still very dire.
In May 2020, Saule was approached by the head of the Chinggil county hospital, Yao Xinghong, as well as by the deputy head Perhat and the director Xia Ruili. They asked her to resume working at the hospital, in spite of the health problems and trauma that she's been dealing with. They said that she may be dismissed otherwise.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
In one testimony, the victim's husband says that she was taken to a camp for being "two-faced", as "evidenced" by her wearing a headscarf (which he says she doesn't), not drinking, not socializing with others, and visiting Kazakhstan too many times.
In a number of testimonies, Zhenis also blames Xia Ruili (夏瑞利), the director of the Chinggil People's Hospital (青河县人民医院), for having his wife detained. He believes that this was an act of revenge for a complaint that Saule had written about him three years earlier, in which she stated that he did not treat his employees well.
On her official detention slip, it says that she was detained for investigation because she had been "classified as belonging to other untrustworthy people who may influence stability".
Victim's status
She is under house-town arrest, and is required to have the local neighborhood authorities accompany her if she goes anywhere. She and her son, Muhtar, have not been returned their passports and are not being allowed to leave to join the other half of their family in Kazakhstan. In April 2020, her husband reported that the local authorities installed a camera in the house, which he believes is due to his meeting with Michael Pompeo in Kazakhstan.
Judging by the victim's own testimony, she is also under a lot of pressure from the authorities to silence her husband. No one there cares about her, she says, and no one is willing to help.
Even before her detention, Saule was already suffering from blood pressure, cerebral infarction, and myocardial infarction issues. While at camp, she started having incontinence issues, and would have to undergo the two major surgeries mentioned above. In her conversation with her husband, she says that her face is partially paralyzed. Overall, she does not appear to be in very good health, in addition to the psychological pressure she is under.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
From the sound of it, Zhenis was getting news about his wife's situation from a number of sources - his son in Xinjiang, direct contact with the police, and a friend in Urumqi.
At some point, it appears that he was now able to contact Saule directly.
Saule's own account, delivered as a recorded video call with her husband, is an eyewitness testimony.
Additional information
Zhenis also reports harassment and demands from the Chinese authorities, such as his pension being halted, his not being allowed to cancel his Chinese citizenship/registration, and his being demanded to come back to Chinggil.
Eurasianet feature: https://eurasianet.org/interview-kazakh-from-china-fights-to-free-his-family
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR042
Saule's academic article on the role of nurses (full version attached below): http://archive.is/OhD3r
Xia Ruili’s phone number: 13565181286. Listed at: http://archive.is/OAm7N
A "becoming family" diary for her family: http://archive.is/5iaol
Another diary where she is the visitor: http://archive.is/E5R8U Eyewitness account
[The following is the translated transcript of a phone call between Zhenis Zarhan and his wife, Saule Meltai. Saule, a nurse from Altai’s Shingil County, was forced to spend nine months in a camp, prior to being released in late 2018, at which time she required two major surgeries. Afterwards, she would remain under town-house arrest, with the authorities refusing to give her and her son their passports, thereby making it impossible for them to reunite with their family in Kazakhstan. The phone call took place in January 2020. Judging by the context and content, Zhenis intended for it to be shared publicly for the world to see.]
Zhenis: It won't be long now. Say what you have to.
Saule: What?
Z: I'm working on going to the US so that we can bring you home. So that you can move here.
S: I'm tired of telling these people. Nobody listens to what I say now. Nobody.
Z: No need to tell them. No need to beg.
S: It's been three years now that you haven't seen your child.
Z: And your child [here in Kazakhstan] misses you too.
S: Do you think it's easy to stay in this empty house? I can't sleep. I cannot close my eyes, thinking of my child. And my health problems only make it worse. When you have a problem and ask or beg for help... I've gone to the political and legal affairs commission, to the police station... to your work unit. They just ignore me. Nobody wants me around. They threaten me instead. "If you don't make your husband shut up, you and your child will never be able to go abroad. You'll never see them again." That's what they tell me. They threaten me all the time.
Z: What else did they say?
S: [Unclear] all the time. I've missed my child so much. I can't bear it anymore. No official listens. You beg them for this and for that. I've endured so much. Nobody listens, nobody cares about you. And they threaten you. "If you continue talking about this, we'll make it so that you'll never be able to leave your house. We'll blacklist you and you'll never be able to go to Kazakhstan to see your husband and son. We won't let your family reunite." ...they threaten me.
Will I spend the rest of my life like this? Life's really become difficult. I can't take it anymore. Our family is torn apart. Is it easy for a mother to be separated from her child? For entire days and nights I cannot sleep. I need to take sleeping pills. This is the only way I can make this agony stop briefly. Every bit of what I've had to experience is etched in my memory. There's nothing they haven't done to torture me. And there's my health problems on top of that. Nobody is there to help.
I've gone everywhere to ask for help, but nothing. I've gone to the police, to state security, to the political and legal affairs commission... Nobody cares. My only hope is you, hoping that you could take me away from here. Here, they don't listen. They don't care. Z: It's been three years already.
S: How can one spend three years like this? The first year, they locked me up for nine months for nothing. I needed treatment and they wouldn't take me to the hospital. Only in the end did they take me to the operating room for a major surgery. After having my lower back nailed [metal implants], I'm suffering from partial paralysis on my face now, because of all the damage to my nerves.
They did another operation on my brain. Not long after the operation, while I was only starting to recover, a person from State Security, the head of the hospital, and several policemen came to me and shamelessly said to me: "your husband is looking for you - make him shut up!" They told me to cooperate with them and promised to issue me a passport and said "we'll sort out your husband's pension issues so that he'll be able to receive it again soon". But they lied… [unclear]… "We’ll let you go, we'll help your son get his passport", and so on... Those shameless people came to the hospital in Urumqi to tell me this. I thought they were humane, that they would solve my problems. I believed them and did everything as I was told to do.
After a month, I returned home [from the hospital] and asked them about their promises to reinstate your pension. I also mentioned how much money I had to spend on the two operations. But they just kept lying to me, saying they'd handle it “soon”. Then I asked them to just get my passport issues sorted, saying how much I missed my child and how it's been three years now that I've been living through this torture. I pleaded with them to give me my passport, but no one wants to take responsibility. The work unit says that state security should stamp it, who then says that no, someone else should… [unclear]
I didn't tell you this at the start, but I'm helpless now. What have I done to be treated like this? I haven't committed any crime. I had worked for 28 years, and was planning to spend the rest of my life in peace. I've really missed my son. It's been three years… Is this fair? Whom should I go to and plead for help? They threaten me. Still, I hope that there are some people with dignity.
I'm a mother. Mothers brought all of us into this world, and human beings should have respect for mothers. Are they so heartless that they would leave a mother in such a situation? It's been really difficult. I've been hiding from you all the time. I had been worried about you. But I can't bear it anymore. I think that my heart might stop at any time. I sometimes think that I might die while I'm sleeping. I'm worried that I may never see my family again. I think the people have changed, and I doubt that there are still kind people left here.
I've already gone through all this pain and I'm used to it, but I still can't control the feelings I have towards my child. Missing your children and being separated from them is far worse than any health problems you might have. Staying alone in a house like this for two years isn't easy either. I don't know where to go for help now. Nobody wants me around. If I talk, they don't listen. They just lie to me. To be a woman and go through all this sorrow for three years… I don't know who will help me. When you write something nice, I feel happy. The days drag by so slowly. It's so difficult, being stuck in the middle of all this. My heart breaks when I think of the children.
Z: I hear you, I hear you. Don't cry. God willing, I'll be going to America soon. And I won't stop until I get you back. There are people all around the world, Kazakhstani people, and all Kazakh people, countries that stand up for justice, like America, as well as human rights organizations. I will reach out to as many of them as I can. I won't stop my appeals until I get you and my son back to Kazakhstan.
China isn't God. They also signed international treaties that they're obligated to abide by. There is no law that gives permission to a country to separate families. There is international law, so why doesn't China abide by it? It's one of the UN member states. They say that Kazakhstan is their friend and neighbor. They should show their friendship, then. We're not enemies.
S: I'm a woman and they can see the sorrow I'm going through, but they have no sympathy. They were also brought into this world by mothers, so why do they torture a mother like this? Why don't they just decide and say: let's take pity on this woman and solve her problems? But no, it turns out that they don't care. I haven't been able to sleep for months. I don't even know whom to ask for help, and I just lie and I cry. My pillow has become soaked with tears.
It's so difficult to deal with something like this at this age. It's so hard to not be able to see your child. This hurts more than learning about him dying would, because at least then you'd know that he died. This, to miss your child and not be able to see him, is much harder. And I'm not healthy either, you know. Is there any suffering I still haven't been subjected to? I'm afraid that I will die before I get to see my son. I'm afraid of my heart stopping while I'm asleep.
Z: Don't cry. Hang in there. Hang in there, hang in there... I'm... I'm doing my best to help you. I'm continuing to appeal.
S: Officials like Chairman Xi are talking about all these great policies, but the local authorities aren't implementing them. They just threaten people. "If you continue doing this, you will never leave this country. You and your son will stay in China forever." That's how they threaten me. How am I supposed to bear all this?
Z: Look, those people just say whatever comes to mind. Don't be afraid of them. I'm continuing to appeal. I'm doing all I can.
S: I'll die thinking of my child.
Z: Don't say that. Just hang in there. It won't be long now. There are many people who support us. All the people in Kazakhstan support us. All the Kazakhs support us. In a month or so, I'll go to the US, God willing. I'll go to the UN, to the European Union... Everywhere. They'll have no choice but to let you go. There are international laws. They cannot just separate families for no reason. You're not a criminal. Please, don't cry.
S: I've had to endure so much. I was locked up for months for no reason. I've become sick and was incontinent, wetting my bed. But the hope to reunite with my family gave me the courage to overcome all of this. And now they keep lying. Our family has experienced so much misfortune. I think that I may die here like this, without ever seeing my child again.
Z: You'll see him soon, God willing. What about Muhtar? How is he?
S: He's also worried. He also misses his brother and father. He misses his family.
Z: It's all right, don't cr...
S: I wish... I wish they'd at least let him go, so you'd all be able to live there together.
Z: They're not letting either of you go, right?
S: If it meant you being able to reunite, I would endure anything. It's been so hard. I've asked everyone for help, but nobody listens. I've gone to state security, the police, your work unit, government offices, county officials... I spent the entire summer going to them with my application letters. I begged them, telling them that I'm a mother. Nobody cared... [unclear]
I was a good employee. I worked for 28 years. I accomplished all my duties with responsibility. I was loyal. I never did anything wrong. I don't know what they want from me now.
Z: It's all right, please don't cry. I'll bring you home soon. Only international organizations can help you. It doesn't look like the local authorities are planning to let you go. What was the name of that head police officer? Song Jian? He and Jian Tingwei, neither of them wants to let you go. I'm going to ask for help from international organizations. I met one of the high officials from the US today.
S: Human beings should protect mothers, not torture them. What have I done to end up like this?
Z: It's all right, don't cry.
S: Why shouldn't I cry?
Z: It's all rig...
S: I've been keeping it inside all this time. I'm taking pills now to calm my heart. I cannot sleep at night, thinking of my child. I can sleep only with the help of the pills. I'm counting the days now. One day, two days… as I long for that wonderful day when I can see my son. It's so hard. I can't take it anymore.
Z: Calm down, it'll be fine. Don't cry. I'll go to the US soon... to New York City, to the UN. I will meet with the US officials. You should know that I met a very high-level US official today. He said he would help us get you and our son on a list of protected people. He also gave me the names of the people I'd meet there. He also said he'd assist me with contacting some of them and then have them talk to the Chinese government. We've done something good today. It won't be long now…
You can be sure of that - I spent the entire day there today. I gave him your photos, ID numbers, my letters of appeal... all the important stuff. He said that he would help us because you were a nurse. He said that they would help get you here. Our worst days are behind us.
S: All of them were born from mothers...
Z: Do you think they understand this? They weren't born from mothers. They were born from stone.
S: I worked as a nurse... I've rescued many lives. And now when I'm in such a bad situation, why isn't there a single person kind enough and willing to help me? Shouldn't virtue have its rewards? Am I the only nurse who's going through this?
Z: It's all right, I...
S: Why are they torturing me like this?
Z: It's all right, don't be afraid. I will let the whole world know about you, about your tears. I will get this translated into English and show it to the officials from the US and the UN. I'll post it on their websites. I'll have them watch and see the state you're in.
They're saying that they're not doing anything to Kazakhs in China, that Kazakhs there are free... That they're being released and allowed to go to Kazakhstan, that there are no separated families... The Chinese government is saying this. S: I've been trying not to talk about all this. I didn't want it to worry you. I've kept it all hidden, but I won't endure it any longer. My heart is just a fist-sized chunk of flesh now. My heart cannot bear this anymore. The rest I can put up with, but not being separated from my son.
Z: It's all right, you'll come here soon. I've told you - I've been appealing. All the people in Kazakhstan are watching. The whole world knows about it. Everybody knows what you're going through. It's just five or six people in China saying they won't let you go. But there are other people too. There are international organizations.
Just be patient. Don't cry. The worst days are behind us. God willing, everything will get better soon. Everybody is making wishes and praying for you, including some who are coming back from their pilgrimage to Mecca. I'm sure their wishes will come true.
If it's true that China and Kazakhstan are friends, they'll have to release you. If they don't let you go, it means that they think of Kazakhstan as an enemy. This is what I want the Chinese to think about. Look at Kazakhstan's display of friendship. The Chinese come here in thousands, tens of thousands. Why can they come and my family cannot?
I will talk about this with the UN. I'll tell them many things there. They've trampled on the rights of the ethnic minorities and made us second- and third-class people. There are some Chinese like that in Shingil, headed by Xia Ruili. It's all right, don't cry. It'll be all right. Just hang in there. I've been working on this. Don't be afraid.
The international... International organizations are aware of your case. They're paying close attention to it. Some people ask me to always keep them posted.
S: The only thing I did wrong was try to defend the hospital...
Z: No point in bringing that up. They won't understand anyway. We'll have time to talk about it later. The most important thing right now is that you're not a criminal and you haven't committed any crime. You haven't violated any Chinese law. It's not like you work for state security, either. They're doing it intentionally. I've told the Chinese numerous times - if they let you go, we will stop appealing. But they don't understand. Now the only choice is to resolve this with the help of international organizations.
S: How many times have I begged them, breaking into tears and bowing to them? It hasn't stirred the least sympathy in their hearts.
Z: Their hearts aren't made of flesh and blood. They'll laugh and enjoy it if you cry. They'll get pleasure out of watching you go to them and cry and ask for help. Not even Hitler, during the Second World War, separated families the way that they're doing. What they're doing now is even worse than Hitler. They've become fascists, like Hitler. During the Second World War, separated families were able to reunite. Even Hitler said that families shouldn't be separated. Compared to these people, Hitler was humane.
Come on now, don't cry... I've told you - I'm working on this. I won't leave you like this. Everyone is helping me financially. Some people are helping get me a ticket. I told you - I met a prominent US official. He asked me not to disclose his name, but he's arranged everything there. People will meet me at the airport. China cannot live without the rest of the world. They cannot do everything alone. Our problem is so trivial. They could have just let the two of you go. I think they're worried that you might come here and start saying bad things about them. Who knows what they're thinking... S: I've no intention of badmouthing them. All I want is to reunite with my family. That's my only wish.
Z: It's all right, it's all right... Don't cry. I think you've said everything that needed to be said. Have you told everything that you wanted to tell? I've also told you that I'm doing all I can. Other people are helping as well.
S: I was worried about you and didn't tell you about this.
Z: Worrying isn't going to change things.
S: I thought the local officials would help me sort this out. I've pleaded for help numerous times.
Z: But they threaten you, don't they? Did the head of the police station, Song Jian, threaten you?
S: They say that they won't let me leave this place, and that I won't be able to see my family. I told them I was a mother and asked them how they feel when they don't see their kids for an hour, while I haven't seen mine for three years. I've gone through all these torments. I started having problems with my health, and I might die like this one day, still longing to see my son. My heart will just stop beating. I can't bear it all anymore. I begged them to let me go. They threatened me, saying that my son and I will stay in China forever.
Z: They can't make you stay in China. You belong to an international family, one that has been separated. You have a husband who's a Kazakhstan citizen. China doesn't have the right to split a family in two. They've signed treaties in the UN that say as much. They promised not to separate families when they signed those treaties. They promised to abide by international law and not split families into two.
All right, all right... Don't cry. We're done.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FogVc23vEiU
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_9.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_9.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=9
Victims among relatives
Muhtar Zhenis (2254)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAdCdP3C4yI Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V8f4SwRu_U Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0kod9zMb4 Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkgQaxSr7vE Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7fIIJgDNW4 Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZu7wRrNwVA Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFGjgpti_sE Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jiam1TX1yEY Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F-mhm2XE70 Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOWjxeUMtuE Testimony 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYpPCSGdeok Testimony 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKfEbs1BHgA Testimony 16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD_f1KYLNlU Testimony 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unw7E7CMeFE Testimony 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXgr1nsWrAU Testimony 1: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_1.mp3 Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_2.jpg Steel implant MRI: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_3.jpg Medical bills: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_4.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_5.jpg medical conditions document: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_6.jpg marriage certificate: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_7.jpg article by victim: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_18.pdf w/ son visiting a "relative": https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_20.png letter from US ambassador: https://shahit.biz/supp/1753_22.jpg
Entry created: 2019-01-01 Last updated: 2021-04-11 Latest status update: 2020-09-24 1764. Hesenjan Qari (艾山江·卡日)
Chinese ID: 653021196912201618 (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 50 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Tumshuq Status: sentenced (14 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism", "extremism" Health status: has problems Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Fatime Hesenjan, an Uyghur girl from Kazakhstan. (daughter)
Testimony 2: Arzigul Mamytilimova, originally from Chochek, but now living in Kazakhstan. She and her family fled to Central Asia during the Cultural Revolution. (mother-in-law)
Testimony 3: Adiljan Mamutov, an Uyghur who was born in Kyrgyzstan but is now a Kazakhstan citizen. (relative)
Testimony 4: Nesridin Ablimit Maratov, a citizen of Kazakhstan, born in 1969. (relative)
Testimony 5|7: Gulghuncha Manapova, an ethnic Uyghur and a citizen of Kazakhstan. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 6: Gulshen Manapova, an ethnic Uyghur and Uzbekistan citizen, now living in Kazakhstan. (wife)
Testimony 8|9|11: Gulshen Manapova, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (wife)
Testimony 10: Gulshen Manapova, as reported by Apple Daily. (wife)
Testimony 12: Gulshen Manapova, as reported by The Believer. (wife)
Testimony 13: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
Testimony 14: Gulshen Manapova, as reported by Raise the Voices. (wife)
Testimony 15: Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government body charged with handling Uzbekistan's foreign relations.
About the victim
Hesenjan Qari, born in Atush, is a Chinese citizen. He got into business after completing middle school, and would spend many years as a textile trader, coming and going between China and Central Asia.
In 1997, he got married to Gulshen Manapova in Uzbekistan. The couple spent some years in Tashkent and later moved to Shymkent, Kazakhstan, where they would run a fabric shop as a family business. Their six children all hold Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan passports.
Registered address in China: 090 Great Bazaar Road, Suntagh Village, Suntagh Township, Atush City, Xinjiang (新疆阿图什市松他克乡松他克村大巴扎路090号).
Chinese passport: G57431746. Kazakhstan green card: 040758336.
Victim's location
In Tumshuq Prison.
When victim was detained
Hesenjan returned to Xinjiang in February 2017, following summons from the local authorities and relatives also urging him to come. A week after, he received a call from a local government official and had to come in for questioning, with officers confiscating his passport and Kazakhstan resident card, making it impossible for him to go back to Kazakhstan.
He was taken to a camp in October 2017. In April 2018, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison, with the relatives in Atush receiving a corresponding paper document. However, the relatives reported receiving a call from the police in December 2018, where the authorities told them that they were taking Hesenjan back to camp - the Fifth District Camp in Atush - and asked for the relatives to send over clothes. In early May 2019, his wife Gulshen wrote an appeal letter to an EU delegation in which she stated that she had recently learned that he had been transferred to a C-level camp (the worst kind).
At some point, Hesenjan was given a 14-year, 6-month prison sentence, and was transferred to the Tumshuq Prison on July 24, 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to the official incarceration notice, "joining a terrorist group" and "using extremism to undermine law enforcement".
Victim's status
Believed to be in a prison and sentenced for 14 years and 6 months.
According to his wife Gulshen in her appeal letter, his mental health appears to have worsened significantly, based on a phone conversation with his family.
[It is likely that the victim has been subjected to forced labor at the Tumshuq Prison, as the existence of "labor-skills workshops" has been documented at the facility.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
His wife has been getting news through relatives in the region, and had been able to have limited communication with Hesenjan before his arrest (though the conversations were monitored). In October 2017, he let her know that he was going to be taken to a camp "to study".
The incarceration notice is an official document from the Xinjiang prison system.
Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs presumably obtained the confirmation directly from the Chinese authorities.
Additional information
The victim's absence has taken a significant toll on his wife and six children, as they have been left without their main source of financial support. Five of these children are underage.
That Hesenjan was first sentenced but then transferred back to camp is rare. However, the testifier claims that she's heard of Uyghurs in Bishkek also mentioning news of Uyghurs (in Atush, perhaps) who were first sentenced but then transferred back to camp, and that this was fairly common.
Coverage by the Apple Daily: https://uat-xinjiangcamps.appledaily.com/尋親者/Gulshan-Manapova/全文
Story in Raise the Voices: https://raisethevoices.org/2020/10/06/the-trip-of-no-return-raise-the-voices/
---
Gulshen's first-person testimony as given to "The Believer":
Mostly men are taken to the camps. What happens then? The authorities send loyal Chinese families from the coast to live with the women in the homes of the disappeared. A Han Chinese man is sent to Xinjiang and placed in the house where the detained person had lived. Or it could be a couple. Or a family with kids. But sometimes it’s just one man who is sent to live in a house full of women...
They lecture their hosts about the Communist Party. They continue to live among the family even when the detained family member returns. Everyone I know who spent some time in the camp, who was released to their home in China—in every case I know about, they have Chinese families living with them, lecturing them. And the families will report on any misbehavior. If you so much as look at them in a disagreeable way, they might tell the authorities and have you taken away to the camp. My husband’s relatives have such people living with them. As a result, these days their phones are almost always switched off. They’re afraid. I try to reach them to find out about my husband, but they call only when the “visitors” are out of the house.
I grew up speaking Uighur. My family is Uighur. My parents escaped to the Soviet Union in 1969 and settled in Kazakhstan. Back in China they were cattle herders, but in Kazakhstan they became cooks. Later, when I was young, we went to Uzbekistan looking for work. They opened a café there. I’m an Uzbek citizen, actually. I met Aishanjiang and we were married in Tashkent in 1997. He was visiting from China, doing some business there. He worked with textile factories, importing fabric from China into Central Asia. The border was easy at the time: you just crossed it. I came with my husband to Kazakhstan and we opened a shop here. We were just starting our business when he was arrested.
He was going to visit some of our factories in Ürümqi. As soon as he entered China, his passport was taken from him. He was brought to Atush, his birthplace. And from there he wasn’t allowed to leave. At the time, we hadn’t heard anything about the camps. He went into China without any knowledge of them. Such cases of people being taken to camps are rare in Ürümqi, where he did business, so when they told him to come in for questions, he went.
The day he was taken, he had some idea of what was happening. He called me to say he was going to be taken to a camp. I don’t know if I’m going to be back or not, he said. He couldn’t say any more. He couldn’t describe his situation. What are you going to do? I asked. Why are you being sent to a camp? To study, he said. But you’re old, I told him. You’re almost fifty. He said that one of his relatives—almost eighty years old— was already studying in the same camp. Age is irrelevant, he said. That was last October. Since then, he’s vanished. I heard he’s in prison now.
And others—there are many others. My husband’s older brother died in the same camp where my husband was. He was almost sixty years old. The authorities said he had a precondition, an illness of some kind, but he was healthy when I knew him. And my husband’s sister’s son was sentenced to twenty years in prison for making hajj. My sister-in-law’s husband, the imam at Atush, was sentenced to fourteen years. I’ve heard from his wife that he’s in the prison hospital. His condition isn’t good. And there are many other relatives whose fate I don’t know. Probably they’re all in prison but I don’t know. I can’t tell.
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_3.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_3.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=3
Official communication(s)
Source: Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
------
Dear Gulshan Ablemitovna,
Your appeal concerning your husband detained in China, addressed to the human rights representative of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Uzbekistan, has been reviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' department for processing the appeals of individuals and legal entities.
In reviewing your case, we have learned that your spouse, K. Aishanzhan, is a Chinese citizen, and that he is in detention for re-education by the competent authorities. As the relations between a foreign country and its citizens are considered to be the internal affairs of that country, it is not allowed, in accordance with the principles of international law, for another country to interfere in the given case.
As such, the case as stated in your application is not within the jurisdiction of Uzbekistan. As the wife of K. Aishanzhan, you are recommended to appeal directly to the relevant authorities in China.
In accordance with the requirements of the "Law Regarding the Appeals of Individuals and Legal Entities" of the Republic of Uzbekistan, you have the right to appeal to a higher-level body, or to appeal directly to the court, should you not be satisfied with the given reply.
Head of the Department B. Alikulov
Victims among relatives
Memtili Ablet (2609), Abdulla Weli (2702), Imam Husen Muhemmet (2610) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51zcCcAAcaU Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixZczimPhYk Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bBxwfC5T1c Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwvhh-Ey30 Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks1Q_apRl6A Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W6LtaJUmN4 Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj2W5ObNAMk photo with daughter: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_8.jpg appeal to EU delegation: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_19.pdf photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_20.png photo with kids (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_21.png photo with baby (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_22.png photo with baby (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_23.png photo with kids (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_24.png portrait: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_25.png photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_26.png Kazakhstan residence card: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_27.png Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_28.png reply from Kazakh MFA: https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_29.png MFA reply (English translation): https://shahit.biz/supp/1764_30.pdf official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_1764.png
Entry created: 2019-01-01 Last updated: 2021-04-08 Latest status update: 2020-07-30 1827. Nejibulla Ablet (乃吉布拉·阿布来提)
Chinese ID: 653129198802120011 (Peyziwat)
Basic info
Age: 33 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Aksu Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|--- Health status: --- Profession: medicine
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|6: Muhemmed'eli Ablet, originally from Peyzawat County but now living in the United States. (brother)
Testimony 5: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 7: Muhemmed'eli Ablet, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother)
Testimony 8: Muhemmed'eli Ablet, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Nejibulla Ablet was a cardiologist and endocrinologist at the Kashgar No. 1 People's Hospital (also known as Kirembagh Hospital). He finished both high school (Nanjing Advanced High School) and university (clinical medicine, Northwestern Nationalities University (西北民族大学), 2012) in inner China, and speaks Mandarin fluently. He's a father of two underage children.
Victim's location
The testifier says that he heard that his brother is in Aksu's Kucha County. However, he adds that he has not been able to confirm this.
When victim was detained
The victim was summoned by local Kashgar police for a talk on February 20, 2018, and has been missing since.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Contact with a family member abroad. Victim's status
No news of him since he was summoned by the police. Testifier says that he was detained without any due process.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
When Muhemmed'eli tried to call the hospital where his brother was employed, he was told by the staff that they could not provide information about other staff, as instructed by a government notice.
In his last call to the testifier, Nejibulla had asked his brother for personal details, including the name of the school he was attending in the US. It is suspected that police made him ask those questions.
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR043
Victims among relatives
Qari Hashim (1819), Ablimit Imin (1817), Mijit Yusup (1820), Ebeydulla Urayim (1821), Hebirahman Urayim (1822), Memetahun Rehim (1818), Sanigul Memet (1824), Muhemmed Hebiburahman (1823), Ablajan Abduwari (2558), Buayshem Ablimit (1826), Musaeli Abdureyim (1825), Mijit Yusup (1816), Rozijan Abdurahman (5633)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5v22CuTi7I Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXcobJ2R_Q8 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6oN8PUSNg Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL4NoxpkKrE Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XikI3F3f3Y8 wedding photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1827_6.jpg
Entry created: 2019-01-03 Last updated: 2021-09-21 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 1880. Dilshat Oralbai (迪力夏提·吾力拜依)
Chinese ID: 65412119620722??O? (Ghulja County)
Basic info
Age: 58 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (25 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: has problems Profession: media/journalism
Testifying party
Testimony 1|5|6|8|10|11|13|14: Gulaisha Oralbai, born in 1972, is now a Kazakhstan citizen. (sister)
Testimony 2|4: Malike Mahmut, a citizen of Kazakhstan. (relative)
Testimony 3: Qabit Oralbai, a citizen of Kazakhstan. He was born in 1975 in Ghulja. (brother)
Testimony 7: Mehmet Volkan Kaşıkçı, a Turkish citizen, PhD student in Soviet history, and a volunteer for the Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights organization. (friend of relative)
Testimony 9|12: Gulaisha Oralbai, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (sister)
Testimony 15: Gulaisha Oralbai, as reported by Global Voices. (sister)
About the victim
Dilshat Oralbai was a journalist, translator, and editor-in-chief of a newspaper in Kuytun City. He was originally from a small village in Ili before moving to Kuytun.
After graduating from the Xinjiang Agricultural University in 1985, he first worked at the Ili News newspaper in Ghulja County (1985-1990), then went to work as a translator at the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Congress (1990-1994), as director of a Kuytun Kazakh-language newspaper (1995-2003), and as the head of the Language Bureau for the Ili prefecture (2004-2008). In 2008, he moved to Kazakhstan and opened a plastic-door-and-window production factory.
Over his career, he's translated 15 books (including "Captain Grant's Children" by Jules Verne and "Russian Character" by Tolstoy), over 30 stories, and 150 volumes of TV series from Chinese to Kazakh, and has been awarded numerous times for his journalistic articles.
Address: Kuytun City, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China.
He holds a Kazakhstan residence permit. Chinese passport number: G30141360. Victim's location
In prison in Ili (unclear which, as in some testimonies his sister says it is in Kuytun City, while in others that it's in Kunes County).
When victim was detained
According to the most recent testimonies from his sister, he went back to China in November 2016 for what was intended to be a brief family visit, had his documents taken then, and was under de facto house arrest until March/May 2018 (testimonies differ), when he was taken to camp.
He was allegedly sentenced to 25 years, but it's not clear when, as some testimonies say October 2019, while another says in June 2018. No official verdict has been given to the family.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
According to his sister's most recent testimony, he has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is allowed a video call with his family once a month and a visit once every 3 months. However, Gulaisha mentions that he had only been able to see his wife once prior to November 2019.
Gulaisha also mentions that he's previously undergone three major surgeries. Dilshat's wife also told Gulaisha that Dilshat had become very thin and looked seriously ill.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through relatives in Xinjiang.
The victim's wife told Gulaisha in late 2019 that she (the wife) was now allowed to visit Dilshat in prison and to call him once a month (previously she had had no news about him during his two years in pre-prison detention).
Additional information
His translation for sale on Amazon: http://archive.is/Wo8dc
Global Voices coverage: https://globalvoices.org/2020/01/22/kazakh-family-of-writers-and-musicians-caught-in-the-xinjiang-vortex /
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-11192019064034.html https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-11252019105435.html https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-04202020080926.html
Victims among relatives Baqtygul Oralbai (1881), Zhurat Oralbai (1879), Auahan Qurman (1883), Bagila Oralbai (1882)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsL51CQdNeU Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QClYScwWl0c Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrSJcQ7AqRc Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imba8966U6I Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EiuL3IDjj8 show-of-support testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlbUaVqk9J4 Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nkttKNhF6c Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV_-ZGk9E9g Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDlMWvcQ1Vw Testimony 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijTWSSK-qLM Testimony 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EOjcmkwjrk Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/Malike20905887/status/1284691976516927490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/1880_6.png photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/1880_12.jpeg old photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/1880_15.jpg biography (in Kazakh): https://shahit.biz/supp/1880_16.jpg
Entry created: 2019-01-04 Last updated: 2020-10-27 Latest status update: 2021-03-06 1910. Adiljan Tuniyaz (阿地里江·吐尼亚孜)
Chinese ID: 6531261970??????O? (Kaghilik)
Basic info
Age: 47-48 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism", "extremism" Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (former neighbor)
Testimony 2: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
About the victim
Adiljan Tuniyaz is a well-known Uyghur poet whose work encompasses a variety of contemporary subjects. He also owned the "Light and Pen" (Uyghur: "Nur we Qelem") bookshop in Urumqi.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
Adiljan was (most likely) arrested on December 25, 2017 [the same day as his father-in-law].
In February 2018, a Chinese officer at a "prison" [possibly: pre-trial detention center] in Miquan County, where another relative was being held, informed family members that they "shouldn't hold out any hope" for Adiljan and his wife, Nezire, because of the seriousness of the accusations against them.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Promoting terrorism and religious extremism.
Victim's status
In detention.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status? [Through contacts in the region, presumably.]
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholar-09252018145144.html
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
His poet profile: https://archive.vn/tux3L
His bookstore: https://archive.vn/2c6u0, https://archive.vn/KU4bc
Article about a poetry session where one of his poems was read (2015): https://archive.is/5l2E3
Brief mention in a report (2014): https://archive.is/YsSIU
Mentioned as being among those who read their own poems at a poetry reading (2015): https://archive.is/v8L9s
In May 2021, he [his case] was "adopted" by Nury Turkel: https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/uscirf-commissioner-nury-turkel-adopts-uyghur-r eligious-prisoner
Victims among relatives
Muhemmed Salih (256), Aynise Salih (2330), Nezire Muhemmed Salih (1911), Asiye Muhemmedsalih (2291), Ayshemqiz Hajim (2333), Ihpal Adil (3324), Ihsan Adil (3325), Ilyas Adil (3326), Imran Adil (3327), Mehsud Abley (2332), Nurmemet Mehsud (2334), Nejip Muhemmed Salih (2331), Abdukerim Ablikim (5510), Qasimjan Abdukerim (5511)
Supplementary materials photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/1910_1.png photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/1910_2.jpeg book by the victim: https://shahit.biz/supp/1910_3.png photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/1910_4.jpeg
Entry created: 2019-01-05 Last updated: 2021-01-06 Latest status update: 2018-09-25 2254. Muhtar Zhenis (木合塔尔·金格斯)
Chinese ID: 654325199403270013 (Chinggil)
Basic info
Age: 26 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Altay Status: documents withheld When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4: Zhenis Zarhan, a citizen of Kazakhstan as of 2018. (father)
Testimony 5: Zhenis Zarhan, as reported by Radio Azattyq. (father)
Testimony 6: Saule Meltai, a nurse from Qinghe County, is a survivor of the mass incarcerations in Xinjiang. (mother)
Testimony 7|8: Muhtar Zhenis, an elementary-school teacher from Altai's Shyngyl County. (the victim)
About the victim
Muhtar Zhenis is a graduate of Xinjiang University, where he studied Chinese language and literature. He is now a Chinese-language teacher at a school in the Chinggil municipality. [In an interview to Radio Azattyq, his father says that he's a doctor - it is not clear what this is in reference to and whether it might be an editorial/reporting mistake.]
In mid-2019, he transferred his household registration to Xi'an.
Address in Chinggil: Apt. 301, Entrance No. 1, Building No. 2, Guangming Street, Chinggil Municipality, Chinggil County, Xinjiang (新疆青河县青河镇光明街2号楼1单元301室).
Address in Xi'an: Building No. 1-1, 3 Caochangpo, Beilin District, Xi'an City (西安市碑林区草场坡3号1栋附1号).
Chinese passport: G52106412.
Victim's location
At his home in Chinggil Municipality.
When victim was detained Since 2017 [presumably September], he has had his passport confiscated by the local authorities, making it impossible for him to go to Kazakhstan to reunite with his father and brother. In addition to this, his mother, Saule Meltai, spent most of 2018 in a concentration camp, leaving there with numerous health problems. She has not been returned her passport either.
After Muhtar transferred his household registration to Xi'an in July 2019, local authorities have been using it as a pretext to harass him about his father's campaigning in Kazakhstan. He was called and interrogated by state security in November 2019, and again by an official at his school in December. He was interrogated another time in June 2020, with the authorities threatening him and telling him to get his father and brother abroad to stop going public about their family's situation.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
His passport is still confiscated.
Muhtar fears that the authorities are planning to put a label on him and to imprison him on false grounds.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Zhenis has been able to contact his son and to have video calls with him.
The accounts from Saule and Muhtar are both eyewitness testimonies.
Additional information
Eurasianet feature: https://eurasianet.org/interview-kazakh-from-china-fights-to-free-his-family
He's shown in a "becoming family" diary (between their family and official Zhang Qinghu): http://archive.is/5iaol
Another "becoming family" diary in which his mother is visiting an old lady with him: http://archive.is/E5R8U
Radio Azattyq coverage: https://www.azattyq.org/a/kazakhstan-ethnic-kazakhs-from-xinjiang-say-relatives-not-allowed-to-leave-chi na/30626967.html
Eyewitness account
[What follows is an abridged translation of an eyewitness account from Muhtar Zhenis, collated from two separate phone calls between him (in Xinjiang) and his father, Zhenis Zarhan (in Kazakhstan). In them, Muhtar describes the pressure applied to him by the local authorities as a result of his father’s continued campaigning for both Muhtar and his mother, Saule Meltai, to be allowed to reunite with their family in Kazakhstan. Saule previously spent around nine months in a camp. Neither she nor Muhtar have been returned their passports.] I'm a teacher at a school in Shyngyl County (青河县). Last July (2019), I legally transferred my household registration (户口) to Xi'an in the province of Shaanxi. The public security bureau in Xi'an also confirmed this, following the public security bureau in Shyngyl providing the relevant migrating-out document (迁出证). That’s how my registration was transferred to Xi'an.
In November 2019, people from the Shyngyl state security branch called me and told me to meet them at the neighborhood committee downstairs. There were three of them – a Mongol, from the Shyngyl state security branch, and two Han from the Altai public security bureau. They took my phone, then kept me in the state security bureau interrogation room, located on the second floor of the Shyngyl public security bureau building.
They told me that I had transferred my household registration. I told them that, being a Chinese citizen, I had the right to transfer my household registration. They told me that the upper-level officials had given them directions to investigate those Kazakhs having transferred their household registrations to inner China, or even just to Urumqi. They would investigate them one by one.
The interrogation lasted for six and a half hours. As it turned out, their main problem with me was my father and brother abroad. They wanted me to tell my dad and my brother to shut their mouth. I’d be released at around 6:30 (in the evening).
In late December, Wang Chunhong, an official at our school, as well as at the education department, threatened and intimidated me for two and a half hours. First about the household registration – why was I, as a Kazakh, transferring my registration to inner China? I told him that I had done it all according to the standard procedure and hadn't breached any law. He too required of me to make my dad and brother abroad shut up. He mentioned that there’d be no guarantees regarding my personal safety if they continued to speak out. He threatened me and said that he could arbitrarily put a label on me (扣帽子), which would then lead to my imprisonment. He told me that it was possible in Shyngyl, or even anywhere in all of Xinjiang.
Later, at the end of December, they went to Xi'an to investigate the household-registration problem and learned that about 700 Kazakhs had transferred their registrations there. However, I was the only “guilty” party that they found. So, the main reason was actually because my family was a transnational family (跨国家庭). Added to the fact that I'm an educated Kazakh youth. I don't understand what they want to falsely accuse me for.
At 5:30 pm on March 30, 2020, I received a phone call from the Xi'an public security bureau. Again they asked the same questions as the Shyngyl state security branch and the school official. I answered their questions and they just hung up. I called them back three times, with no result.
I would like to point out that I'm an educated youth who grew up going to a Han Chinese school. I haven't participated in any separatist or extremist activities, and haven’t colluded with any of the “three evil forces”. I'm from an ordinary Kazakh family and I'm an ordinary elementary-school teacher. I think they’re planning to put a label on me, saying that I was organizing the migration of Kazakhs from Shyngyl to Xi'an. They might falsely accuse me of this and imprison me.
[The following is from a separate phone call, regarding the most recent interrogation that took place in mid-June 2020, when the deputy head of the Altai political and legal affairs commission (政法委) and three others – including a psychologist – took Muhtar to the Haiyuan hotel and interrogated him for three hours.] They told me that you [my father] were up to something. I told them that I didn’t know what you were up to in Kazakhstan and that I didn't know what the laws in other countries were like. They also asked how many times I had visited Kazakhstan. I told them that I had been to Almaty in 2012 and 2016. Then they asked what you do there and whom you’re in contact with. How you earn money. They also told me that you, my dad, were a pawn in some game played by the Kazakhstan ministers and the US. That you were playing chess against us.
They were within an inch of hitting me, treating me as if I were their enemy. It felt like they were ready to swallow me whole. They wanted to frame me. I told them that I was not against the Chinese government and that I loved my birthplace, but they tried to find fault in my every word. They wanted to falsely accuse me, saying that there were problems with my thoughts. In the end, they told me that I had connections to Didar Qyzaibek (or something like that), who was a spy living in Xi'an.
They deleted everything on my phone. I wanted to film the interrogation, but they said that I was going to send this to you. There was a Kazakh guy as well. They said that they were following our every step – whom we called, what we were doing. They said that they had received an assignment from the upper-level officials and they were carrying out their assignment. One of the Han interrogators said that he was a friend of Xia Ruili [director of the local people’s hospital, where Muhtar’s mother used to work]. They said that they would contact me again.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svs9PhYXb94, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrx0RUga0sY
Victims among relatives
Saule Meltai (1753)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0kod9zMb4 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYpPCSGdeok Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkv0GPplRz8 Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD_f1KYLNlU Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FogVc23vEiU Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svs9PhYXb94 Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrx0RUga0sY Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/2254_2.jpeg "becoming family" photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/2254_4.jpg w/ mother visiting a "relative": https://shahit.biz/supp/2254_5.png
Entry created: 2019-01-22 Last updated: 2020-08-18 Latest status update: 2020-09-24 2280. Ayshe Abdurehim
Chinese ID: 653128201111221268 (Yopurgha)
Basic info
Age: 8 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: --- When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: minor
Testifying party
Testimony 1|4|5: Qelbinur Tursun, originally from Yopurgha County in Kashgar, but residing in Turkey since 2016. (mother)
Testimony 2: Qelbinur Tursun, as reported by Sky News. (mother)
Testimony 3: Douyin user, an unverified Douyin account.
Testimony 6: Enwer Ablimit, director of the Kashgar Education Bureau.
About the victim
Ayshe Abdurehim.
Address: Yiltizliq Village, Terim Municipality, Yopurgha County, Kashgar Prefecture (喀什地区岳普湖县铁热木镇依勒提孜力克村).
Victim's location
A video that showed her and other children, at what appeared to be an orphanage, surfaced in late 2018 and was traced to Hotan. However, it is unclear if Ayshe is still there (as she is originally from Yopurgha County in Kashgar).
When victim was detained
Ayshe's mother traveled to Turkey on April 12, 2016, together with Ayshe's father and one of her siblings. While her mother and one sibling remained in Turkey, her father returned to China with Ayshe and four of her siblings, and was arrested and imprisoned upon his return.
Afterwards, Ayshe would live with her aunt, uncle, and four siblings in Urumqi. Her last known whereabouts were at her mother's home in Kashgar, where she stayed with her maternal aunt and siblings. The last time that her mother received direct news of them (from the aunt) was on July 27, 2017. After a year and a half of no news, Ayshe was seen in a video on December 24, 2018, apparently taken at an orphanage in Hotan and seen by Ayshe's mother. There has been no other news since.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Possibly in an orphanage (though there has been no news since December 2018).
In mid-to-late 2019, Sky News tried to find Ayshe by checking various orphanages in the region, but were not successful.
At a press conference in January 2020, Enwer Ablimit claimed that at some point after Qelbinur Tursun left Xinjiang, her brother-in-law, Abduweli Rozi, took her children in, and has been raising them ever since at his home in Yopurgha County. Enwer Ablimit denied that the five children had been sent to a school in Hotan, and claimed that they are attending a local school. [It is not clear how genuine this is.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Ayshe's mother saw a video of her daughter in what appeared to be a state-run orphanage and called the person who posted it, who then said that it was taken in Hotan.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/children-01162019155411.html
Sky News coverage: https://news.sky.com/story/mysterious-roadblocks-and-armed-police-on-the-trail-of-chinas-missing-uighu r-children-11822938
Mentioned in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/world/asia/china-xinjiang-children-boarding-schools.html
Xinjiang press conference where the case was mentioned: https://archive.vn/GeG3E
Miscellaneous media evidence
Context: Qelbinur Tursun left to go to Turkey with her husband and one of their six children in April 2016. Her husband would later return to Xinjiang and be arrested, with the five remaining children left in the care of their aunt and uncle. From July 2017, however, Qelbinur no longer had any news of her children or what happened to them afterwards, until she saw a video of her daughter, Ayshe, on the Chinese platform Douyin in December 2018. In the video, Ayshe (second from the left), is seen with other children at what appears to be a boarding school (presumably, "orphanage"), as the group plays a game of touching the object or body part that their teacher instructs them to touch.
Video: https://shahit.biz/supp/misc_2280.mp4 Source: https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/uyghur-women-fighting-china-surveillance/ Victims among relatives
Abdurehim Rozi (2277), Abduhaliq Abdurehim (2278), Subhinur Abdurehim (2279), Abdusalam Abdurehim (2281), Abdullah Abdurehim (2282), Ibrahim Qurban (5626), Roziqari Tursun (5647), Sadiq Sayim (5648), Tuhan Abdurusul (5649)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAM0LeH6f38 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU6lcXORf0c video still: https://shahit.biz/supp/2280_2.png Chinese ID card and photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/2280_3.jpeg Testimony 5: https://shahit.biz/supp/2280_5.jpg
Entry created: 2019-01-24 Last updated: 2021-05-19 Latest status update: 2020-01-20 2395. Merhaba Abdushukur (买尔哈吧·阿布都许库尔)
Chinese ID: 652401196610012227 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 54 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|3*|4|6|10: Erpat Abdushukur, originally from Ghulja City but now living in Munich. (son)
Testimony 2: Unknown, but with a verified identity. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (relation unclear)
Testimony 7: Merhaba Yaqup, originally from Ghulja but now living in Australia. (former neighbor)
Testimony 8: Gulzire Tashmemet, originally from Ghulja but now residing in Germany. (friend of relative)
Testimony 9: Zohre Abdulmijit, now residing in Turkey. (niece)
About the victim
Merhaba Abdushukur is a housewife. She grew up and went to school in Ghulja. She's married and has three kids.
Address: No. 3, Alley No. 6, Development Town Street (发展乡街), Yining City.
Victim's location
A prison in Ghulja City.
When victim was detained
Taken from home in late November 2017, with black plastic bags put over her head.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Going to Turkey, Dubai, and other places with a tour group in 2015/2016 [unclear which year, as testimonies differ]. Victim's status
Serving a ~20-year sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Erpat mentions learning about it through the app Douyin (via friends/relatives).
Additional information
Written testimony in Turkish: http://www.yeniposta.de/80102.html
Mention by Crimean News Agency (Turkish): https://qha.com.tr/haberler/turkiye-ye-15-gun-turist-olarak-gelen-uygur-anne-ve-kizi-19-yil-hapis-cezasi-al di/140500/
Victims among relatives
Raziye Dilmurat (5623), Dilmurat Abliz (5951), Gulgine Tashmemet (406), Nigare Abdushukur (2396), Irpan Abdushukur (2397), Abdushukur Memetjan (2394)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcr3ZDV_6Us Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eAu_GXUTDw Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XdFYZiBqzM Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xdim4muXp0 Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY3s0MHsQrE Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/Yusura0531/status/1211807022775029760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/taschmamat/status/1223206580910526464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/2395_3.png Testimony 3 (Uyghur): https://shahit.biz/supp/2395_4.png info about victim (German): https://shahit.biz/supp/2395_5.pdf photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/2395_6.jpeg
Entry created: 2019-01-30 Last updated: 2020-04-21 Latest status update: 2021-04-01 2396. Nigare Abdushukur (尼格热·阿布都许库尔)
Chinese ID: 654101199406010266 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 26 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (19 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|3*|6: Erpat Abdushukur, originally from Ghulja City but now living in Munich. (brother)
Testimony 2: Unknown, but with a verified identity. (relation unclear)
Testimony 4: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5*: Erpat Abdushukur, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother)
Testimony 7: Merhaba Yaqup, originally from Ghulja but now living in Australia. (former neighbor)
Testimony 8: Gulzire Tashmemet, originally from Ghulja but now residing in Germany. (friend of relative)
Testimony 9: Zohre Abdulmijit, now residing in Turkey. (cousin)
Testimony 10: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Nigare Abdushukur was in her senior year of university, having started her studies at the Xinjiang Pedagogical Institute in 2013.
Address: No. 3, Alley No. 6, Development Town Street (发展乡街), Ghulja City.
Victim's location
A prison in Ghulja City.
When victim was detained
Taken from home in late November 2017, with black plastic bags put over her head.
(Police records mention her going through a police check on October 21, 2017 close to Urumqi's North Station, being deemed "completely normal" (一切正常), and allowed to move on (放行).)
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Sending money abroad, being in contact with people abroad.
Victim's status
Serving a 19-year prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Erpat mentions learning about it through the app Douyin (via friends/relatives).
Additional information
Written testimony in Turkish: http://www.yeniposta.de/80102.html
Mention by Crimean News Agency (Turkish): https://qha.com.tr/haberler/turkiye-ye-15-gun-turist-olarak-gelen-uygur-anne-ve-kizi-19-yil-hapis-cezasi-al di/140500/
A person with her name is listed as a supervisor of an investment company in Urumqi: https://archive.is/90gEV
Victims among relatives
Raziye Dilmurat (5623), Dilmurat Abliz (5951), Gulgine Tashmemet (406), Irpan Abdushukur (2397), Abdushukur Memetjan (2394), Merhaba Abdushukur (2395)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcr3ZDV_6Us Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eAu_GXUTDw Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xdim4muXp0 Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/Yusura0531/status/1211807022775029760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/taschmamat/status/1223206580910526464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/2396_3.png Testimony 3 (Uyghur): https://shahit.biz/supp/2396_4.png info about victim (German): https://shahit.biz/supp/2396_5.pdf
Entry created: 2019-01-30 Last updated: 2021-07-25 Latest status update: 2021-04-01 2517. Mirzahid Kerimi
Chinese ID: 6531011939??????O? (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 81-82 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (11 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): "problematic" literature|--- Health status: deceased Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2|7: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3|5|6: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 4: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 8: Mirzahid Kerimi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (the victim)
About the victim
(Haji) Mirzahid Kerimi was a writer and a retired editor at the Kashgar Uyghur Press. He generally wrote about Uyghur history and historians.
In 1959, when he was 20 years old, he was imprisoned for 13 years for the poem "The Baby in the Chest" ("sanduq ichidiki bowaq"), then kept for another 7 years under house arrest.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
It's not clear when he was detained in the more recent incarcerations.
He allegedly passed away on January 9, 2021. His death was confirmed by local police, though it is unclear if he died while in prison or while receiving treatment at the hospital. Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to an anonymous source who spoke to Radio Free Asia, he was detained for having written a number of books about Uyghur history, as well as for something he said during an event dedicated to his life.
Victim's status
Deceased.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not clear how Abduweli Ayup or the anonymous source learned about the detention or the reasons for the detention, but the local police and local government worker who confirmed would presumably have more direct knowledge of the matter.
Mirzahid Kerimi himself also spoke to Radio Free Asia in June 2017 (before the recent detention) to talk about a police raid on his home, during which five of his historical novels were allegedly confiscated.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/haji-mirzahid-kerimi-11092018190223.html/ https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/heptilik/heptilik-xewer-11162018171704.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/poet-01252021133515.html
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Mention in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/30/the-capital-of-xinjiang-is-now-in-turkey/
Supplementary materials
Twitter mention: https://twitter.com/pen_uyghur/status/1350402790166847488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/2517_1.png
Entry created: 2019-02-03 Last updated: 2021-04-29 Latest status update: 2021-01-09 2794. Tursun Memetahun
Chinese ID: 65402319????????O? (Korghas)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: concentration camp When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Ishqiyar Abdurehim, originally from Qorghas, but now living in Turkey. (grandson)
About the victim
Tursun Memetahun, 75 years old Uyghur man. He was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2008.
He is taken to the concentration camp. 5 people from this family are in concentration camps.
Victim's location
[likely in Korgas County, as that is where the family is from]
When victim was detained
Testimony 2: He was released from prison in 2013, but was taken to re-education camps in 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Testimony 2: previous detention was for teaching the Qu’ran to children (current unclear).
Victim's status in concentration camp
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status? unclear
Additional information
[A police list of people tagged as WASFRY (危安释放人员, "endangering-security released persons") includes a man named Tursun Memetahun, ID: 652423194705101774. Given the county, age, and the fact that this person has previously been interned, there is a high possibility that this is the same person, but there is not enough information to establish a certain match.]
Victims among relatives
Menzire Abdurehim (2792), Horigul Tursun (2795), Mewlidem Abdurehim (2793), Abdureyim Dawut (2796), Tursungul Huseyin (5390), Alimjan Abdurahman (5388), Ablikim Tursun (5389), Patime Alimjan (5391), Elkem Tursun (5425), Tursun Muhemmetrehim (5424), Roshengul Tursun (5427), Niyazjan Tursun (5426), Shohret Ablet (5428), Halmemet Tursun (5429), Ehmetjan Tursun (5501), Halmurat Tursun (5502)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suWKODo75yU Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP7bCARuzdg Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjrdnbmqQYU
Entry created: 2019-02-18 Last updated: 2021-08-18 Latest status update: 2019-05-17 3113. Abdurahman Sherazi
Chinese ID: 65220119????????O? (Kumul)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Hami Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Eliekber Abdurahman, originally from Hami but now a resident of Turkey. (son)
About the victim
Abdurahman Sherazi, 65 years old (as of February 2021).
Address [son's origin]: House No. 23, No. 1 Group, Edir Village, Tengritagh Township, Qumul.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Testimony 1: Taken to a "camp" in September 2017.
Testimony 3: sentenced at some point later.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Testimony 1: In a concentration camp.
Testimony 2: Testifier asks where he is and why he can't contact him.
Testimony 3: Sentenced to 20 years.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status? Not stated.
Additional information
---
Victims among relatives
Sheringul Abdurahman (3225), Abdusemed Abduwahid (3226), Ebu Hureyre Abdusemed (3227), Mehriban Abdusemed (3228), Hebibullah Abdusemed (3229), Abdugheni Abdurahman (3230), Abduweli Abdugheni (3232), Patigul Abdulhemid (3231), Nasir Abdurahman (3233), Ehmed Sherazi (3234), Mutteqi Ehmed (3235), Abdurahman Bunyamin (3236), Ebubekri Bunyamin (3237), Abdurahman Yaqup (3238)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/sayfullah.uyghur/posts/20 95162910588327&width=300 Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/YTurkistanli/status/1257633002227666944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/UygurHaber/status/1359012930063376386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Entry created: 2019-03-20 Last updated: 2021-03-14 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 3146. Memeteli Abdureshit (麦麦提艾力·阿布都热西提)
Chinese ID: 653121199003261233 (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 31 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (16 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism" Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Tursun Abdureshit, now residing outside of China. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: Nurmangul Abdureshit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (sister)
Testimony 3|4|5: Nurmangul Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now living in the US. (sister)
Testimony 6: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (sister)
Testimony 7: Nursiman Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now residing abroad. (sister)
Testimony 8: PRC consulate-embassy staff, a staff member at a People's Republic of China embassy or consulate.
Testimony 9: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by SupChina. (sister)
Testimony 10: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by Coda Story. (sister)
Testimony 11: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
About the victim
Memet'eli Abdureshit owned a car repair shop with his brother in the Chinese part of Kashgar City, where the two would repair and maintain luxury cars. He had also been helping his father, Abdureshit Tohti, with his business.
He is married and is a father of two.
Address: No. 035, Group No. 6, Shor Village, Saybagh Township, Konasheher County, Kashgar Prefecture (疏附县沙依巴格乡肖尔村6组035号).
Victim's location [Unclear, as he's been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Believed to have been detained in June 2017, as that's when contact was lost. [According to the article in Foreign Policy, their last phone call was on June 18, 2017, when Nurmangul called from Turkey.]
According to the Chinese embassy official in Ankara, Memet'eli was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months in prison on August 20, 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Having committed a criminal offense and "preparing to commit terrorist activities".
In one interview, Nursiman mentions that he had applied for a passport to go study in Turkey.
Victim's status
Presumably serving his sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The original news presumably came from relatives.
The confirmation of his being sentenced came from the Chinese embassy in Ankara, who presumably have direct knowledge of the case.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/jieduxinjiang/xinjiang-08232019110731.html
Testifier's article in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/08/i-was-a-model-uighur-china-took-my-family-anyway/
Coverage in SupChina: https://supchina.com/2020/07/01/the-imprisonment-of-the-model-villagers/
Coda Story coverage: https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/china-uyghur-migration/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR100
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Turkey
------
Chinese embassy staff (from Ankara, +90 312 490 06 79): Eh… we… it’s like this… we’re also, actually… We’re very sympathetic towards you, but… we must tell you about the situation. You can also make a petition for your complaint back in the country. You can go back to China to visit the prison. Because, we originally applied for you to see if you could contact (your family from outside) the country, but domestic prisons do not have the conditions to permit overseas phone calls. So, let’s say, especially after the pandemic, you can apply for a visa and come back to China, and visit the prison. This could include appealing against the verdict. So, do you need to know the details of your family’s situation?
Nursiman Abdureshit (Abdureshit Tohti’s daughter): Oh, you mean to say that it’s like I heard? That there’s no one left at home now?
Embassy staff: Yea, that’s about right. It’s like that, according to what we have found out.
Nursiman: How… How is that possible? I… Take my mother, at least – what crime could she have committed? A woman in her fifties…?
Embassy staff: It’s… written clearly in the file that we received. I mean, to be frank… Ours is a country of law, so they must have a reason. It’s written that she was sentenced to a 13-year prison term on December 13, 2017 for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities.
Nursiman: Ah? The one sentenced to 13 years was my mother?
Embassy staff: Yes.
Nursiman: December 13, 2017, okay. And my father?
Embassy staff: Your father… He… was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities. He is in prison now.
Nursiman: What? I’m sorry, my emotional state right now isn’t exactly… Could you please say that again?
Embassy staff: Of course, of course… I understand. I mean, I’m just informing you. I understand very clearly how it must feel. But, there are some things that we simply have to face.
Nursiman: So… My father… Can you tell me again – when did this happen? How long was he sentenced to?
Embassy staff: On December 13, 2017, he was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities… Yes… And now he is in prison.
Nursiman: And then, my younger brother?
Embassy staff: Your younger brother is Memet’eli? Is that right?
Nursiman: Yes.
Embassy staff: His was on August 20, 2017. He was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months for a criminal offense and for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities.
Victims among relatives
Abdureshit Tohti (5399), Tajigul Qadir (5400), Emetjan Abdureshit (5401) Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiAWnl9_Wg Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6wbrh1xLA Doha Debates feature: https://twitter.com/DohaDebates/status/1164219492001603584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3146_2.png Testimony 4: https://shahit.biz/supp/3146_5.jpg photo with sister: https://shahit.biz/supp/3146_7.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_3146.png
Entry created: 2019-06-02 Last updated: 2021-09-17 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 3173. Ablikim Kelkun Abdukerim
Chinese ID: 65300119????????O? (Atush)
Basic info
Age: --- Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (18 years) When problems started: Apr. 2018 - June 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|"separatism", "extremism", other Health status: --- Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3: Local court employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 4: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
About the victim
Ablikim Kelkun Abdukerim was a vocalist and comedian at the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Theater. He is a father of two.
Place of origin: Suntagh Township, Atush City, Kizilsu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Ablikim was briefly detained in April 2018 for unknown reasons.
He was later sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Reportedly sentenced for multiple "crimes", including "religious extremism", "separatism", and "discriminating against national education". An anonymous source has speculated that he may have been targeted because of his close relationships with a number of religious leaders and because he had previously traveled to Turkey on numerous occasions. According to a local court employee and local police, Ablikim was sentenced for "performing songs deemed politically sensitive" [despite those songs presumably having been pre-approved by censors]. Specifically, two of his songs, "Essalamu Eleykum" and "Qerindashlar", were used by authorities as evidence of his alleged "crimes", which were, according to the local police, "religious extremism" and "separatism".
According to the local court employee, based on what they had heard from their colleagues, the Arabic greeting "Essalamu Eleykum" was interpreted as stirring up "religious sentiment", while the song "Qerindashlar" [English: "kin"] was deemed to be "separatist".
Victim's status
Sentenced.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The anonymous testifier's sources were not stated.
The local court and police employees presumably have more direct knowledge of the case.
Additional information
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/comedian-10062020124834.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/ablikim-kelkun-10022020111633.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/ablikim-kelkun-09302020121113.html
Supplementary materials performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BD-Sxp-Xc4 support Tweet: https://twitter.com/AndersonEliseM/status/1312053326251470848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw "Voice of the Silk Road" performance: https://shahit.biz/supp/3173_3.mp4
Entry created: 2019-03-22 Last updated: 2021-06-09 Latest status update: 2020-09-30 3241. Yusup Sali
Chinese ID: 65220119????????O? (Kumul)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Eliekber Abdurahman, originally from Hami but now a resident of Turkey. (friend)
About the victim
Yusup Sali, 34 years old (as of February 2019).
Address: Chongtur Village, Rahetbagh Township, Hami City.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Not stated.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Testimony 2: having obtained a religious education.
Victim's status
Testimony 1: In prison, sentenced to between 5 and 10 years.
Testimony 2: sentenced to 10 years.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information ---
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/sayfullah.uyghur/posts/20 95162910588327&width=300 Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/UygurHaber/status/1359012930063376386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Entry created: 2019-03-24 Last updated: 2021-03-14 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 3352. Tuhan Haji
Chinese ID: 65282719681027??E? (Hejing)
Basic info
Age: 52 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Bayingolin Status: sentenced When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2*|3|4|5: Rabigul Hajimuhemmed, an Uyghur now living abroad. (daughter)
About the victim
Tuhan Haji (also: Tuhan Hajimuhemmed).
Place of birth: No. 4 Group, Ulanghazir Village, Qaramodun Municipality, Hejing County, Bayingolin Prefecture.
Victim's location
A camp in Hejing County [although she's been sentenced].
When victim was detained
She was first taken to camp on March 25, 2017. After being missing for almost 5 months, it was learned that she had been sentenced in a closed trial on August 15, 2017 (without a lawyer or family attending), with the court verdict to be released a month later. However, there would then be no news for another year, until she was transferred from the Hejing prison [presumably, detention center] to a camp in Hejing in July 2018.
In November 2018, she was given permission to leave for a day to attend her son's wedding.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
For lending a DVD disc with Hadiths to a neighbor, which was interpreted as "illegally propagating religion".
Victim's status
Sentenced, but reported as being in a camp in Hejing County. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated. The testifier mentions that she hasn't heard from her relatives in almost two years.
Additional information
The victim's mother, Hawahan Abdukerim, passed away in late August 2018, unable to deal with the sorrow of her daughter being detained (the testifier only learned about this in November 2019 from local police).
The victim's husband was held in camp for 2 years, and needed a cane to walk after he was released.
Victims among relatives
Hawahan Abdukerim (10326), Heyithaji Qasim (3351), Yusupjan Heyithaji (3353), Tursunjan Qasim (3354), Memetjan Adil (3355)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1 (removed): https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/rabigvl.hajimuhemmed/po sts/2506815396211757&width=300 Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/UygulHm0801/status/1279077459296694276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/UygulHm0801/status/1311414891736162311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Rabigul810/status/1333111369823113224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 2: https://shahit.biz/supp/3352_2.png photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3352_4.jpg
Entry created: 2019-03-30 Last updated: 2021-04-03 Latest status update: 2020-12-24 3372. Mehmet Yusup (买海买提·玉素甫)
Chinese ID: 653021199505270214 (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 24 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kashgar Status: sentenced (9 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: "Yarmuhemmed Nur", an unverified Facebook account. (friend)
Testimony 2*: Anonymous, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (friend)
Testimony 3: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Mehmet Yusup (Rahman) was born in the town of Azaq in Atush. A skilled dutar player, he was a student of the famous musician Abdurehim Heyt (411).
At the beginning of 2016, he came to Turkey with the goal of studying there. After 6 months of self-study, he took the college entrance exam and was accepted to several places, including Istanbul University and Ankara University, and started pursuing an electrical engineering degree at the Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University (bülent ecevit üniversitesi) in the September of that year.
After a semester, he decided to go back to Xinjiang to visit his family - his 90-year-old grandmother, in particular - and departed for Urumqi after obtaining all the necessary documents from the Chinese embassy in Ankara. However, he was arrested upon landing.
ID address: 207 Osteng Road, Ongruk Village, Azaq Township, Atush City, Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture (新疆阿图什市阿扎克乡翁艾日克村吾斯堂路207号).
Victim's location
In a prison in Maralbeshi County, Kashgar Prefecture.
When victim was detained
He disappeared on January 1, 2017, when he went back to China. In December 2019, the testifier got news that he had been sentenced to 9 years. Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unclear. The testifier states that it could be because Mehmet was Heyt's student.
Victim's status
Serving a 9-year prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Many people admired his dutar rendition of a musical piece from "Ertugrul", a Turkish TV series (see supplementary materials).
He has been mentioned in the UHRP report at: https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/Detained-and-Disappeared-Intellectuals-Under-Assault-in-the-Uyghur-Homelan d.pdf
Supplementary materials dutar rendition of Turkish melody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F_pT-WW_nc Testimony 1: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/nur.yare.35/videos/71104 5742597821/&show_text=1&width=300 foreign students exam results: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_3.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_4.jpg plane ticket to Urumqi: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_5.jpg Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_6.jpg Turkish visa: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_8.png student enrollment verification: https://shahit.biz/supp/3372_10.png
Entry created: 2019-03-31 Last updated: 2020-06-03 Latest status update: 2019-12-03 3377. Abdujelil Helil (阿不都吉力力·海利力)
Chinese ID: 6531011963??????O? (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 57-58 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kashgar Status: sentenced When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|"extremism", "terrorism", assisting "criminals" Health status: critical Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abdurahman Hesen, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: Anonymous letter, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 3: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 4: Yasinahun, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 5|8: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 6: Anonymous, as reported by Voice of America. (relative)
Testimony 7: Radio Free Asia Uyghur, the Uyghur-language service of Radio Free Asia.
About the victim
Abdujelil Helil (Hajim), chairman (Testimony 7: vice chairman) of the Kashgar Prefectural Trade Association and one of the 4 wealthiest businessmen in Kashgar. He owns a firm that transports goods between China, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as large tracts of property in Kashgar and Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi. A recent RFA report presents him as the founder and legal representative of Xinjiang Helil International Trading LLC.
He was born in Kashgar City.
Victim's location
Kashgar
When victim was detained
CECC report: May 1, 2017 RFA report (Uyghur): According to the news, he was accused, by Kashgar Prefecture Intermediate Court and Xinjiang Autonomous Region People's Procuratorate Kashgar Branch, of having financially assisted in terrorist activity and he was arrested on the 6th of May 2017. Separately on the 18th of May 2017 and on the 28th of July 2018, there was open court session for him and he was fined 5 million Yuan and he was sentenced to 11 years temporary imprisonment on the charge of committing "financing the terrorist activities" crime. Also, his 80 million Yuan private property was confiscated. He rejected the court decision and he appointed a lawyer whose name is Liaoyong from Szechwan Law firm. On the 8th of January 2019, the previous court decision was invalidated but he hasn't been released yet. After he was arrested in May 2017, he was put in Qarlighach Binam Prison in Peyzawat County, Kashgar Prefecture. During this time, he was harshly interrogated and [possibly] physically tortured as to have been taken to hospital two times. Now he is allegedly in a very poor health condition that he cannot stand up and he was taken to Yiraq Sheriq Hospital in Kashgar city.
RFA report (English): Xinjiang High People’s Court has ruled that his previous ruling was conducted with “procedural errors” and has transferred the case to Kashgar Intermediate Court. Even though China’s Criminal Procedure Law states that in such cases the sentenced should be immediately released, Abdujelil is still in detention and has been transferred to Yuandong Hospital in Kashgar. He had already been treated in the hospital a few times due to his health’s deterioration in prison.
Testimony 6: According to an anonymous relative [of Abdujelil Helil], he was "sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2017 on terrorism charges for wiring money to a friend from Turkey to buy gifts for her daughter's wedding." After the anonymous relative spoke to RFA in 2019 about the imprisonment of Abdujelil Helil, Xinjiang authorities added the extra crime of "joining terrorist activities" to Abdujelil Helil's court case.
Testimony 7: arrested on March 13, 2017. Charged with "aiding terrorism" on 28 May 2017. His initial sentence was 14 years of imprisonment, a fine of 73,000,000 yuan and a fine against his company of 5,000,000 yuan.
Testimony 8: Abdujelil was retried in secret at Qalghach Binam Prison on 17 March 2021. The judgement was predetermined. He had two lawyers from Yafeng firm in Sichuan who were "only informed of the proceedings one week prior" and given "stacks of documents and evidence" with insufficient time for review. They requested that the trial be moved back by a week, but were denied. The lawyers had to admit Abdujelil was a "criminal" to participate in the trial, and were threatened by officials on multiple occasions. They were told that the trial "was a matter of 'national security' and that there would be 'no disputing the charges.'" The trial took two hours and the ruling was "suspended until a 'later date.'"
Likely (or given) reason for detention
CECC: For "displaying signs of religious extremism". A local township security official interviewed by RFA said that "he had also undertaken 'unapproved, private hajj' pilgrimages and been involved with imams who were not sanctioned by the state."
RFA report: sentenced for financing terrorism.
RFA report (Testimony 1-2: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/turmidiki-sodiger-abdujelil-hajim-02132018222009.h tml):
In 2014, after a few days the Elishqu Incident, he and Secretary of Kashgar Prefecture (Chinese) visited Elishqu to show concern for the people. Later, with the oral permission of the authorities, Abdujelil Hajim offered 50 tones of coal to the locals on behalf of Kashgar Prefecture Trade Association and a letter RFA received highlights that this caused his detention.
Testimony 8: Abdujelil is now accused of meeting with the 'Camel Group' of ETIM in Kashgar in 2008 and 2009.
Testimony 8: The "aiding terrorists" charge was for transferring money to a woman in Urumqi whose husband was in Turkey, and the "membership in a terrorist organisation" charge was for meeting with the 'Camel Group' of ETIM in Kashgar in 2008 and 2009, based on 30 witness interviews. The witnesses include "several other inmates currently serving prison terms."
Victim's status
CECC report: Sentenced to 18 years.
RFA: Charges dropped, but he remains in detention and in very poor health.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Testimony 1: It's not clear where Abdurahman Hesen knows this from (however, he is also a businessman from the same region).
Testimony 3-4: the sources hold police/government positions in the region.
Testimony 5: through official court documents.
Testimony 6: The anonymous relative provided VOA with a Chinese court document [not included in the article] that reportedly accused Abdujelil Helil of "materially aiding terrorist activities." In addition to the 14-year prison sentence, Abdujelil Helil also had all of his assets confiscated. In total, those assets were worth approcimately $11,000,000 [presumably USD].
Testimony 7: presumably from a mix of sources and previous investigations.
Testimony 8: not stated, though the sources cite "witness interviews".
Additional information
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/wealthiest-01052018144327.html (Testimony 3-4) https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/dangliq-sodiger-09122019154058.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/appeal-09172019145104.html (Testimony 5) https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/appeal-03312021195653.html (Testimony 7-8)
Voice of America coverage (Testimony 6): https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/china-retaliates-against-uighur-activists-impri soning-relatives-us
Mentioned in the CECC report: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf
His entry in HRWF database: https://hrwf.eu/hrwf-prisoners-database-china/#hrwf-prisoners-database/china-database-original-upload -221019-sheet1-details/5db6ba55afc9eb177bc1d7e1/
Testimony 6: According to the anonymous relative, after Abdujelil Helil was detained, [sic] "16 of his relatives, including his wife, son and his business associates" were also taken to concentration camps.
Testimony 7: Li Ningping (Secretary of the Kashgar Prefectural Party Committee) insisted that Abdujelil remain in prison during the review of his case. Li led the review, which lasted "close to a year and a half", and led to more serious charges: "aiding terrorists" and "membership in a terrorist organization".
Listings of his company: https://archive.ph/klCpu https://archive.ph/ycWCR https://archive.is/7wSK3 https://archive.is/KIOjq
Company he was a shareholder of: https://archive.is/8H1zn
Lawsuits that he's been involved in: https://www.shahit.biz/supp/wenshu/abdujelilhelil1.pdf https://www.shahit.biz/supp/wenshu/abdujelilhelil2.pdf
Mentions in local media: https://archive.is/rU8DQ https://archive.is/L0Fsh https://archive.is/2WrLx (recognized as one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs in Kashgar) https://archive.is/xj6Th https://archive.is/Xw7Yf https://archive.is/gi2aJ (visit to Bukhara)
Supplementary materials photo (second from right): https://shahit.biz/supp/3377_1.jpeg photo (center): https://shahit.biz/supp/3377_2.jpeg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3377_3.jpg visiting factory in Bukhara: https://shahit.biz/supp/3377_4.jpg
Entry created: 2019-04-01 Last updated: 2021-06-14 Latest status update: 2021-03-31 3384. Shepqet Tohtasun
Chinese ID: 65410119????????O? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 18-35 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (18 years) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Uyghur Human Rights Project, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC.
Testimony 2|3: Mehbube Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Austria. (cousin)
About the victim
Shepqet Toxtasun, born in Ghulja (Yining), was a student at the Al-Azhar university in Egypt.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he's allegedly been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Is one of the Uyghur students in Al-Azhar university who disappeared after returning to China from Egypt in July 2017. According to his cousin, Mehbube, he was detained in Beijing after being forced to return to China (following local authorities' pressure on his family).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Testimony 1: [Presumably,] studying abroad
Victim's status
Testimony 2: sentenced to 18 years.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information UHRP report (Testimony 1): https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/Detained-and-Disappeared-Intellectuals-Under-Assault-in-the-Uyghur-Homelan d.pdf
Testimony 2: the victim's father has also been detained and sentenced.
Victims among relatives
Peyzohre Omerjan (478), Ablajan Hebibulla (477), Adiljan Ablajan (479), Gulbahar Eysa (6648)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjfVkYWwFF0 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzK12MtCzuA photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3384_3.jpg
Entry created: 2019-04-01 Last updated: 2021-03-14 Latest status update: 2021-04-06 3423. Shafkat Abas (夏夫哈提·阿巴斯)
Chinese ID: 6501??19750123??O? (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 46 Gender: M Ethnicity: Tatar Likely current location: Changji Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: medicine
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Amnesty International. (relative)
Testimony 2|3|4|5: Jaudat Abas, an ethnic Tatar from Xinjiang, now residing in Europe. (brother)
Testimony 6: Jaudat Abas, as reported by Living Otherwise. (brother)
About the victim
Shafkat Abas, a member of the Tatar ethnic minority, had studied traditional Uyghur medicine at the Xinjiang Uyghur Medicine College in Hotan for five years. Afterwards, he opened his own Uyghur medicine clinic. He would appear on a health show on the Urumqi radio station, and also gave lessons in traditional Uyghur medicine. In addition to his clinic, he also owned a small factory that produced herbal medicines.
He's married and has three children - a daughter and two twin sons (all underage).
Clinic's address: Apt. 1, Entrance No. 1, Building No. 1, 14 South Dawan Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (鲁木齐市天山区大湾南路14号米兰1号楼1单元1号).
Residential address (as of 2015): 1-1-301 Honghui Residential Complex, 709 Tuanjie Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市天山区团结路709号宏汇小区1-1-301号).
Victim's location
Possibly a prison in Changji.
When victim was detained
Detained on March 13, 2017.
At some point, he was allegedly sentenced to 10 years in prison. Likely (or given) reason for detention
There are a number of likely reasons.
One is that his brother had used his computer to access foreign websites while visiting (as police questioned him just a few days after the event).
Other potential reasons are that he had an elderly patient who was an imam, as well as his possessing a number of banned religious books.
Victim's status
Serving a 10-year sentence.
According to his parents, who were able to visit him in November 2019 in prison, he was pale and had lost a lot of weight.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
In May 2017, his brother flew to Urumqi from Australia to find out more about Shafkat Abas’s detention. He went to a police station in Nanhu District in Urumqi to inquire about visiting him. When speaking to a vice police commissioner on May 8, he was told that visiting his brother was not possible, but that they would contact him if he left a copy of his passport and phone number.
However, there would be no word of Shafkat or his condition until the end of 2019, when his parents were able to visit him.
Additional information
Police allegedly told Jaudat's parents that Shawkat might be released if Jaudat deleted his testimonies from YouTube and Twitter, but he does not believe them.
Shawkat's and Jaudat's brother, who had gone to China in May 2017 to get information about Shawkat, has since been denied visas to China.
Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/7678/2018/en/
Story covered in Living Otherwise: https://livingotherwise.com/2020/03/09/i-thought-it-would-be-convenient-to-use-my-brothers-computer-t o-check-my-email/
Business listing of his clinic: http://archive.is/ZuKXM
Listing of another business [possibly the aforementioned herbal medicines factory]: http://archive.is/GmAKK
His clinic is listed as making a 300RMB donation to the Municipal Red Cross in 2019: https://www.sohu.com/a/296154934_410241
A list of exam results, in which someone from the victim's clinic is marked as having failed: http://archive.is/ujCXv
Case mentioned in: https://centralasiaprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kasikci-CAP-Paper-219-June-2019.pdf
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HqTYMSDqp4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7DL4dT4P1c Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/Jaudat18/status/1100109495840227329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Jaudat18/status/1220010763487715329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3423_2.jpg dispute court case: https://shahit.biz/supp/3423_5.png
Entry created: 2019-04-02 Last updated: 2020-12-26 Latest status update: 2021-03-12 3471. Hajimomermelike Osman (阿吉吾买尔买克·乌斯曼)
Chinese ID: 650103199505185538 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 26 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism" Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|3: Eli Tursun, a resident of Germany. (uncle)
Testimony 2*: Anonymous, as reported by AidET. (relation unclear)
Testimony 4: Amine Wayit, as reported by Anadolu Agency. (relative)
Testimony 5: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
Testimony 6: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 7: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway.
About the victim
Hajim'omermelike Osman was born in Saudi Arabia, and would later live in the Netherlands. He returned to China at some point in 2012-2014.
ID address: Apt. 203, Entrance No. 2, Building No. 6, 578 South Peace Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市天山区和平南路578号6号楼2单元203号).
Victim's location
Bingtuan Urumqi Prison.
When victim was detained
Contact with him was lost in October 2018. As was later evidenced by his incarceration notice, he had been detained and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being transferred to the Bingtuan Urumqi Prison on May 10, 2021. (Multiple police records show him undergoing checks in Urumqi in mid-late 2017 and early 2018 without any issue, with the system marking him as "completely normal" (一切正常) at that time.)
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Sentenced for "separatism".
Victim's status
Serving his sentence in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The incarceration notice is a document that comes directly from the prison where Hajim'omermelike is being held.
Additional information
Mentioned by the Anadolu Agency: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/life/-where-is-my-family-uighurs-dreading-for-relatives-in-china/2119131
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTr6_EqIdXc Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/AbduwelA/status/1430119898445983765?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/3471_2.jpg Testimony 5: https://shahit.biz/supp/3471_3.png Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/3471_5.png
Entry created: 2019-04-04 Last updated: 2021-08-24 Latest status update: 2021-05-27 3650. Hemdulla Abdurahman (海木都拉·阿布都热合曼)
Chinese ID: 6521221957??????O? (Pichan)
Basic info
Age: 62-63 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Jan. 2019 - Mar. 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|--- Health status: has problems Profession: scholar
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: "Rana Aybala Yaşar", an unverified Facebook account. (daughter-in-law)
Testimony 3: Yashar Hemdulla, son of renowned linguist Hemdulla Abdurahman, and now a resident of Norway. (son)
Testimony 4: Yashar Hemdulla, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 5: Rena, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter-in-law)
Testimony 6: Yashar Hemdulla, as reported by Al Jazeera. (son)
Testimony 7: @RnaYsrTuran, an unverified Twitter account. (relation unclear)
Testimony 8: Yashar Hemdulla, as reported by Agence France-Presse. (son)
Testimony 9: Yashar Hemdulla, as reported by Liberation. (son)
About the victim
Hemdulla Abdurahman is a well-known linguist and Turkologist. After graduating from the Minzu University of China, he would work for the XUAR Languages Committee for 35 years, prior to his retirement in 2016. He was a Communist Party Member for 30 years.
He was one of the few prominent intellectuals to study the Chaghatay and Kokturk languages, and was famous for compiling the seven-tome Uyghur-language annotated dictionary. In addition to compiling this and other dictionaries, he also helped publish certain books, such as "Yaxshilar Baghchisi" (a translation of a collection of hadith). He also published some academic articles, such as "On Uyghur Names", "Dictionary of Uyghur Handicrafts", and "Uyghur Words of Chinese Origin", and taught Arabic and Japanese (though not at a university). Victim's location
[Presumably in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
Starting from 2017, Yashar had difficulties communicating with his parents over WeChat, with their contact becoming less frequent and increasingly coded. In July 2018, he received a text message from his father telling him that he should have a portrait of Mao in his home, as this would be better for him. (Yashar is not sure if his father was at the origin of this message - it was received on the same day that Yashar participated in a demonstration in Oslo. The message was also written in Chinese, even though Yashar and his father never communicated in the language.)
Two months later [presumably in September 2018], WeChat communication became impossible as one of the accounts was deleted/blocked [not completely clear which]. The last time that the victim contacted his son was in September 2018, to tell him that this brother (Abdulla Abdurahman) had been detained. There was no further contact after that.
In March 2019, Yashar learned that his father had been placed in a camp in Urumqi in January 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Believed to be because he told his son abroad about his (the victim's) brother's detention.
Victim's status
Detained. As of July 2020, there's been no news of him.
The victim may have some health issues as he underwent surgery in 2014.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Yashar Hemdulla was told by a female family acquaintance during a video call in March 2019 that the victim had been taken to a "hospital", while she reportedly mimed handcuffs on her wrists.
Yashar also mentions having very, very limited contact with his mother following his father's disappearance, with her ultimately deleting him on WeChat in December 2019 after he sent her a smiley.
Additional information
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/uyghur-ziayaliy-08072019151818.html
Al Jazeera coverage: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/communist-loyalty-shield-uighurs-chinese-detention-19093008 3432183.html
AFP coverage: https://news.yahoo.com/fears-uighur-culture-scholars-vanish-china-crackdown-042928276.html Liberation coverage: https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2020/06/07/ouighours-notre-travail-d-intellectuels-est-une-menace-a-le urs-yeux_1790568
This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at: shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
His "Annotated Modern Uyghur Language Dictionary" ("hazirqi zaman uyghurtilining izahliq lughiti") on Amazon: https://archive.vn/l8FpY
His dictionary was also included in the list of recommended Uyghur books by the Cultural Palace of Nationalities (民族文化宫): http://archive.is/S2BX8
Victims among relatives
Abdulla Abdurahman (5453)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kFeLovgX_Q Testimony 2: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/Aybalam0920/posts/40968 2776464149&width=300 Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/RnaYsrTuran/status/1252218385351540740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw son's song for father: https://twitter.com/Yashar0920/status/1265148419749937152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/3650_1.jpeg listed as chief editor: https://shahit.biz/supp/3650_5.jpg dictionary cover: https://shahit.biz/supp/3650_6.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/3650_8.jpg
Entry created: 2019-04-21 Last updated: 2020-11-07 Latest status update: 2020-07-24 3830. Jiang Zhilin (姜志林)
Chinese ID: 5113??19????????O? (inner China)
Basic info
Age: --- Gender: M Ethnicity: Han Likely current location: Bortala Status: sentenced (8 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): challenging authority|"terrorism", "spreading lies", "extortion" Health status: critical Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Ge Zhihui, as reported by Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2|5: Jiang Zhilin, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (the victim)
Testimony 3: Official detention notice, provided after the initial detention of a suspect in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 4: Rights Protection Network (维权网), a Chinese blog covering rights abuses in China.
Testimony 6: Ms. Zhou, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (mother)
Testimony 7|8: Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a non-government organization of domestic and overseas Chinese human rights activists and groups.
Testimony 9: China Political Prisoner Concern, a blog site documenting political prisoners in China.
About the victim
Jiang Zhilin is a disabled environmental and human rights activist, who began petitioning after local officials failed to implement the provisions of a 2010 provincial-level government document on drinking water, reportedly causing long-term drinking-water problems for villagers in Bortala. He is originally from Nanchong City in Sichuan.
Address: Harmudun Village, Daltu Municipality, Bortala City.
Phone number: 18599010969.
Victim's location
Qarabura Prison in Kunes County. When victim was detained
Jiang was first arrested on August 28, 2015 and held at the Bortala City Detention Center for one month.
On January 10, 2016, while visiting family in Chengdu, he was taken back to Xinjiang, with the police reportedly telling him to stay put. According to Jiang’s personal account, on January 25, 2016, he arrived at the Bortala train station from his birthplace in Harmudun Village. He was preparing to go to Urumqi by train and had already bought the ticket. At around 10:30 in the evening, Jiang was approached by five policemen, who told him that they had been sent by the Harmudun Village secretary. The men said that Jiang’s mother had fallen sick and forcefully took him to a car headed back to Harmudun. Jiang tore his clothes and injured his neck as he was resisting arrest. His ID was confiscated. He ended up returning to Harmudun at around midnight, and was interrogated by the village vice-secretary until 4 in the morning. He claims that the secretary said to him: "Even if you didn’t do anything, we can still think of a label to assign to you."
On April 19, 2017, he tried to go to Urumqi again but was again stopped and taken back to Harmudun. His mother reported that he was under heavy surveillance at the time, was forced to attend flag raising ceremonies, and still had his ID confiscated.
In October 2017, he was sentenced to 8 years in a secret trial by the Bortala City People's Court, to be transferred to Qarabura Prison later.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His initial, earlier detention was for pointing out government corruption online, with the official charges of "spreading lies and terrorist content". He has also reportedly expressed support for other Chinese rights advocates, such as Xu Zhiyong, Zhang Haitao {396}, and Hu Shigen.
He was reportedly sentenced for "extortion and blackmail" and "slander".
Victim's status
Serving his prison sentence, but currently in critical condition.
Jiang innately suffers from muscular dystrophy in his lower limbs, and has written appeals to the government for treatment. While in prison, he allegedly lost a great deal of weight, lost the ability to speak as of April 2021, and was undergoing treatment for a stroke. In May 2021, it was reported that he was in critical condition.
[There is also some likelihood that he has been subjected to forced labor at the Qarabura Prison, as this practice has been documented there.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
A lot of the information about his earlier troubles has come from Jiang himself, as well as his mother. The detention notice from his earlier detention comes directly from the police organs.
The more recent information regarding his status at the prison has come from his sister. Additional information
Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch coverage: https://www.msguancha.com/a/lanmu1/2016/0127/13867.html
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf2-01262017103010.html https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ql2-04212017102303.html
Rights Protection Network coverage: https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2015/08/blog-post_422.html
His CPPC entry: http://cppc1989.blogspot.com/2021/04/cppc01006.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/CHRDnet/status/1386503981418041350?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/CHRDnet/status/1408541526016335874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3830_1.jpeg Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/3830_2.jpg
Entry created: 2019-04-25 Last updated: 2021-08-08 Latest status update: 2021-06-25 3850. Huseyinjan Jelil (玉山江·吉力力)
Chinese ID: 65312919690301??O? (Peyziwat)
Basic info
Age: 51 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism", "terrorism", revealing "state secrets" Health status: --- Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
Testimony 2: Anonymous, as reported by Human Rights Watch. (relative)
Testimony 3: Anonymous, as reported by CTV Television Network. (mother)
Testimony 4: He Yafei, as reported by CTV Television Network.
Testimony 5|6: Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada.
Testimony 7: Kamila Telendibaeva, as reported by The Star. (wife)
Testimony 8: Xinhua News Agency, as reported by Globe and Mail.
Testimony 9: Alex Neve, as reported by Globe and Mail.
Testimony 10: Kamila Telendibaeva, as reported by National Post. (wife)
About the victim
Huseyinjan Jelil (often reported as "Huseyincan Celil") was an imam from Kashgar. In October 2001, he moved to Canada and later obtained Canadian citizenship. He is a father of four.
Victim's location
The Xinjiang No. 1 Prison in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
Huseyinjan was initially arrested on March 27, 2006 by the authorities in Uzbekistan, where he and his wife were visiting family. They claimed that he was actually Guler Dilaver, a man placed on Interpol watchlists by Kyrgyzstan on terrorism charges.
Over the next 2-3 months, Huseyinjan would meet with Canadian officials in the region a total of three times, but this appeared to produce little effect, as he is believed to have been extradited to China on or around June 22 (2006), where he was wanted on "terrorism" charges.
His trial began on February 2, 2007, in Urumqi, with Canadian officials staying in the city for the duration of the trial but not being allowed to attend. On April 19, the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court sentenced him to life for "terrorism" and trying to "split the country". He appealed, but had the appeal dismissed on July 10 after a 40-minute hearing.
(According to his mother, Huseyinjan had been threatened into signing a confession, which then led to the closed trial during which he was sentenced to life for "leaking state secrets".)
On February 1, 2016, the court adjusted his sentence to between 19 years and 6 months and 20 years (starting from the judgment date).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Reports say that the life sentence was given for "terrorism" and trying to "split the country", although the victim's mother also mentions "leaking state secrets" as a charge.
Speaking to Western media, Chinese diplomat He Yafei said that Huseyinjan was suspected of being involved in terrorist activities (being "a key member of a terrorist organization called Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement").
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
His relatives used to be able to visit him twice a year, but these visits stopped in 2016.
He has not once been allowed consular access while in detention, despite requests from Canadian foreign ministers.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Some of his relatives attended the trial and spoke to media about it. Canadian officials were also closely involved.
The news about his sentence being commuted was published by Chinese state media, which presumably has direct access to such information.
Additional information
He is listed in a number of reports: https://www.cecc.gov/sites/chinacommission.house.gov/files/documents/CECC%20Pris%20List_20181011 _1424.pdf https://www.hrichina.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/CRF.4.2006/CRF-2006-4_Custody.pdf https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WUC-Refugee-Report-Updated-June-20 17.pdf https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/01/28/china-account-uighur-refugees-forcibly-repatriated-china
Media coverage of the case: https://www.ctvnews.ca/family-claims-huseyin-celil-tortured-in-china-1.228305 https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/chinas-disregard-for-the-rule-of-law-strikes-too-close-to-home/ https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2009/08/23/how_amateurhour_diplomacy_took_away_dad.html https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/liberals-have-to-do-more-to-free-my-husband-after-14-years-in-pr ison-says-wife-of-jailed-huseyin-celil https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2892308-celil-writes-home/
Amnesty International's statement: https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/individuals-at-risk/huseyin-celil
Amnesty International action: https://takeaction.amnesty.ca/page/35381/action/1
The Globe and Mail has also covered this case extensively: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/timeline-the-celil-affair/article4171399/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/as-ottawa-fumbled-husseyin-celil-languished-in-chinas-c ourt-system/article4171496/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/china-reduces-sentence-for-canadian-long-imprisoned-on -terror-charges/article28531193/ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-leak-of-china-documents-raises-questions-about-impris oned-canadian/
A blog site with comprehensive coverage of the case (stops at 2008): http://celilnews.blogspot.com/
State-media coverage of sentence reduction: https://archive.vn/pUxoN https://archive.vn/d8xcO
His "repentance letter" published in state media: https://archive.vn/vjUHE
His Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huseyincan_Celil
Letter from detention
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/letori_5.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/lettran_5.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/letview.php?no=5
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/3850_1.png
Entry created: 2019-04-26 Last updated: 2020-12-18 Latest status update: 2020-07-02 3909. Alimjan Hemit (阿里木江·依米提)
Chinese ID: 650104197306104712 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 45 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (15 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism", revealing "state secrets" Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Independent Catholic News, the first online news service featuring daily news, saints, reviews, and reflections for the Catholic Church.
Testimony 2|6: China Aid, a non-governmental Christian nonprofit which focuses on raising awareness of human rights abuses.
Testimony 3: Li Dunyong, as reported by China Aid. (lawyer)
Testimony 4: Open Doors, a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians in the world.
Testimony 5|8: Stefan J. Bos, founder and correspondent of the agency BosNewsLife.
Testimony 7: Christian Today, a non-denominational Christian news company, with its international headquarters in London, England.
Testimony 9: Gulnur, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (wife)
Testimony 10: Li Dunyong, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (lawyer)
Testimony 11: Church in Chains, an independent Irish charity that encourages prayer and action in support of persecuted Christians worldwide.
Testimony 12|13|14: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Alimjan Hemit was a Protestant priest and led a "house church".
He had previously worked for an "American company" called "Xinjiang Taipingyang Nongye Gongsi" as an interpreter, before they offered him a full-time job in Hotan. Alimjan later left this company and moved back to Urumqi, where he was hired as a project manager for "Xinjiang Jiaerhao Foodstuff Company Limited", which was also reportedly foreign owned. He and his wife, Gulnur, have two children.
Address (as given in one of the court documents): Apt. 604, Building No. 3, 12 Victory Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市天山区胜利路12号3号楼604室).
Victim's location
Xinjiang No. 3 Prison.
When victim was detained
During Alimjan's employment with two foreign-owned companies, he was "often" called in for interrogation by the State Security Bureau. His house was searched multiple times and his personal computer was seized. He complained to the State Security Bureau headquarters in Urumqi that he had been physically abused, but his complaints went unanswered. He was reportedly forbidden from discussing these interrogations with others.
The Kashgar Municipal Bureau for Ethnic Religious Affairs ordered that Alimjan's business license be revoked on September 13, 2007, accusing him of using it as a front for "preaching Christianity among people of Uyghur ethnicity". The Kashgar Municipal Bureau for Ethnic Religious Affairs also accused him of "distributing religious propaganda materials" and "converting people to Christianity".
The Kashgar State Security Bureau arrested Alimjan in 2008, allegedly in connection with a “national security issue”. The day of his arrest has been reported as January 11, January 12, and February 12. On February 20, 2008, the charges against Alimjan were changed to "inciting secessionist sentiment to split the country" and "collecting and selling intelligence for overseas organizations".
Following the arrest, authorities reportedly threatened Alimjan with various sentences, ranging from six years in prison to execution. They held him at the Kashgar Detention Center [presumably, the 喀什市看守所] without a verdict for two years.
A verdict was initially expected by the end of April 2008, but Alimjan's trial was rescheduled for May 2008. He had a hearing on May 27, 2008, when he was to be tried for "instigating separatism and providing national secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations or individuals"; however, the "Xinjiang Court" returned his case to state prosecutors because of "insufficient evidence". The Public Security Bureau returned the case to state prosecutors in September 2008. State prosecutors then sent the case back to court in October 2008.
At around 10:30 a.m. on March 31, 2009, Alimjan was seen with his hands bound, being roughly escorted by police and a prison doctor at Nongsanshi Hospital in Kashgar. Alimjan was reportedly crying out to onlookers in Mandarin: "I'm sick. Tell my lawyer to come quickly to see me." Alimjan's health problems were not immediately clear at the time. Li Dunyong, one of Alimjan's lawyers, asked the main prosecutor involved in the case for a report of the incident at Nongsanshi Hospital in Kashgar. The prosecution office said they would provide a report to Li Dunyong on April 2, 2009, but no report was immediately available.
In an article published on April 2, 2009, Li Dunyong said that he had visited Alimjan the previous week and that Alimjan had been selected as the head of his prison cell.
On July 14, 2009, "the court in Kashgar" notified Alimjan's wife that his trial would be held on the morning of July 28, 2009.
On July 28, 2009, a secret trial was held at the Kashgar District Intermediate People's Court. The charge of "instigating separatism" was dropped, and Alimjan was tried for "providing national secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations or individuals". This was Alimjan's first hearing since his arrest, and allegedly in violation of China's Criminal Procedure Law. Alimjan's wife and mother were forbidden from attending this trial. His lawyers at the time were Li Dunyong and Liang Xiaojun.
The Xinjiang People's Procuratorate in Urumqi warned Alimjan's wife that she "should not have become involved [in] advocating and speaking out about her husband's case". Unspecified officials also told her, in relation to the trial on July 28, 2009, that Alimjan would "not be released without charges".
On October 27, 2009, Alimjan was notified of the verdict. He had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Li Dunyong, one of Alimjan's lawyers, lodged an appeal in response to the verdict. The People's High Court upheld the verdict, the sentence of 15 years, on March 16, 2010.
Two of Alimjan's lawyers, Li Baiguang and Liu Peifu, appealed to the Beijing Supreme Court, but after reconsidering the victim's case, the Beijing Supreme Court ruled to uphold the original verdict (the 15-year sentence). According to Li Baiguang, the sentence was illegal and void because it "never succeeded in showing how Alimjan supplied state secrets to people overseas".
Alimjan's family was initially not allowed to see him, but they were permitted to visit him briefly at the Xinjiang No. 3 Prison on April 20, 2010. They were "only allowed to speak to him via telephone through a glass barrier". They reported that at the time, he was "noticeably thinner but in good spirits". The Xinjiang Bureau of Prison Management later granted Alimjan's wife and other close family members permission to visit him once per month. Lawyers, however, were prevented from seeing him.
On August 23, 2011, Alimjan's case was reportedly being reviewed at the national and provincial levels.
In 2014, the XUAR High People's Court, whose leadership had since changed, reportedly approached Gulnur to discuss the possibility of an appeal in relation to Alimjan's case. Gulnur subsequently applied for an appeal and although her application was processed, it reportedly "stalled in the court system".
In late 2015, anti-corruption officials who were reportedly dissatisfied with the reluctance of the Xinjiang government to address Alimjan's case offered him pardon on the condition that he admit his guilt, but Alimjan allegedly refused, insisting that he was innocent and claiming that his sentence was "the result of provincial government corruption".
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Alimjan was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "leaking state secrets" to foreign organizations, a crime under Article 111 of China's Criminal Law. At one point, he had also been charged with "instigating separatism", but this was later dropped.
Alimjan's lawyer said that Alimjan had previously told a U.S. citizen in Xinjiang about an interview he had with local authorities about his preaching activities, and that the interview's contents had later been classified as a state secret. Alimjan had also given interviews [plural] to media from outside of China. These could be reasons for the charge related to revealing state secrets.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in Opinion 29/2008, dated September 12, 2008, that Alimjan's arrest and subsequent detention were arbitrary and in violation of international law, saying that he was detained as a result of his religion.
Victim's status
Serving his sentence. On July 9, 2018, Church in Chains reported that a local source had said that Alimjan was allowed to call his family once a month and was "in a peaceful and stable state physically and spiritually".
[There is also a high likelihood that he is being subjected to forced labor, as the Xinjiang No. 3 Lathe Factory is based inside the prison and is reported to employ the majority of inmates.]
A record in the Urumqi police databases notes his phone being checked on October 31, 2017 on 155 Yangzijiang Road (扬子江路155), with no additional explanation provided. A different record notes that he was entered into the iTap database on the same day. [It is not clear if he was out of prison when this was done or if it was all done without his being present.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Li Dunyong presumably learned of Alimjan's situation through his direct involvement in the legal case.
Alimjan's wife, Gulnur, lives in the region. As of 2013, she was able to visit Alimjan in prison once every three months.
Much of the reporting on the case comes through ChinaAid or cites ChinaAid, which appears to rely on a mix of sources [presumably in the region] and official court documents.
Church in Chains also cites a "local source" for the most recent update on Alimjan.
Additional information
In May 2009, authorities declined Li Dunyong's annual bar registration renewal, apparently as a result of him questioning the form, content, and validity of what he called a "flawed" evidence certificate. The evidence certificate was verified by the "Bureau of Conservative Secrets" but was not signed by the verifier, which was reportedly contrary to Chinese law. One other unspecified lawyer who defended Alimjan also lost their license.
Independent Catholic News coverage: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/14426
China Aid reports: https://web.archive.org/web/20110824004451/http://pakistanchristian.tv/news/2009-12-08_Uyghur_Chur ch_Leader_Sentenced_to_15_Years_Criminal_Detention.cfm https://web.archive.org/web/20110721133645/http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2009/s09070181.htm https://www.chinaaid.org/2009/12/uyghur-christian-alimujiang-persecuted.html (includes portions of the verdict)
Church in Chains profile: https://www.churchinchains.ie/prisoner-profiles/alimujiang-yimiti/
Open Doors campaign: https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041411/www.oduk.org/campaign/alimjan.php BosNewsLife coverage: https://www.bosnewslife.com/2008/04/09/3555-china-christian-facing-execution-following-ti/
Christian Today coverage: https://www.christiantoday.co.in/article/uyghur.christian.sentenced.to.fifteen.years.in.prison/4937.htm
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/pastor-01232013161425.html
Entry in HRWF database: https://hrwf.eu/hrwf-prisoners-database-china/#hrwf-prisoners-database/china-database-original-upload -221019-sheet1-details/5db6ba55afc9eb177bc1d7d1/
Court documents: https://www.chinaaid.org/2007/10/confirmation-notification-on-alimujiang.html?m=1 https://www.gongfa.com/html/gongfaxinwen/201001/07-829.html
Supplementary materials video mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfWnl2iuWiQ photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/3909_2.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/3909_3.png
Entry created: 2019-04-27 Last updated: 2021-06-01 Latest status update: 2018-07-09 4014. Alim Sulayman (阿力木·苏来曼)
Chinese ID: 652924198701060014 (Shayar)
Basic info
Age: 34 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Bayingolin Status: sentenced (17 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: --- Profession: medicine
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Osman Tarim, an Uyghur now living abroad. (from same town/region)
Testimony 2*|3|4|6: Eziz Sulayman, originally from Aksu's Shayar County but now residing in the United States. (brother)
Testimony 5: Gulruy Esqer, an Uyghur poet, now living in the United States. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 7: Eziz Sulayman, as reported by Sinopsis. (brother)
About the victim
Alim Sulayman was a dentist who briefly worked at the Shayar Ethnic Hospital (沙雅民族医院). He had previously apprenticed at his brother's, Eziz's, dental clinic by the Friendship Hospital, the two working together for around five years.
In 2014, he had spent 6 months in Turkey studying the Turkish language. After being unable to find a job there, he returned to China and worked at the same hospital as two of his sisters. There, he met a nurse and they got engaged, planning to marry after Ramadan in 2016.
Address: Apt. 202, Entrance No. 3, Building No. 1, Sedanbage Dongjie Education Neighborhood, Shayar County, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang (新疆阿克苏沙雅县色旦巴格东街教育小区1号楼3单元202号).
Chinese passport: G58810652.
Victim's location
Heard to be at a prison in Korla.
When victim was detained
Arrested in the last week of June 2016 (two weeks before the planned wedding), and sentenced "without trial", according to his brother. Likely (or given) reason for detention
Either his having been to Turkey or his having allegedly attended meetings of the Uyghur Academy while there.
Victim's status
Presumably serving a 17-year sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Eziz learned the news from his sisters in 2016, who were in the region when Alim was detained and sentenced.
While attending a protest in Brussels in 2018, Eziz also met a friend of Alim, who confirmed that Alim had been sentenced and said that he had been transferred to a prison in Korla.
Additional information
Sinopsis story: https://sinopsis.cz/en/alim-sulayman/
Mentioned in: http://raisethevoices.org/2019/07/14/missing-loved-ones-in-east-turkestan/
Eziz also mentions that his mother and sisters became too frightened to answer his phone calls after his brother's arrest. He tried to call the hospital where his sisters and Alim had worked, but was told that it was not a hospital each time he called. Calls to police stations didn't reach, as the numbers appeared to have changed.
After going public about his brother's case, Eziz received a threatening message to his Youtube account, telling him to stop publicizing the case if he wanted his family to be safe. He also reports frequently receiving calls from unknown numbers, inviting him to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. to sign some papers or pick something up.
Victims among relatives
Bueysem Muhter (4640), Husenjan Esqer (3193), Behram Yarmuhemmed (4638), Ekrem Yarmuhemmed (4639), Bahargul Sulayman (6788), Heyrigul Sulayman (6787), Guherem Sulayman (6786), Esqer Isaq (6789), Hemdullah Shakir (6790), Dilbar Sulayman (6785), Yehya Qurban (4641), Hezibulla Qurban (4030)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQmUdxnfUrg Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Ozd7LhJwc Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/AzizSulayman/status/1309929645874216960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4014_1.png Testimony 2: https://shahit.biz/supp/4014_2.pdf Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/4014_5.png Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/4014_7.png Entry created: 2019-05-07 Last updated: 2021-01-20 Latest status update: 2021-09-02 4231. Ershidin Israyil
Chinese ID: 6541??19????????O? (place of origin unclear)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: in custody When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism", "separatism" Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Hong Lei, as reported by Reuters.
Testimony 2: Radio Free Asia Uyghur, the Uyghur-language service of Radio Free Asia.
Testimony 3: Ilyas Omarov, as reported by Reuters.
Testimony 4: Yuri Sergeivich Stukanov, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (lawyer)
Testimony 5: Asiye Kerimova, as reported by Time. (sister-in-law)
About the victim
Ershidin Israyil is a former geography teacher from Ghulja.
Victim's location
---
When victim was detained
In 1999, he was sentenced to 6 years for "separatism".
On September 24, 2009, he fled Xinjiang, going to Almaty after it was disclosed that he had witnessed the September 18 beating to death of Shohret Tursun (detained with a group of around 40 Uyghurs in the aftermath of the July 2009 incident).
Having reached Almaty, he was eventually granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in March 2010, and accepted for resettlement in Sweden on April 1 (the status later revoked for unknown reasons). However, Kazakhstan authorities rejected Ershidin’s application for an exit visa and arrested him on June 23, 2010.
In May 2011, a Kazakhstan court rejected his application for political asylum. He was reportedly deported from Kazakhstan to China on May 30, 2011, where he would then await trial.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His previous prison sentence (in 1999) was for "separatism".
According to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the victim’s more recent arrest, in June 2010, was on "terrorism charges". Kazakhstan authorities also alleged that the victim confessed to taking part in a "terrorist act" in 1997.
According to Hong Lei: "The person in question has been wanted by Chinese police as major terror suspect, and was also a target of a red-alert wanted notice from Interpol. I understanding that this person has been extradited back to China, and now the case is being tried according to the law." (While the specifics are unclear, it also seems that Interpol assisted in maintaining his detention in Kazakhstan.)
Victim's status
Set to face trial, as of June 2011. [Presumably in custody.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Hong Lei, who confirmed the victim's status, is a representative of the Chinese authorities.
Radio Free Asia had previously interviewed the victim.
Ilyas Omarov was the press secretary for the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs [at the time of the events], and presumably had more direct knowledge of the case.
Yuri Sergeivich Stukanov was the victim's lawyer and was directly involved in the case.
Asiye Kerimova is a close relative of the victim, and was in Kazakhstan during the events.
Additional information
Reuters coverage: https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-57688420110614
Time Magazine feature: https://world.time.com/2011/07/28/chinas-uighur-problem-one-mans-ordeal-echoes-the-plight-of-a-peop le/
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/charges-06142011163646.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/deportation-05312011162319.html
The case has been mentioned in several NGO reports and letters: https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WUC-Refugee-Report-Updated-June-20 17.pdf https://docs.uhrp.org/pdf/WUC-UHRP-Alternative-Report-to-CAT-56.pdf https://bit.ly/3oiIuXv Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4231_1.jpg
Entry created: 2019-05-14 Last updated: 2020-09-18 Latest status update: 2011-07-28 4361. Tursunjan Emet
Chinese ID: 654101195512031193 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 65 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (12 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|"separatism" Health status: has problems Profession: art & literature
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
Testimony 2|6: Doğan Erdoğan, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son-in-law)
Testimony 3|5|7: Doğan Erdoğan, a cook from Turkey. He married Gulnaz Tursun, Tursunjan Emet's daughter, but was forced to leave Xinjiang and has been unable to reunite with his wife and daughter. (son-in-law)
Testimony 4: Doğan Erdoğan, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son-in-law)
About the victim
Tursunjan Emet is an Uyghur poet, originally from Ili.
Victim's location
Believed by his son-in-law to be in a camp in Miquan, Urumqi. [This is possibly in reference to the No. 1 detention center in Miquan, especially seeing as Tursunjan is currently being tried in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
Tursunjan has been having issues since 2002, when he was first detained for reading an Uyghur poem at a New Year's party in the Urumqi People's Hall on January 1, 2002 (interpreted by officials as being "against the people and advocating separatism"). He was detained and released a number of times since.
The most recent detention was in September or December of 2018 [testimonies differ]. After initially being detained in Ghulja, he was later transferred to a camp in Urumqi [possibly a detention center].
In September 14, 2020, he was allegedly tried, also in connection with the poem he read in 2002, and sentenced three months later for "inciting separatism" (though it was originally stated that the verdict would be ready in ten days). Eight people from his family were allowed to come from Ghulja to Urumqi to attend the trial. Tursunjan has appealed the verdict, however.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The reason for the initial detention back in 2002 was "advocating separatism". The recent sentence appears to be for the 2002 poem as well, and again for "inciting separatism".
His son-in-law, a Turkish citizen, believes that the reason for the current detention is that he allowed his daughter to marry a Turk.
Victim's status
Sentenced, but he has appealed the decision.
A former cellmate allegedly told Tursunjan's relatives in mid-2019 that Tursunjan was in detention but "doing well".
He suffers from diabetes, however, and the testifier has heard of him needing to be taken to a hospital several times.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Dogan still appears to be in contact with his wife in Xinjiang, and they have been able to meet on the Kazakhstan-China border region on some occasions.
On June 11, 2021, Tursunjan's daughter spoke to him on the phone, for the first time in 33 months.
Additional information
Tursunjan's initial arrest led to the government establishing compulsory political classes for the literary elite in Xinjiang.
His original case was mentioned in a 2002 Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/116000/asa170102002en.pdf
Recent coverage from Radio Free Asia: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/uyghurda-lager-10302019155359.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/tursunjan-emet-12112020211020.html
Victims among relatives
Nazile Tursun (5610), Gulnaz Tursun (6309), Juret Ehmet (15085)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REovn6eE9fc Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8OZ-gHSGfc Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/erdogandgn/status/1403211446570393601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with son-in-law (center): https://shahit.biz/supp/4361_1.jpeg
Entry created: 2019-05-22 Last updated: 2021-06-13 Latest status update: 2021-06-11 4628. Mahire Nurmuhemmed (玛依拉·努尔买买提)
Chinese ID: 650104198102141727 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 39 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kizilsu Status: sentenced (16 years) When problems started: Oct. 2018 - Dec. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|assisting "criminals", "terrorism" Health status: has problems Profession: government
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Memet'eli, originally from Atush. After studying in Egypt, he came to Turkey in 2017. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 2|7*: Mewlude Nurmuhemmed, sister of victim Mahire Nurmuhemmed. (sister)
Testimony 3|4: Nur'eli, a high-school student in Istanbul. (son)
Testimony 5*: Mewlude Nurmuhemmed, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (sister)
Testimony 6: Mewlude Nurmuhemmed, as reported by Bitter Winter. (sister)
Testimony 8: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 9: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Mahire Nurmuhemmed worked as a government administrator, and had retired due to health problems.
Address: Apt. 302, No. 3 Entrance, Building 6, Section A of the Chenguang Huayuan Residential Complex, Tuanjie Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi, Xinjiang (新疆乌鲁木齐市天山区团结路晨光花园A区六号楼三单元302).
Victim's location
In a pre-trial detention center in Atush.
When victim was detained
She was arrested on November 18, 2018 at her home in Urumqi and transferred to Atush. In January 2019, she was sentenced to 16.5 years in prison. Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Memet'eli, for sending her son to Egypt at a very young age to study Islam.
According to Mewlude Nurmuhemmed, for "having the problematic religious ideology of Islam", as well as having her son study in Turkey.
An official court verdict for a Hui man, Nie Shigang (sentenced to 5 years for helping Uyghurs from southern Xinjiang [likely, Atush] transfer money to their relatives in Egypt), includes Mahire, saying that she sent 8650RMB to Mewlude and Memet'eli ("fugitive(s) suspected of endangering national security" and, elsewhere in the verdict, "terrorists") on May 13, 2015. [It is very likely that this was at least one of the reasons given for her sentence.]
Victim's status
Sentenced to 16.5 years in prison. However, she is still in a pre-trial detention center.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Mewlude learned of the detention from an anonymous source on November 20, 2018.
Additional information
Bitter Winter coverage: https://bitterwinter.org/uyghur-mother-punished-for-her-care/
Court verdict mentioning the victim: https://archive.is/M0nOJ
A police record notes an operation being carried out with regard to her ID [specifics unclear] on December 29, 2017, by the Victory Road Police Station (胜利路派出所).
Court verdict
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/verori_39.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/vertran_39.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/verview.php?no=39
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eAu_GXUTDw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhdW048s14c Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgZNC53tEGg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4628_2.png Testimony 2: https://shahit.biz/supp/4628_3.pdf Testimony 7: https://shahit.biz/supp/4628_6.png
Entry created: 2019-06-06 Last updated: 2021-06-05 Latest status update: 2020-12-07 4639. Ekrem Yarmuhemmed (艾克热木·亚尔买买提)
Chinese ID: 653101198909133211 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 30 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: medicine
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2|3|4|6|10: Gulruy Esqer, an Uyghur poet, now living in the United States. (aunt)
Testimony 5: Abdulla Tohti Arish, originally from Yarkand but now living in Germany. (acquaintance)
Testimony 7: Financial Times, an English-language international daily newspaper, headquartered in London, with a special emphasis on business and economic news.
Testimony 8: Eziz Sulayman, originally from Aksu's Shayar County but now residing in the United States. (uncle-in-law)
Testimony 9*|11*: Gulruy Esqer, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (aunt)
Testimony 12: Gulruy Esqer, as reported by SupChina. (aunt)
Testimony 13: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Ekrem Yarmuhemmed is a graduate of the department of traditional Chinese medicine at Xinjiang Medical University.
He is the son of the famous writer, Yarmuhemmed Ayatullu. He lived in Urumqi and helped run the Tughluq bookshop together with his brother, just across from Xinjiang University.
Address: 543 Victory Road, Urumqi.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he has been sentenced.]
When victim was detained Arrested at home in November 2016, and sentenced to 10 years soon after.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
A number of possible reasons have been reported, such as his being arrested because of his (late) father's publications, or, as mentioned in the Financial Times, because a former classmate allegedly reported the family as being "too religious".
More recently, however, Gulruy has reported that the likely reason was a money transfer of 9630USD that she made to Ekrem on November 4, 2016, intended to pay back his mother (Gulruy's sister) the amount that Gulruy and her husband had borrowed earlier for a down-payment on a house.
It is also mentioned that police found a recording of the Quran during the arrest and confiscated it.
Victim's status
Sentenced and presumably in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Presumably from relatives not long after the arrest.
Additional information
Business entry for his and his brother's bookshop (no longer in business, contrary to what the listing says): http://archive.is/4EyDq
Business entry for another company he ran: http://archive.is/wip/VeP35
He has been written about in: http://raisethevoices.org/2019/07/14/missing-loved-ones-in-east-turkestan/ https://www.ft.com/content/48508182-d426-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77 https://camp-album.com/i-know-that-the-world-will-say-never-again-when-the-last-uyghur-is-killed/ https://supchina.com/2020/09/02/uyghur-care-taking-and-the-isolation-of-reeducation/
Victims among relatives
Alim Sulayman (4014), Bueysem Muhter (4640), Husenjan Esqer (3193), Behram Yarmuhemmed (4638), Bahargul Sulayman (6788), Heyrigul Sulayman (6787), Guherem Sulayman (6786), Esqer Isaq (6789), Hemdullah Shakir (6790), Dilbar Sulayman (6785), Yehya Qurban (4641), Hezibulla Qurban (4030)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3JExfImW_w Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hanL9Er6elQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUwKVCfU0Ng Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmTR6nU3U7I Testimony 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Ozd7LhJwc Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91OT-EotmN4 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4639_1.png Testimony 1: https://shahit.biz/supp/4639_2.pdf
Entry created: 2019-06-09 Last updated: 2021-04-11 Latest status update: 2020-09-07 4641. Yehya Qurban
Chinese ID: 65292419????????O? (Shayar)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2: Eziz Sulayman, originally from Aksu's Shayar County but now residing in the United States. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 3*: Gulruy Esqer, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (relative)
About the victim
Yehya Qurban (亚克亚·库尔班), a 47-year-old (as of June 2019) entrepreneur.
Address: Apt. 202, Entrance No. 3, Building No. 1, Sedanbage Dongjie Education District, Shayar County, Aksu Prefecture, 842200.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he's been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Detained in June 2016. Later sentenced to prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His brother-in-law suggests the reason was simply "being an Uyghur and a young man".
Victim's status
Believed to be serving a prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Yahya's brother-in-law, Eziz Sulayman, says that he heard this, but it is not clear from whom. Additional information
Mentioned in Sinopsis: https://sinopsis.cz/en/alim-sulayman/
Victims among relatives
Alim Sulayman (4014), Bueysem Muhter (4640), Husenjan Esqer (3193), Behram Yarmuhemmed (4638), Ekrem Yarmuhemmed (4639), Bahargul Sulayman (6788), Heyrigul Sulayman (6787), Guherem Sulayman (6786), Esqer Isaq (6789), Hemdullah Shakir (6790), Dilbar Sulayman (6785), Hezibulla Qurban (4030)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5khgJ18rDCE photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4641_1.png Testimony 1: https://shahit.biz/supp/4641_2.pdf
Entry created: 2019-06-10 Last updated: 2020-06-01 Latest status update: 2020-09-07 4647. Abliz Tohtihaji (阿布力孜·托乎提阿吉)
Chinese ID: 653101197507092811 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 45 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uzbek Likely current location: Kashgar Status: sentenced (7 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): "violating birth policies"|"breach of Party discipline", other, "illegal gathering" Health status: --- Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (friend)
Testimony 2|3: @ChinaFreeUyghur, an unverified Twitter account. (relation unclear)
Testimony 4: Nathan, a participant in the Silk Road Peace Project. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5: Anonymous, identity not verified. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (from same town/region)
Testimony 7: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 8: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
Testimony 9: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
About the victim
Abliz Tohtihaji, ethnic Uzbek, is a father of four.
He was a leader of the Kashgar Transportation Bureau (喀什运管局书记) and a CCP member. He was also a member of a local meshrep group, who often did charity work for the community. In his free time, he liked to play the dutar and guitar.
Victim's location
Pailou Prison in Yarkand.
When victim was detained Abliz and other members of the meshrep group had been previously arrested and interrogated in 2014, because of their donations to religious leaders who were detained in 2014 on "extremism" charges.
Abliz was arrested again in May 2017 (Nathan mentions that he was detained on the same night as most of the others in his meshrep group).
Four months into his detention, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
One anonymous testifier speculates that it could possibly be the fact that the victim had 4 children.
An official speech (https://archive.is/TO3S7), given at around the time of the 19th Party Congress (late 2017), calls him a "scum" (败类), using him as an example of someone who breached Party discipline and "colluded and acted in cahoots with the 'three evil forces'".
The anonymous source who spoke to Radio Free Asia has said that the entire meshrep group was detained on charges of "illegal gathering and organizing", which related to their work from 2014. The local police officer confirmed that the detention was due to the donations the meshrep group had distributed in the past.
Victim's status
Sentenced to 7 years. (A local police officer said that this sentence was relatively light, owing to the victim's "good behavior" during interrogation.)
[There is a good likelihood of the victim being subjected to forced labor, as the Kashgar Pailou Farm LLC operates out of the prison.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not stated how the testifiers abroad learned of his detention.
The local government and police staff who confirmed the detention would presumably have more direct knowledge of the case.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/chief-02092021180453.html
The victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs (and other ethnic minorities), available at: https://shahit.biz/supp/list_003.pdf
Supplementary materials
Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJL_OZLu3Rc Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/ChinaFreeUyghur/status/1219309348712828928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/ChinaFreeUyghur/status/1261136451779133440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Uyghur_NZ/status/1321580566823751680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/4647_1.jpg official speech mentioning him: https://shahit.biz/supp/4647_6.pdf photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/4647_7.png
Entry created: 2019-06-11 Last updated: 2021-04-30 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 4657. Hesen Ghopur (艾山·吾甫尔)
Chinese ID: 653130197005102276 (Maralbeshi)
Basic info
Age: 50 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kashgar Status: no news for over a year When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2|3: Abdulla Tohti Arish, originally from Yarkand but now living in Germany. (son-in-law)
Testimony 4|5: Gulchimen Hesen, a resident of Germany. (daughter)
About the victim
Hesen Ghopur was Director-Manager of the Awam Oil Mill (阿瓦穆榨油厂) in Maralbeshi. He graduated from the physical education department of Kashgar Normal University and had worked as a government official until 2002.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Kashgar.]
When victim was detained
Detained in October 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His son and daughter going to study abroad.
Victim's status
---
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through contacts in the region.
Additional information Business listing for the Awam oil mill: https://archive.vn/Xs21i
Victims among relatives
Tohti Muhemmed Arish (3155), Abduweli Tohti Arish (3156), Esqer Ehet (5486), Ruqiye Jappar (3157), Hanqiz Momin (4659), Abdurahman Ghopur (4658), Ehet Hesen (4660)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPAMo67GQKg Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xHrrY2k5SY Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEWYgUQ245E Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abmROGyR4OI photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4657_1.png business listing: https://shahit.biz/supp/4657_6.png
Entry created: 2019-06-11 Last updated: 2020-04-21 Latest status update: 2021-02-06 4702. Horiyet Abdulla
Chinese ID: 6501??197???????E? (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: --- When problems started: Apr. 2019 - June 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|"endangering state security" Health status: has problems Profession: housemaker
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Ablimit Tursun, as reported by Foreign Policy. (husband)
Testimony 2*|6|8: Vanessa Frangville, a scholar at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. (friend of relative)
Testimony 3*|5|10*: Hanna Burdorf, a postgraduate research student at the University of Newcastle. (friend of relative)
Testimony 4|9*: Ablimit Tursun, an Uyghur refugee living in Belgium. (husband)
Testimony 7: Horiyet Abdulla, as reported by NRC. (the victim)
About the victim
Horiyet Abdulla, 43 (as of June 2019), is a resident of Urumqi - a housewife and mother of four. Her husband Ablimit Tursun decided not to return to China after his brother's detention in 2017 (while Ablimit was on a business trip), and has been living in Belgium since.
Victim's location
[Presumably at her home in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
The victim's husband was trying to arrange a Belgian family-reunification visa for his wife and four children (it is likely that their passports were already confiscated at this point, and they were applying for a laisser-passer and visa). The application included a letter describing the family's situation as critical and called for discreetness. However, Horiyet and the kids would end up having to fly to Beijing twice, the second time on May 26, 2019, to hand in the final documents. The police went into their hotel room at the hotel where they were staying, asking to see their documents and interrogating them about the particulars of their stay in Beijing.
The next day, Belgian embassy officials informed Horiyet that the application would take at least three months to process, which prompted her to refuse to leave the embassy grounds out of fear that she might get detained. The security forced them out into the yard, where they stayed until 2 at night. At this point, the embassy called the Chinese police and asked them to remove the family. The Belgium ministry admitted to allowing the police into the embassy.
They were then interrogated by Xinjiang police in Beijing but refused to travel back to Urumqi, and as such stayed at the hotel. The next day, on May 31, the Xinjiang police forcefully entered their room and took them away, forcing them to go back to Urumqi. There was then an 18-day period of no news, after which - following international pressure - Horiyet re-established contact with Ablimit from Urumqi, but wouldn't tell him what had transpired in the 18 days.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
She is presumed to be monitored and under house arrest for having gone to Beijing to apply for a foreign visa.
After her return to Urumqi, local authorities told her that there were materials on her husband's computer that "endangered national security", while also trying to get her to sign a confession that she was guilty of this charge.
Victim's status
On June 18, Tursun briefly spoke with his wife, who told him that the authorities had returned her phone and that she and the children were “safe at home” in Urumqi, although it was unclear what kind of situation they were in and whether police were in their house when the call was made.
Ablimit also mentioned the authorities trying to coerce his wife into signing a confession to a crime against the country - having found "documents that endanger national security" on a hard drive - which she refused to do. Vanessa Frangville states that the family was subject to daily visits and interrogations from the police at this time.
Talking to a journalist from NRC, Horiyet said that she would be contacted by police whenever she went outside (as of August 2019), as they would want to know whom she met with and what she did. The police originally stayed in an apartment opposite to hers and drilled a hole in her wall to keep an eye on her. Later, the police surveillance lessened and it was just the people from the neighborhood administration who would come to check up on her.
Previously, Horiyet was believed to be at home, as confirmed by people who've been able to visit her. Hanna Burdorf visited in early September 2019 and described her as being very distressed and suffering from psychological health problems. She was also not allowed to leave the city, it appeared.
Since December 2019, however, Horiyet and the family have been out of contact, with Ablimit Tursun unable to reach them. Hanna Burdorf also mentions trying to add her WeChat account in June 2020, but only to find that it no longer exists.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Ablimit Tursun has been in contact with his wife directly at different points during this ordeal.
Hanna Burdorf met with the victim in person. Additional information
Friends have informed Ablimit that the local police had interrogated all his relatives in Turpan and Urumqi, had searched his home, and had taken away the family’s electronic devices.
While Belgian diplomats claimed to have spoken with Horiyet on the phone shortly after this incident, she allegedly said that she never received any phone call from the diplomats.
A petition to reunite the family: https://www.change.org/p/belgium-uyghur-association-ablimit-and-his-family-must-reunite-in-belgium
The story has seen ample media coverage, e.g.:
Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/06/14/belgiums-beijing-embassy-calls-chinese-cops-on-uighur-family/ RFA: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/belgiyede-uyghurmesilisi-06122019115752.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/family-06192019172120.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/arrest-10102019142104.html La Libre: https://www.lalibre.be/international/asie/la-famille-ouighoure-livree-a-la-police-chinoise-est-desesperee- 5d8f7ae2f20d5a53cc16e290 https://www.lalibre.be/international/asie/didier-reynders-s-explique-sur-l-affaire-de-la-famille-ouighoure- a-l-ambassade-a-pekin-il-n-y-avait-pas-d-autre-choix-si-l-on-voulait-une-solution-pour-la-famille-5d81112c 9978e25f642e289c AFP: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/uighur-belgium-fears-family-asylum-snag-161815077.html NRC: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/08/30/komt-dat-zien-het-exotische-land-der-oeigoeren-a3971701
Eyewitness account
[The following is an eyewitness account from Hanna Burdorf, a PhD candidate at Newcastle University, who visited the victim while in Urumqi and spent around two hours with her. The visit took place about three months after Horiyet and her children were taken from the Belgian embassy in Beijing and forced to return to Urumqi, following an unsuccessful attempt to obtain a family-reunification visa to reunite with the father in Belgium.]
In the early afternoon of September 11, 2019, I went to the address that Ablimit Tursun had given to me, in order to visit his wife Horiyet Abdulla and the couple’s four children. They live in Urumqi, near the Grand Bazar.
The entrance to the residential complex (小区) in which they live was accessible from the main road, although blocked by gates. The entrance gate for pedestrians was on the left – a big turnstile where you had to swipe your ID card to get in. To its right was a boom gate that would only be raised when cars wanted to get in or out of the complex. To the very right was the exit for pedestrians – a grille door that would be unlocked when you pushed a button from the side of the complex interior. It was through this exit that I entered, together with two or three Uyghur men, as the door was open because of several people leaving the complex at that moment.
The security guard was smoking and chatting with someone, and had turned his back to me, so I quickly crossed the road and entered the building where Horiyet’s apartment was, on the top floor. At that point, nobody seemed to have noticed me. There were no cameras at the entrance door downstairs and no cameras in the corridor.
After reaching the top floor, I saw two doors. The one on the left had a hole drilled out in the middle, about 7cm in diameter. This must have been her neighbors’ apartment – the one that had been occupied by the police when the Belgian diplomats came to Urumqi and tried to visit Horiyet previously. The door on the right was open, allowing me to peek into the apartment. However, the entrance was blocked by a second door, made of thin metal bars, letting air into the apartment and keeping visitors out. I tried to knock on this door, while doing my best to keep out of the sight of the other door’s peephole. I softly called Horiyet’s name.
She came out of the living room, crawling on all fours, and looked at me.
“I am your husband’s friend,” I told her.
Horiyet then opened the grille door and let me into the apartment, closing the outer (original) door behind me. She looked somehow concerned, so I told her that, as far as I could tell, nobody had followed me. I said that I was sorry to intrude and that her husband had sent me.
She then led me into the living room and reheated some of their lunch for me. I don’t remember the exact order of our conversation, nor the exact wording, since we spoke for about two hours. However, I believe my rendering of the events and dialogue to be fairly accurate, albeit possibly not complete.
Rather early in the visit, I told her that I had come to pick up some of her husband’s documents, such as his work and university diplomas, since he needed them for his job in Belgium. Getting a big folder full of documents from another room, she and her oldest daughter started going through them, putting those that they thought were important in a separate folder, which they would then give to me after they were done.
Horiyet started talking about divorcing her husband. She said that it had been quite a while already since she had last seen him, and that he was a man – she would understand if he wanted to divorce and start a new life. She said that she would be ready to sign divorce papers, if he so wished. I told her that her husband missed her very much and had sent me to come see her and the children, and that I could not imagine that he wanted to divorce her, because if that were the case he wouldn’t have asked me to visit her. I told her that as long as her husband did not tell her directly himself that he wanted to divorce her, she should not believe this to be the case, regardless of what she may hear.
Her oldest daughter was in the living room for the majority of our conversation. After helping find her father’s documents, she called him on WeChat and told him about my arrival. I waved to the camera. Their conversation did not last very long, but she would go on chatting with her father while I spoke with Horiyet.
Horiyet’s Chinese was perfect, making me think that she was a minkaohan (民考汉, a person from an ethnic minority group who had gone through the Chinese-language education system and thus spoke Chinese like a native). She told me that many people mistook her for a minkaohan, but that she had only started learning Chinese as a foreign language from the third year of elementary school (at age 8 or 9).
Later on, her daughter told me that she had been going to school and was preparing to take the gaokao (高考, university entrance exam) the following year. These days, she was at home taking care of her mother, who was sick. However, she wouldn’t miss any classes since the people at school were currently occupied with a sports event that would last several days.
Horiyet told me that she did not feel well. I asked her if she had a cold, as she did not look very healthy and I suspected that she might have caught one. She told me that she hadn’t, but did feel as if she had a fever. Her youngest daughter came into the room and crawled onto her lap. She also looked a little tired. Her mother explained that her youngest daughter was also a little sick, and probably because of her.
I asked her what this fever was, to which she said that she thought it was a reaction to her current situation. She said that she knew where this “disease” had come from – it was a reaction to her being under a lot of pressure. She said that even simple things, such as cooking for her children, looking after them, making sure they did their homework, and taking care of the household chores, were making her very weak and very tired. She said that nobody in the outside world could understand or imagine what they were going through.
“We are like the Jews in Nazi Germany,” she said, then started to cry.
She would start crying many times during our two-hour conversation.
When I asked what had happened to her after she was taken back from Beijing to Urumqi, she did not give an answer, simply telling me that nobody could imagine how bad the situation was and what “they” had done to her. She explained that the police had confiscated her husband’s personal computer after she was taken back, claiming to have found documents/writings on it that “endangered national security”. Although Horiyet explained to them that this was her husband’s personal computer and that she did not have access to it, not knowing the password, the police did not care, saying that this was the family’s computer and therefore her computer as well.
The police also tried to force her to sign documents admitting that she had “endangered national security”, but she did not give in to the pressure and refused. She had also demanded to see the documents that the police were basing the “endangering national security” accusation on, but they never showed anything to her.
I told her that I had wanted to take her to the police station to ask for her passport, but that given the situation she was in this would probably not be a good idea. Horiyet said that going to the police station would be of no use – she had argued with the police many times and they would not listen. She said that she had given up on reasoning with them.
There were several times when someone knocked on the door while we were talking, always prompting us to fall silent as the atmosphere grew very tense. Each time, Horiyet would tiptoe over to the door and have a look. However, it was always just one of her children coming home from school, or some other school-age children whom she was tutoring coming to her home to see her.
She explained that she had volunteered at a school before, but stopped because the school environment had gotten very strict. Nobody was allowed to do anything anymore, and she would not be able to interact with the children freely. Everyone was obligated to only follow the textbooks.
At one point, when all her kids had left the room, I asked her what she wanted. She was crying again, and said that she was willing to stay behind as long as her children were allowed to join their father in Belgium. She said that her biggest worry now was that her children might be taken away from her. At some point, someone – someone surveilling her, maybe the police or someone from the neighborhood administration, I’m not sure – had told her that they were still “being nice to her”, but could also choose to treat her “differently”. I said that her husband was hoping very much to see all of them, and that she should never agree to anything that would result in her being separated from her children. She was still crying, as she stood in front of me and nodded. I then hugged her and said that she had been doing such a good job already taking care of the kids, and that she should keep on doing this. I said that she should not listen to what anyone might tell her, and that we would send someone else to visit her soon. She nodded and smiled a little – the first and only smile I would see on her face.
I then said goodbye to her and her children, and walked down the stairs while they waved at me from the door frame. Not seeing anyone around, I quickly slipped out the main entrance door and out of the apartment complex, onto the street.
Source: shahit.biz
Victims among relatives
Abdujelil Tursun (5334), Rehime Ablimit (4771), Imran Ablimit (4772), Yunus Ablimit (4773), Hediche Ablimit (4774)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uRa-wBgxIY Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sccVQi9Nyec Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6-xhTTj3ws Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/VanessaFrangvi1/status/1174025889631416327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw selfie with kids: https://shahit.biz/supp/4702_1.jpeg call with Urumqi police: https://shahit.biz/supp/4702_2.mp4 La Libre article: https://shahit.biz/supp/4702_5.pdf Testimony 9: https://shahit.biz/supp/4702_8.pdf
Entry created: 2019-06-16 Last updated: 2020-07-09 Latest status update: 2020-06-27 4769. Dilshat Adil
Chinese ID: 65????19????????O? (place of origin unclear)
Basic info
Age: 18-35 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: Apr. 2018 - June 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism" Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Rune Steenberg, an anthropologist from Denmark. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2: Bayerischer Rundfunk, as reported by Washington Post.
Testimony 3: Bärbel Kofler, as reported by Die Welt.
Testimony 4: German Foreign Office, as reported by Die Welt.
About the victim
Dilshat Adil lived in Munich for six years, where he finished school and where he worked. He spoke German well.
Victim's location
---
When victim was detained
Dilshat arrived in Germany in 2013, later applying for asylum there.
In his first asylum application, he said that Chinese authorities were looking for him on allegations of having been involved in the 2009 Urumqi riots and having committed a murder. German authorities rejected his application as "not substantial / being unfounded". In their view, because Dilshat had entered Germany using an official Chinese passport, he could not have been politically persecuted. With his first asylum application having been rejected, Dilshat was supposed to leave Germany voluntarily before April 1, 2018.
On March 29, 2018, he reapplied for asylum [probably because the conditions in China had changed drastically]. According to German law, if someone reapplies for asylum, the applicant cannot be deported while the application is pending. However, because of a communication error by the German authorities, the German police arrested Dilshat. He was deported and forcibly flown back to China, where he was arrested upon arrival and charged with separatism.
(After the German authorities realized their bureaucratic mistake, they invited Dilshat back, but would not receive a reply.)
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Dilshat was charged with "separatism".
Victim's status
According to Germany's Foreign Office, Dilshat is still in detention in China. They have not obtained information regarding a trial or sentence.
Dilshat has a tattoo of East Turkestan's flag on his arm, which in China is punishable by death.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Rune Steenberg got information about the case through Dilshat's colleagues and acquaintances.
Bayerischer Rundfunk spoke to Dilshat's lawyer in Germany.
In December 2018, Bärbel Kofler, the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, traveled to China and, despite not being allowed to travel to Xinjiang, was informed that Dilshat had been arrested upon his arrival in China and charged with separatism.
The German Foreign Office is an official source in the German government, and should have direct knowledge of the case.
Additional information
Foreign Policy coverage: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/06/14/belgiums-beijing-embassy-calls-chinese-cops-on-uighur-family/
Washington Post coverage: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/06/germany-accidentally-deported-uighur-man-china-hi s-lawyer-hasnt-heard-him-since/
Die Welt coverage: https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus206041501/Verfolgung-durch-China-Uigure-zu-Unrecht-abge schoben.html
Entry created: 2019-06-17 Last updated: 2021-02-11 Latest status update: 2020-02-23 4941. Otkur Yarmemet (吾提库尔·亚尔买买提)
Chinese ID: 65410119900725??O? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 30 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: has problems Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Anonymous, as reported by AidET. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2|3|4|5: Zulhayat Yarmemet, originally from Ghulja but now residing in the United States. (sister)
Testimony 6: Anonymous, as reported by Amnesty International. (relative)
About the victim
Otkur Yarmemet finished high school and went to study in Turkey, where he did 2 years of preparatory language courses and was then admitted to the marketing program at Kastamonu University. In 2016, he returned to China to take care of his aging parents and to help run the family shop that was opened by his father. He also worked hard to help expand the business. It was around this time that he got engaged.
Address: No. 9 10th Alley, Aydun Street (阿依墩街), Ghulja City.
Passport no: G38339162.
Victim's location
[Unclear, since he's been jailed, and Zulhayat says that his family doesn't know where he is.]
When victim was detained
He was taken by state security personnel from home at night in April 2017. His parents were told that he was being held at a "re-education" camp, but for a year they did not know where exactly. Originally, the family was told that Otkur was being taken away for 15 days, but then the authorities said that he would need 3 months. According to the base testimony, he was released for a day in July 2017 but then detained again.
In March 2018, Zulhayat's father was taken away as well (he was only released recently, as of October 2019), and a few days after this the mother was told that Otkur was going to be sentenced to 10 years. The first (anonymous) testimony says that Otkur himself called and said that he was in prison [this is slightly confusing].
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Not clear, but Zulhayat suspects it is because Otkur had studied in Turkey.
Victim's status
Believed to be serving a 10-year sentence.
In February 2021, his mother was able to video-call him, and said that he looked "gaunt and unrecognizable".
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Zulhayat does not explicitly state exactly how she learned all this, but from her testimony it is apparent that she is able to stay in touch with her parents.
Additional information
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR034
Zulhayat adds that her mother was not allowed to attend Otkur's trial and that no official confirmation of the verdict was ever received.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSXpMLNHfd8 Testimony 2: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php%3Fstory_fb id%3D921711728186476%26id%3D100010429727463&width=300 victim's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/otkur.uygur.3/posts/16482 05165430147:0&width=300 Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/ZYarmamat/status/1331094449070419968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/ZYarmamat/status/1335811332139048966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/4941_1.png Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/4941_2.png photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/4941_6.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/4941_7.jpg
Entry created: 2019-07-05 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 4958. Muhemmedeli Tursun (买买提力·吐尔逊)
Chinese ID: 652101197010011317 (Turpan)
Basic info
Age: 50 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Bayingolin Status: sentenced (6 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"picking quarrels" Health status: --- Profession: farmwork, herding
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2|3: Muherrem Muhemmed'eli, originally from Turpan but now living and working in Japan. (son)
Testimony 4: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 5: Muherrem Muhemmed'eli, as reported by Amnesty International. (son)
About the victim
Muhemmed'eli Tursun was a farmer by profession, and also served as an imam during Friday prayer for his neighborhood.
Address: No. 4 Group, Yengi'mehelle Village, Yar Municipality, Turpan City.
Victim's location
In a prison in Korla City.
When victim was detained
He was called to attend a "meeting" (with other local imams) on March 24, 2017, and was arrested there. Around August of the same year, he would have a closed trial, without a lawyer and without the family being notified, where they would sentence him to 6 years for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". He was then transferred to a prison in Korla.
While in prison, he wrote letters to his family, in which he emphasized such things as the need to learn the "national language".
Around April 2019, Muhemmed'eli called his family in Turpan from the prison. As they were only allowed to speak in Mandarin, only one of the family members was able to talk to him. Likely (or given) reason for detention
Sentenced for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
From the video call he had with his family from prison, it was clear that he had lost significant weight (having previously weighed over 100 kilos).
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The family would learn of what happened only in October 2017, when they got a letter from the prison, saying that he had been sentenced around August and was now serving the sentence in Korla.
It has been possible for him to have phone calls with the family (fixed time/length), though they are required to speak Chinese during these.
Additional information
The victim's son lists the following as illegal acts that the Chinese government has committed during this process and before (in violation of its own laws):
- keeping him in detention illegally for around 7 months - not granting him his right to call a lawyer - prior to this, questioning him on two occasions without any formal procedures - installing surveillance cameras outside the family home without any reason (in 2014)
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR050
Miscellaneous media evidence
Context: Muhemmed'eli Tursun was disappeared in March 2017, after being called to a meeting. In October 2017, his family learned that he had been sentenced to 6 years for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". In around April of 2019, his family had a video chat with him, where Muhemmed'eli can be seen as being in prison, with a guard present. His son in Japan, Muherrem, mentions that his father lost significant weight while in detention.
Video: https://shahit.biz/supp/misc_4958.mp4 Source: https://twitter.com/Muharram_BAQi/status/1274621699040751617
Victims among relatives
Mehmud Muhemmet (4964), Abdurahman Memet (5052), Ayshemhan Yasin (4957), Memet Ismayil (4959), Ehmed Muhemmed (4960), Nureli Ehmed (4961), Omer Ehmed (4962), Nurislam Ehmed (4963), Abdusalam Muhemmed (4965) Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raShn5OBNqQ mention on Japanese TV: https://twitter.com/UyghurInfo/status/1201683216127549440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/Muharram_BAQi/status/1274621699040751617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4958_1.png surveillance cameras outside home: https://shahit.biz/supp/4958_2.png
Entry created: 2019-07-07 Last updated: 2021-09-21 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 4966. Turghun Hamudun (吐尔洪·阿木东)
Chinese ID: 6529291976??????O? (Kelpin)
Basic info
Age: 44-45 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (16 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred", "disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Letter from the Chinese government, providing an official reply regarding a certain query or issue.
Testimony 2: Abdurehim Gheni, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 3*: Abdurehim Gheni, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother-in-law)
Testimony 4: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
About the victim
Turghun Hamudun. Both he and his wife, Arzugul, had been working at the central middle school in Kelpin.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Unclear when initially detained.
Sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in prison in May 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Sentenced for "inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order".
Victim's status
Sentenced. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
This is official information from the Chinese authorities.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/jailed-10122020121624.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR064
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Government (branch unclear)
------
The Situation of Abdurehim Gheni’s Relatives in Xinjiang
The oldest brother, Ablikim Gheni, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in August 2017 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order; in March 2019, Ablikim Gheni’s oldest daughter, Patime Ablikim, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The second oldest brother, Mijit Gheni, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2018 for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination.
The wife’s oldest younger brother (first younger brother-in-law), Turghun Hamudun, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2019 for the crimes of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination and gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The wife’s second oldest younger brother (second younger brother-in-law), Adil Hamudun, was sentenced to 3 years in May 2019 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The mother, Tohtihan Bekri, passed away from illness on October 9, 2014; the remaining relatives are all in the community living normal lives.
Victims among relatives
Abdugheni Hudaberdi (8469), Ablikim Gheni (8470), Abdukerim Gheni (8479), Hasiyet Rozi (8476), Zinnethan Kichik (8471), Patime Ablikim (8472), Aminem Ablikim (8473), Bumeryem Ablikim (8474), Mijit Gheni (8475), Zulpiye Mijit (8477), Hudaberdi Mijit (8478), Abdulla Abdukerim (8480), Adil Hamudun (11504), Aygul Qari (15166)
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4966_1.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_4966.png
Entry created: 2020-11-29 Last updated: 2021-09-23 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 4973. Abidin Ayup (阿吾丁·阿尤甫)
Chinese ID: 65300119280201??O? (Atush)
Basic info
Age: 93 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kizilsu Status: --- When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"extremism", related to religion, "endangering state security" Health status: has problems Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2|3: Mariye Muhemmed, originally from Atush but now residing in Boston, where she helps operate an Uyghur restaurant. (niece)
Testimony 4: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 5|6: Mariye Muhemmed, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (niece)
Testimony 7: Sheyide Eli, originally from Kashgar, but now residing in the United States. (relative)
Testimony 8: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway.
Testimony 9: Mariye Muhemmed, as reported by BBC. (niece)
Testimony 10: Mariye Muhemmed, as reported by Amnesty International. (niece)
About the victim
Abidin Ayup is a respected religious leader, now over 90 years old. He was the imam of Qayraq Mosque in Atush's Bostan Neighborhood for around 30 years. He also worked as a professor at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, before retiring around two decades ago.
Address: Ustun Atush Municipality, Atush City, Kizilsu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Kizilsu.]
When victim was detained It is unclear when the original detention took place, but the available evidence makes it reasonable to hypothesize that it was sometime between January and April 2017, since in May 2017 the victim was already "hospitalized following detention" (被收押住院).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The court document refers to the victim as "an inheritor and transmitter of religious extremist thought" (宗教极端思想传承人) and "a key person for reform through education" (重点教育改造人员), suggesting that he was detained for his identity as a religious leader. He is also referred to in the verdict as an "endangering-state-security criminal" (危安犯).
Victim's status
Last seen by an acquaintance at a hospital in Atush in the summer of 2020.
The court verdict indicates that, as of May 2017, he was already in poor health (as he had to be hospitalized soon after detention and spent a prolonged period in the hospital). [This is especially concerning given his age.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not clear how the earlier news of Abidin was obtained by his relatives abroad [likely through relatives in the region - Mariye reports having spoken to her mother]. The later confirmation came from an official court verdict mentioning the victim as hospitalized following his detention.
Additional information
Link to the official court verdict: http://archive.is/mNrdp
BBC coverage: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56986057
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/lager-guwahliq-03282019165430.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/diniy-zat-01142020161605.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/imam-01222020130927.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR020
According to Mariye's mother in March 2019, many of Abidin Ayup's children were gone, with the house gate locked.
Court verdict
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/verori_45.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/vertran_45.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/verview.php?no=45
Victims among relatives
Osmanjan Eli (37), Enwerjan Eli (38), Sabitjan Mantimin (36), Ghapparjan Memeteli (34), Bilal Ghapparjan (35), Sadir Eli (39), Reshide Memet (44), Asiye Memet (3021), Ismayil Memet (42), Hajimuhemmed Musa (40), Hanzohre Musa (43), Sarigul Rozi (3052), Ibrahim Mamut (3019), Rozi Himit (3051), Elijan Mamut (23), Mehrigul Abla (3046), Abdugheni Abla (3047), Abdusemi Abla (3048), Mahmut Edat (3049), Abdukerim Edat (3050), Burhan Memet (3004), Memet Burhan (3018), Ibrahimjan Muhemmet (41), Mamut Abidin (3022), Hesen Mamut (3023), Husen Mamut (3024), Yusupjan Abidin (4971), Aygul Eli (8974), Abdukerim Abla (9152), Kerim Osmanjan (3002), Ibrahimjan Niyaz (3003), Ayshem Abliz (3020), Abduweli Mijit (14393)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8tpweZkx18 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhea_dewTb4 Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/sydaaaAli/status/1302676766339862528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/AbduwelA/status/1330265837689827331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4973_1.jpg
Entry created: 2019-07-11 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 4980. Memetabid Zeydin
Chinese ID: 653101196402220413 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 57 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Changji Status: sentenced (7 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|relative(s), related to going abroad Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Anonymous, as reported by AidET. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2*|3|5: Hebibe Memetabid, originally from Kashgar City. She went to the National University of Malaysia for her bachelor's degree in 2017, and then to the US for her master's. (daughter)
Testimony 4: Official notice to those with relatives abroad, warning the informed party that they will be held legally responsible in the case that their relative does not return to China quickly. (from same town/region)
Testimony 6: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 7: Anonymous, as reported by Amnesty International. (relation unclear)
About the victim
Memet'abid Zeydin was a businessman who also did charity work for his community.
Address: Orda Street, Kashgar City.
Victim's location
A prison in Changji City.
When victim was detained
Local police formally warned Memet'abid on April 17, 2017, saying that he would be held legally responsible if his daughter, Hebibe, did not return to China in the coming 7 days. She did not, and that same month Memet'abid was detained and taken to a concentration camp in Kashgar City. In September 2020, his daughter learned that he had been sentenced and was now in a prison in Changji City.
Likely (or given) reason for detention Because his daughter did not return to China as asked.
Victim's status
Sentenced to 7 years and in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Hebibe learned about the detention and sentencing through relatives.
The notice threatening to hold Memet'abid responsible in the case that Hebibe not return comes directly from the local police organs, who are presumably responsible for his arrest.
Additional information
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR102
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_16.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_16.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=16
Victims among relatives
Semetjan Mijit (13571), Hesenjan Mijit (13572), Ablikim Mijit (13573), Metniyaz Hesen (13574), Asimgul Sabit (13575)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/Habiba97013872/status/1336697930472976384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Habiba97013872/status/1338714835178184704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/4980_1.jpg Testimony 2: https://shahit.biz/supp/4980_2.png
Entry created: 2019-07-09 Last updated: 2021-09-23 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 5052. Abdurahman Memet (阿不都热合曼·买买提)
Chinese ID: 652101198909171831 (Turpan)
Basic info
Age: 31 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Turpan Status: no news for over a year When problems started: July 2019 - Sep. 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): contact with outside world|--- Health status: --- Profession: other
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Gene A. Bunin, independent scholar and curator of shahit.biz. (friend of relative)
Testimony 2: Muherrem Muhemmed'eli, as reported by The Guardian. (nephew)
Testimony 3: Muherrem Muhemmed'eli, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (nephew)
About the victim
Abdurahman Memet was a tour guide at the Turpan branch of the "Golden Bridge" (altun kowruk, 金桥) International Tour Agency (full name in Chinese: 新疆金桥国际旅行社吐鲁番分社). He finished high school and had 8 years of Mandarin-language education.
Address: No. 2 Group, Bulaq Village, Uzumchilik (Putao) Town, Idiqut (Gaochang) District, Turpan City.
Phone number: +8618690321952.
Victim's location
In Turpan.
When victim was detained
On July 6, 2019, he was preparing to take a tour group to Ghulja for a 5-day trip, starting on July 7, 2019, for which he appears to have left as planned. On the same day (July 7), letters that his family had received from relatives in camp, which he had sent to his nephew in Japan in 2018, were published on shahit.biz and also posted on social networks, spreading quickly and prompting the Turpan police to call Abdurahman on July 9 to ask whom he shared the letters with. On July 11, he returned to Turpan and contact with him was definitively lost. By July 20, it became clear through a mix of sources that he was being held in detention in Turpan.
Likely (or given) reason for detention Almost certainly the fact that the letters from camp that he had shared with his relative abroad were widely posted online.
Victim's status
Presumably in a detention center in Turpan. [However, there's been no real news since his disappearance.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
His nephew used his contacts in Xinjiang and inner China to get updates about his uncle's case.
Additional information
Phone number of the Gaochang District police station: +869958564820.
Tour company phone: +869958832300 (landline), +8613899318116 (mobile).
A Financial Times reporter visited Turpan on July 13 and asked about Abdurahman. Without confirming the detention, the police gave a vague reply about staying in touch with the reporter and letting him know later. Nothing appears to have come of this, however.
His story has been featured in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/14/uighur-man-held-after-leaking-letters-from-xinjiang-ca mp-inmates-says-family
RFA has also covered his story: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/abdurahman-memet-08142019190434.html
Victims among relatives
Muhemmedeli Tursun (4958), Mehmud Muhemmet (4964), Ayshemhan Yasin (4957), Memet Ismayil (4959), Ehmed Muhemmed (4960), Nureli Ehmed (4961), Omer Ehmed (4962), Nurislam Ehmed (4963), Abdusalam Muhemmed (4965)
Supplementary materials photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_1.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_2.jpg tour company logo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_3.jpg tour company info (Turpan): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_4.jpg tour company info (general): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_5.png 5-day tour announcement: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_6.jpg letter from mother in camp: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_7.png nephew's summary of events: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_9.pdf call to PSB (Aug. 4, 2019) (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_10.mp3 call to PSB (Aug. 4, 2019) (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_11.mp3 Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_12.jpg call to PSB (Aug. 5, 2019) (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_13.mp3 call to PSB (Aug. 5, 2019) (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_14.mp3 call to PSB (Aug. 8, 2019): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_15.mp3 RFA report (Uyghur): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_16.mp3 translation of letter: https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_17.pdf call to PSB (Mar. 29, 2020): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_18.mp4 call to PSB (Apr. 2, 2020): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_19.mp3 call to PSB (Apr. 5, 2020): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_20.mp3 photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/5052_21.jpeg
Entry created: 2019-07-29 Last updated: 2020-02-02 Latest status update: 2020-11-07 5117. Puet Peruq (布艾提·拜肉克)
Chinese ID: 654121197907200697 (Ghulja County)
Basic info
Age: 41 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (20 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: farmwork, herding
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Firqet Tughluq, a resident of Adelaide, Australia. (uncle)
About the victim
Pu'et Peruq, a farmer. He has four kids.
Address: 5-67 Upper Turpanyuzi Village, Turpanyuzi Township, Ghulja County, Xinjiang (新疆伊宁县吐鲁番于孜乡上吐鲁番于孜村5-67号).
Victim's location
In a prison in Chapchal County.
When victim was detained
Unclear when detained. Testifier first learned about it at the end of 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
[Presumably] serving a 20-year sentence. No other news since.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information ---
Victims among relatives
Ekber Seyitomer (5118)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7lwwcue0A Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPfPfoIB1N4 Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9t7z_FuNJg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5117_1.png
Entry created: 2019-08-17 Last updated: 2020-04-21 Latest status update: 2020-11-07 5328. Qaster Bolat (卡斯铁尔·波拉提)
Chinese ID: 654225200003300914 (Chaghantokay)
Basic info
Age: 20 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (15 years) When problems started: July 2019 - Sep. 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): nationalism, patriotism|"extremism" Health status: --- Profession: athlete
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Berik, as reported by Mehmet Volkan Kaşıkçı. (relation unclear)
Testimony 2|3|6|7|10: Dilnur Baqyt, born in 1989, a resident of Kazakhstan. (cousin)
Testimony 4: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (relation unclear)
Testimony 5: Dilnur Baqyt, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (cousin)
Testimony 8: Official detention notice, provided after the initial detention of a suspect in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 9: Baqytali Nur, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear)
About the victim
Qaster Bolat is famous as a wrestler, having taken first place in a number of competitions held in the Tacheng region.
ID address: House No. 1306, Qarasai Village, Zhiek Municipality, Shagantogai County, Xinjiang (新疆裕民县吉也克镇哈拉塞村1306号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Qaster was detained on July 6, 2019 and held at the Shagantogai County pre-trial detention center.
On August 6, 2019, he was allegedly sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 30000RMB. In early 2020, his cousin, Dilnur, reported that the sentence had been reduced to 5 years, but in October 2020 would report that it has not, and that it was also to be followed by 2 years of "re-education". Likely (or given) reason for detention
Qaster had no prior history of arrest or trouble with law enforcement. He was detained after posting a song by well-known Kazakhstani poet and singer Didar Kamiev on Douyin.
According to the official detention notice, Qaster was detained for "propagating extremism".
Victim's status
Sentenced. [It is not clear if he has been transferred to a prison or if he is still being held at the detention center.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The detention notice is an official document from the public security organs.
The remaining testifiers' sources were not stated.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/songs-09122019114851.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/wrestler-11032020152128.html
Baqytali Nur told Radio Free Asia that a police officer named "Azarkan" [surname unspecified] was the one responsible for detaining Qaster. Radio Free Asia contacted Azarkan, who confirmed that he was indeed responsible for detaining him, but Azarkan hung up when Radio Free Asia asked further questions.
A list that appears to mention Qaster: http://archive.is/60n8M
Official notice(s)
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/notori_27.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/nottran_27.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/notview.php?no=27
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oTfRTuOLog Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcknGIRjqJw Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uST4dzWBxwo Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxjDkUfqowk Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqjdVbloWFI Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USJpxXAM9hA photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/5328_2.gif Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5328_5.png photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/5328_9.jpeg
Entry created: 2019-09-28 Last updated: 2021-08-09 Latest status update: 2020-11-03 5349. Baimurat Nauryzbek (巴依木拉提·那如孜别克)
Chinese ID: 654121199008111219 (Ghulja County)
Basic info
Age: 31 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred" Health status: --- Profession: security/police
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Madihan Kunbolat, born in 1987, now a Kazakhstan citizen. (cousin)
Testimony 3|4|5|6|9|10: Baibolat Kunbolat, now residing in Kazakhstan. (cousin)
Testimony 7: Madihan Kunbolat, as reported by National Public Radio. (cousin)
Testimony 8: Gu Ming, a staff member of the Chinese mission in Kazakhstan.
Testimony 11: Baqyt Zharyqbasova, born in 1983, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 12: Bazarbai Adilzhan, originally from Ghulja County, immigrated to Kazakhstan in 2008 and obtained citizenship there. (from same town/region)
About the victim
Baimurat Nauryzbek was born on August 11, 1990, and was adopted by relatives (Baibolat and Madihan's aunt) at the age of 5 months. After studying at the Almaty Technology University for a year in 2012-2013, he went back to China, where he'd work as an auxiliary police officer (协警). He's a fluent Chinese speaker, having gone to a Chinese school until ninth grade and having graduated from high school in Shanghai.
Address: Group No. 3, Shormanbulaq Village, Qarayaghach Township, Ghulja County (新疆伊宁县喀拉亚尕齐乡下奥依曼布拉克村三组).
Chinese passport: G43889756. Kazakhstan green card: 026674161.
Victim's location
Confirmed by the Xinjiang authorities to be in Wusu Prison.
When victim was detained The official Chinese account and that of relatives differ.
According to his relatives, he was detained in March 2018 and kept in a camp for 18 months before being sentenced to 10 years in October 2019.
The official account, as conveyed by a representative of the Chinese mission in Kazakhstan, Gu Ming (顾明), is that he was sentenced on April 11, 2018 (to 10 years and 5 years of deprivation of political rights) without ever having been in an "education & training center".
An early testimony from a fellow villager, Bazarbai Adilzhan, appears to support the official version, as already in October 2018 Bazarbai had testified that Baimurat had allegedly been sentenced to 10 years for something found on his phone.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Gu Ming, Baimurat was found guilty of "inciting ethnic hatred" (for an article he posted on Baidu Tieba in 2012, in addition to other later posts).
Victim's status
Serving a 10-year prison sentence.
There is also a strong likelihood that he is subjected to forced labor, as there are indications of this happening at Wusu Prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
While it's not clear how the victim's relatives in Kazakhstan learned about his status, that Baimurat has been sentenced to 10 years has been confirmed by Gu Ming, who is a representative of the Chinese government and says he got the information from the Xinjiang government directly.
Additional information
The victim's case has been mentioned by NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/764153179/china-has-begun-moving-xinjiang-muslim-detainees-to-form al-prisons-relatives-say
Baibolat has tried calling the victim's mother, Yrzyq Asengazy (mobile number: +86 176 9939 6047), more than ten times, but she didn't answer. She picked up the phone once, but hung up immediately. In a later testimony, the testifier reported that she sent him a message telling him to stop petitioning, claiming that it was making their lives even harder.
The Rights Protection Blog (https://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2020/03/10.html?spref=tw) has given a differing account, in which the victim was formally arrested at the end of 2019, instead of being released from the camp, and then sentenced by the Ghulja County People's Court in March 2020. [However, this seems to have a number of inconsistencies, both with the official confirmation from the Chinese mission that came earlier and with the fact that the 10-year sentence is reported as starting from March 2018, which would imply a formal arrest in March 2018, and not the victim being sent to camp. In the absence of additional information, this account will not be integrated into the entry for the time being.] Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Kazakhstan
------
Baibolat Kunbubek [Kunbolat],
The embassy has just received the formal reply from the Xinjiang regional government. I can now inform you of the formal result regarding your brother Baimurat Nauryzbek’s case.
Your brother was never in an education & training center (what you call “study class”). On March 20, 2012, your brother posted an article on the Chinese social network platform Baidu Tieba, in which he incited ethnic sentiment and ethnic hatred. Afterwards, your brother would continue to leave remarks inciting ethnic hatred on social media, doing so on multiple occasions. As a result, the Xinjiang Ili Yining People’s Court – in accordance with Articles 249 and 56 of the “Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China” – judged your brother guilty of inciting ethnic hatred and sentenced him to 10 years of prison and 5 years of deprivation of political rights on April 11, 2018. He is currently serving his sentence in Wusu Prison.
Provided above is the official reply. What follows now are my remarks on the behalf of the embassy:
1) There is no so-called “totally groundless arrest”. China is a country and society of law. If you continue to slander the Chinese government, then we will engage with the Kazakhstan government to have action taken against you.
2) Your brother committed a crime and must submit to the appropriate punishment. I hope that he can successfully reform while in prison and become a new person. Should you continue to act here as a pawn of the anti-China forces and to continue to make trouble, then rest assured – your brother and your brother’s family will certainly not wish your actions to further affect your brother’s reform.
3) The embassy and consulate here, together with the Xinjiang government, have dedicated time to formally look into and inquire about your brother’s case. You ought to be grateful, and I hope that you’ll be more careful with your actions in the future. Don’t expect such politeness and assistance the next time that you cause trouble. As we’ve learned, your brother was adopted by your aunt’s family when he was 5 months old. Your aunt and uncle are still living in Xinjiang, and your actions can have an effect on them. They don’t want you to keep making trouble. If they’re not happy with the verdict, they can simply appeal through the legal channels. Don’t think that you can do whatever you like just because you’ve obtained Kazakhstan citizenship. Nor is the Kazakhstan government going to protect those who harm China-Kazakhstan relations, attacking and insulting the Chinese people, even if that person happens to be a citizen of Kazakhstan.
Finally, I hope that you can distance yourself from those negative people, and to use these best years of your life to really work hard, to earn more money, and to take good care of your parents. Don’t get involved with anti-China forces. I trust you to get all that sorted.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFWBETIF4M4 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myksF_fKHlU Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxZL3Gvzv1s Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL9gkIORTRE Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1-c_UG9Qjw Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIBMhKYZ6mY Testimony 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUjaX3kCcqE Testimony 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfJwuikKONE Testimony 11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srdBjhFgsiA Testimony 12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWoUMUnLGlg Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/5349_2.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5349_8.png Gu Ming phone call: https://shahit.biz/supp/5349_14.mp4 Almaty student ticket: https://shahit.biz/supp/5349_20.jpg Kazakhstan residence: https://shahit.biz/supp/5349_21.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_5349.png
Entry created: 2019-10-04 Last updated: 2021-01-11 Latest status update: 2021-08-29 5383. Merhaba Musa (美丽哈巴·木萨)
Chinese ID: 650105198003020045 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 38 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: in custody When problems started: July 2018 - Sep. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|contact with outside world Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Melikezat Abliz, a resident of Norway. (friend)
Testimony 3: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 4: Melikezat Abliz, as reported by Aftenposten. (friend)
About the victim
Merhaba Musa was living with her parents in Urumqi. She has a son, and was working at a bus station ticket office in the city.
Residential address: Hengchang Neighborhood (恒昌小区), Shuimogou District, Urumqi.
Registered address: Apt. 302, Entrance No. 3, Building No. 14, District 4, 1186 South Qidaowan Road, Shuimogou District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市水磨沟区七道湾南路1186号4区14号楼3单元302号).
Victim's location
No. 3 Pre-Trial Detention Center in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
Detained and taken to the No. 3 pre-trial detention center on July 14, 2018. The case was sent to the Shuimogou District Procuratorate in mid-August 2018. By early October 2018, the procuratorate had already established a provisional 10+ year sentence, with the case sent to the city procuratorate.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The local police detained her on the suspicion of "stealing, obtaining, purchasing, and illegally providing state secrets and intelligence to parties abroad" (境外窃取、刺探、收买、非法提供国家秘密、情报罪).
This is the official charge that resulted from her chatting with her friend abroad, Melikezat Abliz, and telling her in code her criticisms of people being taken to "transformation through education" (与境外人员买里克扎提·阿不里孜使用暗语聊可疑内容, 议论疑似教育转化人员的情况等).
Victim's status
Facing prosecution, with the local procuratorate already having set a provisional 10+ year sentence, with the case now being handled by the city procuratorate.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Melikezat learned of the arrest from an acquaintance.
The Urumqi police records are reports and data that come directly from the local public security organs.
Additional information
Aftenposten feature: https://www.aftenposten.no/shared/verden/i/yRW98a/jeg-haaper-jeg-ikke-blir-sendt-paa-skole-skrev-mer haba-40-til-beste
Amnesty International case info [has some inconsistencies with official information]: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR047
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/Alzat601/status/1180951343424561153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Alzat601/status/1342591564619673601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (left): https://shahit.biz/supp/5383_3.jpg
Entry created: 2019-10-10 Last updated: 2021-05-31 Latest status update: 2018-11-26 5399. Abdureshit Tohti (阿布都热西提·托胡提)
Chinese ID: 65312119????????O? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Tumshuq Status: sentenced (17 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"disturbing public order", "terrorism" Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Nurmangul Abdureshit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (daughter)
Testimony 2|3|4: Nurmangul Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now living in the US. (daughter)
Testimony 5: Nursiman Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now residing abroad. (daughter)
Testimony 6: PRC consulate-embassy staff, a staff member at a People's Republic of China embassy or consulate.
Testimony 7: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by SupChina. (daughter)
About the victim
Abdureshit Tohti graduated from Kashgar College, completing a two-year degree in agronomy and returning to his village, where he was given a job organizing agricultural work for the local work brigade. In around 1993, he opened a flour mill where villagers could grind their own wheat. He also worked as an elementary-school teacher. At one point, he became a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Address: No. 035, Group No. 6, Shor Village, Saybagh Township, Konasheher County, Kashgar Prefecture (疏附县沙依巴格乡肖尔村6组035号).
Victim's location
In Tumshuq Prison. [Presumably the Third Division Prison, as this is the only known prison in Tumshuq.]
When victim was detained
Until April 2017, Nur'iman and Nursiman Abdureshit would call their parents regularly. In April 2017, Nursiman asked her father if she should stop calling, but he reportedly said that he didn't think it was a problem. The last point of contact between the two sisters and their father was reportedly June 18, 2017. After five days of calls without an answer, Nursiman and Nuriman asked a friend to call their family on their behalf. It was then that they learned that both their father and younger brother had been taken to a village center to "study", with the friend telling them not to call. Nobody was left at the family home after that point in time.
According to a Chinese embassy staff member, Abdureshit Tohti was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months in prison on December 13, 2017.
In February 2020, the victim's daughter Nursiman reported that he had been transferred to prison on February 1, 2020.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to the embassy staff member, for "disturbing social order" and "preparing to commit terrorist activities".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
[It is likely that the victim has been subjected to forced labor at the Tumshuq Prison, as the existence of "labor-skills workshops" has been documented at the facility.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The original detention was heard about through contacts in the region (friends/relatives). It is not clear how the information regarding his being transferred to prison was obtained.
The Chinese embassy staff member who confirmed the sentencing presumably has more direct knowledge of the matter.
Additional information
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/jieduxinjiang/xinjiang-08232019110731.html
Testifier's article in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/08/i-was-a-model-uighur-china-took-my-family-anyway/
Coverage in SupChina: https://supchina.com/2020/07/01/the-imprisonment-of-the-model-villagers/
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Turkey
------
Chinese embassy staff (from Ankara, +90 312 490 06 79): Eh… we… it’s like this… we’re also, actually… We’re very sympathetic towards you, but… we must tell you about the situation. You can also make a petition for your complaint back in the country. You can go back to China to visit the prison. Because, we originally applied for you to see if you could contact (your family from outside) the country, but domestic prisons do not have the conditions to permit overseas phone calls. So, let’s say, especially after the pandemic, you can apply for a visa and come back to China, and visit the prison. This could include appealing against the verdict. So, do you need to know the details of your family’s situation? Nursiman Abdureshit (Abdureshit Tohti’s daughter): Oh, you mean to say that it’s like I heard? That there’s no one left at home now?
Embassy staff: Yea, that’s about right. It’s like that, according to what we have found out.
Nursiman: How… How is that possible? I… Take my mother, at least – what crime could she have committed? A woman in her fifties…?
Embassy staff: It’s… written clearly in the file that we received. I mean, to be frank… Ours is a country of law, so they must have a reason. It’s written that she was sentenced to a 13-year prison term on December 13, 2017 for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities.
Nursiman: Ah? The one sentenced to 13 years was my mother?
Embassy staff: Yes.
Nursiman: December 13, 2017, okay. And my father?
Embassy staff: Your father… He… was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities. He is in prison now.
Nursiman: What? I’m sorry, my emotional state right now isn’t exactly… Could you please say that again?
Embassy staff: Of course, of course… I understand. I mean, I’m just informing you. I understand very clearly how it must feel. But, there are some things that we simply have to face.
Nursiman: So… My father… Can you tell me again – when did this happen? How long was he sentenced to?
Embassy staff: On December 13, 2017, he was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities… Yes… And now he is in prison.
Nursiman: And then, my younger brother?
Embassy staff: Your younger brother is Memet’eli? Is that right?
Nursiman: Yes.
Embassy staff: His was on August 20, 2017. He was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months for a criminal offense and for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities.
Victims among relatives
Tajigul Qadir (5400), Emetjan Abdureshit (5401), Memeteli Abdureshit (3146)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiAWnl9_Wg Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6wbrh1xLA Doha Debates feature: https://twitter.com/DohaDebates/status/1164219492001603584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5399_1.png Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/5399_4.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_5399.png
Entry created: 2019-10-21 Last updated: 2021-02-11 Latest status update: 2021-02-01 5400. Tajigul Qadir (塔吉古丽·卡迪尔)
Chinese ID: 653121196909????E? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 51 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (13 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism" Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Nurmangul Abdureshit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (daughter)
Testimony 2|3|4|5: Nurmangul Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now living in the US. (daughter)
Testimony 6: Nursiman Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now residing abroad. (daughter)
Testimony 7: PRC consulate-embassy staff, a staff member at a People's Republic of China embassy or consulate.
Testimony 8: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
About the victim
Tajigul Qadir is a housewife and a mother of four.
Address: No. 035, Group No. 6, Shor Village, Saybagh Township, Konasheher County, Kashgar Prefecture (疏附县沙依巴格乡肖尔村6组035号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as she's been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Contact lost on June 20, 2017, but unclear when detained. [According to the article in Foreign Policy, their last phone call was on June 18, 2017, when Nurmangul called from Turkey.]
According to a Chinese embassy staff member, she was sentenced to 13 years on December 13, 2017.
In February 2020, her daughter Nursiman reported that Tajigul was now in prison. Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to the embassy staff, she was sentenced for "preparing to commit terrorist activities".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The initial disappearance and detention were heard from the victim's brother-in-law, and later from other relatives. It is not clear how the testifier learned of the more recent imprisonment.
The Chinese embassy staff who confirmed the sentencing would presumably have more direct knowledge of the matter.
Additional information
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/jieduxinjiang/xinjiang-08232019110731.html
Testifier's article in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/08/i-was-a-model-uighur-china-took-my-family-anyway/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR027
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Turkey
------
Chinese embassy staff (from Ankara, +90 312 490 06 79): Eh… we… it’s like this… we’re also, actually… We’re very sympathetic towards you, but… we must tell you about the situation. You can also make a petition for your complaint back in the country. You can go back to China to visit the prison. Because, we originally applied for you to see if you could contact (your family from outside) the country, but domestic prisons do not have the conditions to permit overseas phone calls. So, let’s say, especially after the pandemic, you can apply for a visa and come back to China, and visit the prison. This could include appealing against the verdict. So, do you need to know the details of your family’s situation?
Nursiman Abdureshit (Abdureshit Tohti’s daughter): Oh, you mean to say that it’s like I heard? That there’s no one left at home now?
Embassy staff: Yea, that’s about right. It’s like that, according to what we have found out.
Nursiman: How… How is that possible? I… Take my mother, at least – what crime could she have committed? A woman in her fifties…?
Embassy staff: It’s… written clearly in the file that we received. I mean, to be frank… Ours is a country of law, so they must have a reason. It’s written that she was sentenced to a 13-year prison term on December 13, 2017 for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities. Nursiman: Ah? The one sentenced to 13 years was my mother?
Embassy staff: Yes.
Nursiman: December 13, 2017, okay. And my father?
Embassy staff: Your father… He… was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities. He is in prison now.
Nursiman: What? I’m sorry, my emotional state right now isn’t exactly… Could you please say that again?
Embassy staff: Of course, of course… I understand. I mean, I’m just informing you. I understand very clearly how it must feel. But, there are some things that we simply have to face.
Nursiman: So… My father… Can you tell me again – when did this happen? How long was he sentenced to?
Embassy staff: On December 13, 2017, he was sentenced to 16 years and 11 months for the crimes of disturbing social order and preparing to commit terrorist activities… Yes… And now he is in prison.
Nursiman: And then, my younger brother?
Embassy staff: Your younger brother is Memet’eli? Is that right?
Nursiman: Yes.
Embassy staff: His was on August 20, 2017. He was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months for a criminal offense and for the crime of preparing to commit terrorist activities.
Victims among relatives
Abdureshit Tohti (5399), Emetjan Abdureshit (5401), Memeteli Abdureshit (3146)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiAWnl9_Wg Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgZzPsr0j6o Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6wbrh1xLA Doha Debates feature: https://twitter.com/DohaDebates/status/1164219492001603584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5400_1.png Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/5400_4.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_5400.png
Entry created: 2019-10-21 Last updated: 2021-09-23 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 5401. Emetjan Abdureshit (艾麦提江·阿布都热西提)
Chinese ID: 65312119860416??O? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 35 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kizilsu Status: sentenced (7 years) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|other Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Nurmangul Abdureshit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (sister)
Testimony 2|3|5: Nurmangul Abdureshit, originally from Kashgar but now living in the US. (sister)
Testimony 4: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (sister)
Testimony 6: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by SupChina. (sister)
Testimony 7: Nursiman Abdureshit, as reported by Coda Story. (sister)
Testimony 8: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
About the victim
Emetjan Abdureshit became a mechanic after finishing middle school, first studying as an apprentice in a nearby town and then starting his own repair shop when he was 18. Later, he started to sell car parts in Kashgar, with his brother Memet'eli joining him in the business as they opened a second branch in the Chinese part of Kashgar City, where they would repair and maintain luxury cars.
He is a father and has three small children.
Address: No. 035, Group No. 6, Shor Village, Saybagh Township, Konasheher County, Kashgar Prefecture (疏附县沙依巴格乡肖尔村6组035号).
Victim's location
Kizilsu Prison.
When victim was detained
He was originally arrested in March 2016, and would be sentenced to 7 years in prison in October 2016. (His father attended his trial, where he was seemingly represented by a government-assigned lawyer.) Likely (or given) reason for detention
In one interview, Nursiman says that he was detained for an "alleged non-payment of a debt".
His sisters were also able to find out that he signed papers admitting his guilt in order to protect his two sisters abroad.
Victim's status
Presumably still in prison, where it was heard that the inmates were forced to help assemble electronic devices.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
From the victim's brother, while the latter was still free, who heard it from the victim's ex-prisonmate.
Emetjan's father also told his daughters about the sentencing, but said that he couldn't tell them the details and asked them not to ask any questions about it.
Additional information
RFA coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/jieduxinjiang/xinjiang-08232019110731.html
Testifier's article in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/08/i-was-a-model-uighur-china-took-my-family-anyway/
Coverage in SupChina: https://supchina.com/2020/07/01/the-imprisonment-of-the-model-villagers/
Coda Story coverage: https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/china-uyghur-migration/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR101
Victims among relatives
Abdureshit Tohti (5399), Tajigul Qadir (5400), Memeteli Abdureshit (3146)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiAWnl9_Wg Doha Debates feature: https://twitter.com/DohaDebates/status/1164219492001603584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/NurKashgar/status/1333231703570190339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5401_1.png
Entry created: 2019-10-21 Last updated: 2021-09-23 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 5416. Mewlude Hilalidin (毛丽旦·依拉吾冬)
Chinese ID: 654101198607011762 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 34 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (10 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism" Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|5|6: Medine Hilalidin, originally from Ghulja City but now a citizen of Turkey. (sister)
Testimony 4: Medine Hilalidin, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (sister)
About the victim
Mewlude Hilalidin went to Turkey in 2006 as an international student, obtaining a degree in business administration from Istanbul University. She returned to China in late 2012 / early 2013, working as an English and Turkish instructor at a private school. She is a Turkish citizen.
Address: No. 33 Residential Area, Alley No. 5, Ili Street, Ghulja City.
Chinese passport: G41576042.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as she's been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
She was taken to a camp at the end of 2017. In May 2019, she was released, but was again arrested on June 12, 2019 on suspicion of separatism. Three months later, it was learned that she is to be tried in court. In December 2019, the testifier learned that Mewlude had been sentenced to 10 years.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Her second detention was on "separatism" charges. The testifier mentions that she studied in Turkey legally and never got involved in any political activities there, and says that her only "crime" is being Uyghur and having studied in Turkey.
Victim's status Presumably serving a 10-year sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
The testifier mentions that she and her husband have been unable to contact their relatives for over 2.5 years now (as of September 2019).
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qamaq-bolgunchilik-10042019181557.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrcfkXk6T80 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzTFCTs_F6I Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSmuKMk72s Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/DilReyhan/status/1342818927341146112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/KampMagdurlar/status/1346737759474614277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/5416_2.png Turkish ID document: https://shahit.biz/supp/5416_5.jpg Turkish ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5416_7.png
Entry created: 2019-10-24 Last updated: 2021-01-08 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 5417. Mahire Yaqup (玛依拉·亚库甫)
Chinese ID: 654101197710050028 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 43 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (6 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"terrorism", assisting "criminals", "extremism" Health status: has problems Profession: corporate work
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2|5: Merhaba Yaqup, originally from Ghulja but now living in Australia. (sister)
Testimony 3: Nyrola Elima, as reported by Washington Post. (cousin)
Testimony 4: Merhaba Yaqup, as reported by Washington Post. (sister)
Testimony 6|8|14: Nyrola Elima, residing in Sweden. (cousin)
Testimony 7: Merhaba Yaqup, as reported by Amnesty International. (sister)
Testimony 9: Nyrola Elima, as reported by CNN. (cousin)
Testimony 10: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 11: Chinese Mission to the EU, China's official representative body in the European Union.
Testimony 12: XUAR People's Government Information Office, the formal body in charge of making official public statements to the outside world regarding events in Xinjiang.
Testimony 13*: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, as reported by Nyrola Elima.
Testimony 15: Nyrola Elima, as reported by Amnesty International. (cousin)
About the victim
Mahire Yaqup is a single mother of three. She worked as an insurance saleswoman for the Ili branch of China Life, did private business, and was also a part-time Mandarin teacher, teaching Mandarin to adults in a training center in Ghulja. She was also a tutor who taught English, Mandarin, and mathematics to primary school students.
Address: Ghulja City, Ili Prefecture. Chinese passport: G38324942.
Victim's location
Ili Women's Prison.
(Her correspondence address is given as 212 East Airport Street, Ghulja City, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang (新疆伊犁哈萨克自治州伊宁市飞机场东街212号).)
When victim was detained
Mahire underwent a police check in Urumqi on December 26, 2017, during which she was let go, but with the system reporting that she was a "person under surveillance having come to Urumqi" (来乌布控人员).
She was taken to a concentration camp in Ghulja at the beginning of March 2018, then released from camp in the December of the same year, at which point she called her sister abroad to tell her that she was fine, in addition to praising the Party. She disappeared again on April 9, 2019, being taken to the Ghulja City pre-trial detention center (伊宁市看守所).
Following pressure from the Australian authorities, the Chinese side gave an official reply in which they said that Mahire had been formally arrested in May 2019, on crimes that the testifier believes are made up. She was prosecuted in July 2019, and charged in January 2020 for "financing terrorist activities" (资助恐怖活动罪).
On September 4, 2020, she was released from police custody, but would be taken to the Ghulja People's Hospital without a reason the day after, with authorities warning Nyrola's parents to tell Nyrola to stop tweeting publicly about the case. There would be no news of Mahire for weeks.
When Nyrola tweeted about Mahire being taken to the hospital, her parents pleaded with her to stop (the police having shown up at their home soon after with printouts of Nyrola's tweets). She did, going silent for months. However, Mahire was later taken back to the detention center. Nyrola later reported that Mahire spent a total of 3 months in the hospital.
On December 12, 2020, she was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in prison. Her savings have allegedly been confiscated as well.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
In their report to the Washington Post, Mahire's sisters say that she was prosecuted for "funding terrorist activities", when in reality this money had been sent to Australia to help her relatives buy a house in Adelaide.
She was ultimately sentenced for "financing terrorist activities" and "illegal possession of extremist items".
Victim's status
In prison. [There is a high likelihood that she is subjected to forced labor at the Ili Women's Prison, as this practice has been documented there.] According to her cousin, she looked pale and weak after her release in September 2020, and had lost a lot of weight. She had already been diagnosed with liver damage following her release from camp before that.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not completely clear how the details of the initial detention in camp or the later detention in custody became known, but her sister mentions having to appeal to the Australian government for help as contact with relatives in Xinjiang could not be established. Mahire was able to contact her relatives abroad after her initial release from camp, however.
Her cousin Nyrola was able to video chat with her after she was released from custody in 2020. Nyrola has also been able to contact her family.
Confirmation of her trial and sentencing were obtained from official government representatives.
Additional information
Her aunt, Gulbekrem Memtimin, and uncle, Qasim Tohti, were taking care of the three children (including the youngest, who was born prematurely) during Mahire's detention. All three are attending a Mandarin-language school.
The victim's story has been featured in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/for-chinas-embattled-uighurs-a-bank-transfer-abroa d-can-become-a-terrorism-ordeal/2019/09/19/eb6a8b1e-c3dd-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html
CNN feature: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/16/china/uyghurs-silenced-abroad-intl-dst-hnk/index.html
Amnesty International campaigns: https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/help-free-mahira https://www.amnesty.org.au/act-now/emailambassadormahira/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR002
Official communication(s)
Source: XUAR People's Government Information Office
------
Concerning the situation of Mahire Yaqup: Mahire Yaqup ("Mayila Yakufu" in Chinese) is from Ghulja City in Ili Prefecture. Her father, Yaqup Sabir, and mother, Bahar Memet'imin, are members of the "East Turkestan Liberation Organization". In June 2013, the public security organs had already informed her, in writing, that her father and mother were taking part in a terrorist organization abroad, and notified her that she should not send funds abroad to them. However, during the time period between July 2013 and December 2014, she still used her own, as well as her maternal aunt's and uncle's, bank cards to remit money to her parents on multiple occasions, with the sum accumulating to 758741RMB. The public security organs also found 192 religious extremist photos on her computer. On December 12, 2020, Mahire Yaqup was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months for the concurrent crimes of financing terrorist activities and illegal possession of extremist items.
Query hereby addressed. Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Information Office June 8, 2021
Victims among relatives
Gulbekrem Memtimin (10328), Qasim Tohti (10329)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysDSYYprAjY Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tff7ErptHic teaching video: https://twitter.com/Yusura0531/status/1204867969563541504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Yusura0531/status/1253648580079792128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/nyrola/status/1292841245644070912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw victim's words after camp: https://twitter.com/nyrola/status/1294706448245686272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 8: https://twitter.com/nyrola/status/1301976044174561280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 14: https://twitter.com/nyrola/status/1437085251260633090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/5417_2.png Testimony 11: https://shahit.biz/supp/5417_9.png official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_5417.png
Entry created: 2019-10-25 Last updated: 2021-09-20 Latest status update: 2021-06-08 5604. Hejergul Nur
Chinese ID: 654101196???????E? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Tacheng Status: sentenced (19 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|3: Ehmetjan Ablimit, a resident of Turkey. (son)
Testimony 2*: Ehmetjan Ablimit, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son)
About the victim
Hejergul Nur is a housewife from Ghulja.
Address: 14 Bayanday Road, Bayanday Municipality, Ghulja City.
Victim's location
A prison in Wusu City.
When victim was detained
Arrested in November 2017. Sentenced to 19 years in prison sometime in 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
---
Victim's status
Presumably serving a 19-year sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
From relatives abroad.
Additional information ---
Victims among relatives
Ablimit Imin (8521), Ablehet Ablimit (8522), Ilyas Tursun (8520)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShrjbcRxURs Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHtCXYsRvTw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5604_1.jpg
Entry created: 2019-11-23 Last updated: 2020-10-05 Latest status update: 2021-05-15 5634. Hushtar Eysa
Chinese ID: 65292919????????O? (Kelpin)
Basic info
Age: 35-55 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): "terrorism"|past "transgressions", "terrorism", "extremism" Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Dolkun Isa, an Uyghur activist based in Germany. The president of the World Uyghur Congress. (brother)
Testimony 2|4|8: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 3: Hebibulla Izchi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (friend)
Testimony 5|7: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 6: Dolkun Isa, as reported by The Times. (brother)
About the victim
Hushtar Isa. (Testimony 6: 48 years old, as of June 2021)
Testimony 2: Hushtar graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong Gonglu University in 1996.
Testimony 3: After his release [from prison in 2000], Hushtar opened a restaurant called "Ardabil" with a friend, but was forced to give up his share because of police surveillance.
Testimony 4 (an employee at the Hong Qi driving school in Aksu): Hushtar then worked as an instructor at the Xinyun or Jilong driving schools, until he disappeared "several years ago".
Testimony 5: Hushtar worked at the Yong'an Driving School before his arrest in 2017.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained Testimony 2: He had previously been detained in 1998 and sentenced to 2 years.
Testimony 1: According to the testifier, he has been missing since March 2017.
Testimony 5: he was re-arrested in early 2017.
Testimony 6: Dolkun believes Hushtar was detained before April 2017.
Testimony 2: Hushtar then spent 2 years at a concentration camp in Aksu. (2017-2019)
Testimony 7: On May 25, 2021, this police officer told RFA that Hushtar had been sentenced to life in prison.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Testimony 5: re-arrested for being a former prisoner.
Testimony 6: The reason for Hushtar's 2017-2019 detention was "inciting terrorism".
Testimony 8: At the camp in Aksu, Hushtar was accused of "more than 10 crimes" and sentenced. He was accused of "preparations for terrorism", "religious extremism" and being "counter-revolutionary". The testifier (an Uyghur teacher now abroad) heard this from his former students.
Victim's status
Unclear. The testifier doesn't know if he is the camps or in prison; or still alive or not.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Testimony 5+7: this is a local police officer, with presumably relatively direct knowledge of the case.
Additional information
The testifier's mother Ayhan Memet (in Entry #1248) died on the 12th of June 2018. And the testifier's father Isa Memet is in #1249 and he is nearly 90 years old. The testifier doesn't know if he is still alive or not. Also, the testifier's elder brother Yalqun Isa is detained (in #1749) and according to the latest news Mr. Dolqun Isa received, he was sentenced for 20 years in prison on the charge of separatism, but Mr. Dolqun Isa doesn't know the real situation.
RFA coverage (Testimony 2+3+4+5+7+8): https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/hushtar-isa-06012021175745.html
The Times coverage (Testimony 6): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uighur-campaigner-dolkun-isas-brother-given-life-sentence-by-chines e-authorities-cv9f2nfhn
Victims among relatives
Ayhan Memet (1248), Eysa Memet (1249), Yalqun Eysa (1749) Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dr48QTt1hs
Entry created: 2019-11-26 Last updated: 2021-08-13 Latest status update: 2021-06-01 5821. Nurlan Pioner (努尔兰·皮吾尼尔)
Chinese ID: 652627196806280519 (Jeminey)
Basic info
Age: 52 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Altay Status: sentenced (17 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"disturbing public order", "extremism" Health status: critical Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4: Sholpan Amirken, born in 1984, is a Kazakhstan citizen. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 5: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 6: Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin.
Testimony 7: Tabysqan Magrupqan, originally from Jeminey County but now residing in Kazakhstan. He is a survivor of the mass incarcerations in Xinjiang, having spent around nine months in a camp. (detained together)
Testimony 8: Sholpan Amirken, as reported by Darren Byler. (sister-in-law)
Testimony 9: Sholpan Amirken, as reported by The New Yorker. (sister-in-law)
About the victim
Nurlan Pioner was a state-sanctioned imam, having been nominated for the position in 2003 and having received the necessary certificate. He was also a representative of the United Front and a representative of the People's Congress (a representative of the first session of the first congress in Ulasty Municipality).
He had translated 7-8 books from Arabic into Kazakh.
Address: House No. 11, Shiqorzha Village, Ulasty (originally Topterek) Municipality, Jeminey County, Altay (吉木乃县托普铁热克乡齐阔尔加村11号).
Victim's location
Believed to be in a prison somewhere in Altay.
When victim was detained
The very first testimony by his sister-in-law says that he was detained in May 2016, but this is neither corroborated by the official documents nor is it reported by her again later [the source of this contradiction isn't clear, and may simply be an error].
According to the official court verdict, he was first detained by the Jeminey Public Security Bureau on June 10, 2017, on the suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order". He was then formally arrested on July 17, 2017. (In the meantime, there was a decision made to suspend his People's Congress representative duties on July 3.)
He spent a significant amount of time in pre-trial detention. It is possible that he was held in multiple centers, as co-detainee Tabysqan Magrupqan reports seeing him in a detention center in Shiqorzha Village in early February 2018 ("They took me directly to the prison/detention center in Zhimunai County. There was a village named Shiqorzha, and the prison was located there, next to a middle school (“Qisyq Mektep”). In the western part of the town. To the east of the river... I was with Nurlan Pioner in the detention center."), while the official court document notes him being held in a detention center in Burshyn County (as of August 2018).
While in pre-trial detention, his health worsened dramatically, to the point where he was granted permission to be released on bail on August 4, 2018 (having developed both upper-limb and lower-limb amyotrophy and reportedly having lost the ability to control his body). On August 31, 2018, he was nevertheless sentenced to 17 years. He was allowed to stay at home for three months, but was later transferred to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
His sister-in-law notes that the trial was essentially a mock trial, and that Nurlan was unable to defend himself, was in extremely bad health, and was essentially just told by the court that his crime was his being religious. According to her description of him that day:
"[he] had aged dramatically. He was gaunt and could no longer walk. His trousers were stained with urine. He trembled, barely able to sit. When [Sholpan] shouted his name, she didn’t see any recognition on his face."
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to his sister-in-law, he was detained for praying, being religious, and teaching others how to pray.
According to the Chinese authorities, he was initially detained on the suspicion of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order". According to his court verdict:
"Offender Nurlan Pioner is accused of gathering a crowd to disturb social order; using extremism to undermine law enforcement; illegally obtaining materials propagating extremism, and is sentenced to 17 years in prison."
Among the "evidence" presented in the verdict, it is noted that Nurlan has educated over 70 people (in religion), and more than 100 people were found to be somehow related to this (receiving religious education from him or being in contact with him). 34 among them were sent to camp.
Victim's status
Serving a 17-year prison sentence, though it is unclear where. His health is extremely poor, as his time in detention has resulted in his becoming disabled/paralyzed. His sister-in-law, who attended his trial, says that he has become incredibly thin (to the point of her being able to lift him). According to her, he cannot really see or hear anymore.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Sholpan Amirken attended the court hearing and interacted with the victim while he was released on bail.
The bulk of the official information regarding his case comes from the court verdict, which comes directly from the Xinjiang court system.
Tabysqan Magrupqan, who mentions seeing Nurlan in the detention center, was interned with him briefly.
Additional information
While Sholpan was back in Xinjiang in 2017, she was interrogated by the public security bureau, who treated her as if she were a criminal. She was asked if she knew about Zharqyn 7 [previous online name of Serikjan Bilash]. After 6-7 hours, they'd finally release her.
Sholpan also notes that a male Han cadre was assigned to be a relative in the testifier's home, and that they would call each other "brother" and "sister".
The New Yorker feature: https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/china-xinjiang-prison-state-uighur-detention-camp s-prisoner-testimony
Coverage in the Prospect: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/big-brother-vs-chinas-uighurs
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-07172017103134.html https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-01202020095234.html
Victims among relatives
Erbaqyt Pioner (5823), Erlan Pioner (5822)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j78_NKeZRsQ Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmw7DCtroU Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbSh8ghBgeQ Testimony 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXN3BKVQ5_c Testimony 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8CHjUu4Ye8 Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/5821_3.png old photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/5821_8.jpg Testimony 5 (court verdict): https://shahit.biz/supp/5821_10.pdf
Entry created: 2019-12-11 Last updated: 2021-05-01 Latest status update: 2021-02-26 6121. Mewlan Nurmuhemmed (买吾拉尼·努尔买买提)
Chinese ID: 65270119860605??O? (Bortala)
Basic info
Age: 34 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Shihezi Status: sentenced (9 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"separatism" Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, one of the thematic special procedures overseen by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Testimony 2: Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, as reported by Bitter Winter. (sister)
Testimony 3: Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, as reported by 1 News. (sister)
Testimony 4|6: Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, a scholar residing in New Zealand. (sister)
Testimony 5*: Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (sister)
Testimony 7: Amnesty International, a human rights organization.
Testimony 8: Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, as reported by Amnesty International. (sister)
About the victim
Mewlan Nurmuhemmed is a father of one, who worked as a fiber internet technician prior to his arrest. He had also lived in Turkey from 2012 to 2014 as a language student, hoping to improve his career prospects.
Victim's location
Beiye First Prison in Shihezi City. [Presumably the first district/area of the Eighth Division Beiye Prison.]
When victim was detained
Mewlan was arrested in January 2017 by plainclothes police officers while on lunch break at a local restaurant. According to the report published in Bitter Winter, he was allegedly "hooded, shackled, and hauled away by machine-gun brandishing police officers".
As of March 2017, he was reported as being at a Bortala detention center [presumably 博乐市看守所]. At one point during his detention, there was reportedly a false alarm that he would be released, but this never happened.
There was no immediate trial following the arrest, and the Chinese authorities did not initially provide an explanation as to why the victim was being detained.
According to Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed, Mewlan was transferred between a concentration camp and "prison" [likely: pre-trial detention center] several times after the initial arrest.
Information later obtained by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) showed that Mewlan had been sentenced to 9 years in prison for "splitting the Chinese state". According to a later statement by the Chinese embassy [presumably in New Zealand], he had been sentenced in August 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
"Separatism".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence.
On June 10, 2020, Mewlan's mother was reportedly allowed one brief video call with him, after which she said that he looked "okay". Rizwangul reported this as confirmation that the victim was still alive. (She adds that he's never had problems with his health prior to detention.)
[There is a strong likelihood of him being subjected to forced labor at the prison facility, as the prison has been documented to have textile workshops, previously contracted to the Zhuofan Garments & Accessories LTD.]
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Through [monitored] conversation(s) with her mother over WeChat, as well as via official statements from the Chinese authorities.
Additional information change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/help-me-get-my-brother-back-help-him-get-his-normal-life-back-he-is-innocent -yet-arbitrarily-detained-for-more-than-3-yrs-in-china
(Since starting this petition, Rizwangul Nurmuhemmed has received "several intimidating phone calls", which she reported to both the Chinese embassy and the New Zealand police. About three weeks after the petition was launched, she also started to receive voice WeChat messages from her mother, after approximately two and a half years of silence.)
UN Human Rights Commission report: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disappearances/A_HRC_WGEID_118_1_Advance.pdf
1 News coverage: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/top-kiwi-scholar-speaks-her-imprisoned-brother
Bitter Winter coverage: https://bitterwinter.org/rizwangul-a-uyghur-woman-in-search-of-a-brother-who-disappeared/
Amnesty International urgent action: https://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent-actions/urgent-action-uyghur-jailed-for-nine-years-in-secret-trial-chi na-ua-135-20
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR060
Mewlan's company in Bortala City: https://archive.is/zpC6n
Supplementary materials
Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-6SkPO5NsI photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/6121_2.jpg
Entry created: 2019-12-28 Last updated: 2021-09-23 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 6282. Aygul Ablet
Chinese ID: 65292319????????E? (Kucha)
Basic info
Age: 18-35 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: no news for over a year When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Tursunjan Ablet, an Uyghur now residing in Turkey. (brother)
Testimony 2: Tursunjan Ablet, as reported by Euronews. (brother)
About the victim
Aygul Ablet, originally from Kucha County, finished her middle and high school in Beijing and was a master's student in clinical medicine at Xinjiang Medical University.
Victim's location
[She was a student in Urumqi, but is originally from Aksu, so it is likely that she is in one of these two places, but unclear which.]
When victim was detained
Taken to camp in 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown, but her brother Tursunjan says that she contacted him in May 2017 to tell him that the police had questioned their parents about his studies abroad.
Victim's status
Testifier says that he recently learned she was taken to camp in 2018.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated. Additional information
On February 4, 2020, the testifier reported being contacted by the PRC embassy in Ankara, who told him that they would be able to restore his contact with his family in the future (without specifying when). They also gave him the option of going back to China.
Euronews coverage: https://tr.euronews.com/2019/12/28/dogu-turkistanli-tip-ogrencisi-aygul-ablet-cin-toplama-kampinda-tut uluyor
Victims among relatives
Ablet Heyt (13968), Ayshem Abdurehim (13969)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/TursunjanA/status/1210070133538009088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw mention of embassy contact: https://twitter.com/TursunjanA/status/1224435551853400064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/6282_2.jpg photo with parents: https://shahit.biz/supp/6282_3.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/6282_5.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/6282_6.jpg
Entry created: 2020-01-11 Last updated: 2020-02-15 Latest status update: 2021-02-06 6382. Abdughappar Jelil
Chinese ID: 6531211978??????O? (Shufu)
Basic info
Age: 42-43 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (11 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Abdureshit Jelil Qarluq, a professor at the Department of International Relations at the Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University. He is originally from Kashgar. (brother)
Testimony 3: Abdureshit Jelil Qarluq, as reported by AsiaNews. (brother)
About the victim
Abdughappar Jelil (spelled as ABUDUGEPAER JILILI in Chinese Pinyin) is a businessman. He was born in 1978. He was one who looks after the mother of the family. His address is No. 20, No.2 Group, Ayaghsaybagh Village, Beshkirem Township, Kashgar City.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as he's been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Unclear. According to the testifier, in 2017 or 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown.
Victim's status
In prison. According to the testifier, the victim was sentenced 11 years in prison (Testimony 3: forced labor).
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Unclear. Additional information
The victim was physically tortured during the detention. Also, the victim's wife was detained and their children's whereabouts are unknown.
Additional coverage: https://www.uygurhaber.com/vicdan-ehline-sesleniyoruz-allah-askina-lutfen-ses-cikartin https://qha.com.tr/haberler/abdurresit-celil-karluk-cin-buyukelciligi-mustesarinin-iddialarina-cevap-verdi/ 127841/ http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Karluk:-I,-a-Uyghur,-denounce-Chinese-fascism-in-Xinjiang-49552.html (Testimony 3)
The Chinese Ambassador in Ankara blamed Uyghurs, taking Mr. Qarluq as an example, abroad for lying. The spokesman mentions Mr. Qarluq's posts on Twitter and says that he doesn't know if Mr. Qarluq is Chinese citizen or Turkish citizen, but it is not important; if anyone who is or was a Chinese citizen encounters any problems in China, he or she can come to Chinese Embassy and Chinese Embassy is here to help, that is what an Embassy does. Mr. Qarluq never came to Embassy; if he came, the Embassy would help solve the problems; (but Mr. Qarluq states on a post on Twitter that he has mentioned his family's situation in a meeting between Xinjiang Representatives, among them assistant governor Erkin Turniyaz, and Turkish Representatives, among them Mr. Qarluq; Mr. Qarluq says that especially Zulhayat Ismail who was among the Xinjiang Representatives knew this very well.) The spokesman said that he would look into Mr. Qarluq's family and give an answer to him, but there hasn't been any reply from the spokesman yet.
Victims among relatives
Hawahan Memet (6378), Tudaji Jelil (6379), Ablimit Jelil (6380), Jappar Jelil (6381), Memetturghun Jelil (12277)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esuM2I8e0Y4 Chinese ambassador reply: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOpmMPdf3s Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/c_karluk/status/1200123263093018630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/6382_3.jpg
Entry created: 2020-01-01 Last updated: 2020-11-26 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 6648. Gulbahar Eysa
Chinese ID: 65410119????????E? (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: --- Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (18 years) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Mehbube Abla, originally from Ghulja City, but now living in Austria. (cousin)
About the victim
Her name is Gulbahar Eysa. She is a housewife and has two children. She hasn't got a passport and she has never been abroad.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as she's allegedly been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
In May 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown.
Victim's status
In prison. According to the testifier, she was first detained in May 2017 and put in a camp. Then in 2018, she was sentenced for 18 years in prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not Stated.
Additional information
--- Victims among relatives
Peyzohre Omerjan (478), Ablajan Hebibulla (477), Adiljan Ablajan (479), Shepqet Tohtasun (3384)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjfVkYWwFF0 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzK12MtCzuA photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/6648_3.jpg
Entry created: 2020-01-08 Last updated: 2020-02-02 Latest status update: 2021-04-06 7239. Suriye Tursun
Chinese ID: 65402319640321??E? (Korghas)
Basic info
Age: 57 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (5 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|other, "terrorism" Health status: has problems Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 2|5: Jewlan Shirmemet, originally from Qorghas County, but now living in Turkey. (son)
Testimony 3: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Daily Express. (son)
Testimony 4: PRC consulate-embassy staff, a staff member at a People's Republic of China embassy or consulate.
Testimony 6: Jewlan Shirmemet, as reported by Bitter Winter. (son)
About the victim
Suriye Tursun was an employee of the Management Office of Trade and Industry in Qorghas County.
In 2013, she visited Turkey with a Chinese tour group, to see her son and his university, travelling for 15 days and going back.
Family address: West Central Street, Lengger Township, Shuiding Municipality, Korgas County, Xinjiang (新疆霍城县水定镇兰干乡中心西街).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Suriye was detained at the beginning of 2018 and sentenced in early 2019. [Exact dates unclear.]
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to the Radio Free Asia report, she was allegedly detained for "having looked down on the Chinese education system" [possibly an informal reason]. According to the staff of the PRC consulate in Istanbul, she was officially sentenced for "assisting in terrorist activities".
In the interview to the Daily Express, Jewlan says that she was detained for having visited him while he was studying in Turkey.
Victim's status
Currently in prison, presumably serving a 5-year sentence.
According to her son, she is not in good health.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Jewlan does not state how he learned about the detention, saying only that he lost contact with the family on January 13, 2018, when he found that they had all deleted him on WeChat.
The confirmation of her arrest and sentence was provided by a Chinese government representative, and may be considered as official.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/jewlan-shirmemet-01152020222320.html
New York Times coverage: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/world/asia/china-coronavirus-xinjiang.html
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR066
Crimean News Agency (Turkey) coverage: https://qha.com.tr/haberler/dogu-turkistanda-aileler-toplama-kampina-atiliyor/146690/
Daily Express coverage: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1282764/China-news-Beijing-nazi-concentration-camps-muslim-U yghur-Xinjiang-coronavirus-latest
Bitter Winter coverage: https://bitterwinter.org/visited-her-son-in-turkey-she-went-to-jail/
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Mission in Turkey
------
-- February 12, 2020 (first call with Istanbul consulate) --
Jewlan: …[provide some] proof, or maybe you can explain it to me clearly? I went to high school here. I’m a tour guide with a travel company here. I have never even participated in a single illegal activity. I promise this is - even the police knows, and you at the Chinese embassy all know, that this is completely made up. It is made up. You’ve sentenced my mom to five years, taken my family… my dad and younger brother… to a concentration camp. Now I don’t even know their whereabouts. Consulate staff: This situation, I think, has already been checked and confirmed in the mainland. Your father and younger brother are not in an education and training center. They’re both outside.
J: I know, they’ve already been released…
CS: Now it’s just that they don’t want to, they aren’t willing to…
J: Then what is my mom’s crime? What is my mom’s crime? My mom’s crime is that she, as a mother, came to Turkey in 2013 on a vacation with her work unit, with a Chinese holiday tour group. That group had Han, and Uyghurs, and Hui, coming here together to travel. After returning, she continued working as she always had. I also frequently travelled back and forth without any issues, until 2013 [misspoken: 2016], when we stopped communicating all of a sudden. After that, I didn’t know… So as to not bring them any trouble - since I knew that contact with people abroad would bring trouble at that time - I didn’t contact them, because I didn’t want to bring them any trouble. Until later when I received the news that, at the beginning of 2018, my dad, my mom, and my younger brother were all taken by the police and brought to a concentration camp, the so-called “training center”. But they are all high-school graduates, and my parents are both civil servants. I also have never participated in a single illegal activity to this day.
After receiving this news, do you know whom I immediately went to look for? I immediately went to my contacts in the mainland, looking for people in the government, but they also wouldn’t reply to me. Then I went to contact you guys, the people at the consulate, but you’ve also been dragging it out. Now you come out and tell me that I “participated in illegal activities”. If that’s so, can you please find some piece of evidence that I participated in illegal activities? Also, another point. Where in the national law does it say that, when a child does something wrong, it is the rest of the family who should be punished? Never mind that I have not even done anything wrong. I have never even participated in any illegal activities.
CS: This thing with your mom… I can tell you that it was definitely not because of you. It was because she violated China’s laws. This…
J: Which laws? Since you’re saying that, can you give me the court verdict? I want to find a lawyer. I want to find an international lawyer. Can you provide me with the verdict?
CS: Look, there’s no need to get so agitated. The mainland has also already told us that your case may not be that severe. Or maybe it was a case where other people’s influences played a role, like being in contact with some wrong people - what I mean is, maybe you could write down whom you’ve been in contact with, starting from the last time that you left the country up until now, including when you were in Egypt before and in your current situation now.
J: Let me tell you…
CS: I feel like… I feel like you should think about doing this. Once you’ve got it, you could send it via the e-mail you used to e-mail us before. Because this situation of yours… Some of it we’ve already talked to the mainland about. The mainland might also think that your situation is not that serious. I feel like you should go ahead and clearly write down all this information. If there’s an error somewhere…
J: Let me just tell you here…
CS: …you can also tell us.
J: Alright, first… CS: In that case, the mainland might reconsider your family’s situation.
J: I’ll tell you now. No need to write anything down. I’ll just tell you now.
CS: Hmm...
J: First, you asked me just now whom I had contacted in Egypt, and now in Turkey. You can look at the entry and exit information in my passport. All the records are there. I have never been to Egypt. I have only been to Turkey. In 2011, I came to Turkey to attend university here. I went to Istanbul Commerce University, the law department, and after graduating started working here. Originally, I was able to go back, and wanted to go back after graduation, but didn’t because I lost contact with my family. All this time, I’ve been working here, at a travel agency. You can look at the relevant travel agencies - I’ll give you the names of the mainland Chinese travel agencies and the names of the Turkish ones too, and you can go search. You can find all my travels, all the plans that the group made for me… Where would I have the time to go contact other people, seeing as how I’ve been receiving travel groups nonstop? And then I started working independently, started to create my own travel company. I have not contacted any anti-Chinese organizations. I never even wanted to. I have always stayed far away from politics. I have not even brushed shoulders with politics. While here, I have always stuck to doing my own work, even on social media. No matter if it was Instagram or Facebook or whatever, I have not posted even a single sentence of anti-Chinese speech.
I also know about the concentration camps over there. I see all those things on the news over here, but I have not even had a single crazy thought in that regard - I’ve always been like this, just living my own plain, normal life. I’ll have you know that, over here, I’m probably in contact with more Han than with Uyghurs or Turkish. I’m often with them over here, and when their families come, I take them out and show them around. I simply haven’t been involved in any other activities apart from the regular tour group leading ones. Up until when I contacted the Chinese embassy, calling the embassy over and over and over again but getting no reply. Finally, I contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry, but they didn’t reply either. So, at last, I realized that I needed to go to the media. I want to… In order to save my family, in order to save my mom, I will furiously battle to the end. Now, I…
CS: Actually, actually… I, let me say this… Actually, we are all certainly very willing to help you. After all, we’re all Chinese people, so we’re willing to help you. But going to the media won’t actually help you with your problem, right? Right now, the mainland doesn’t think that your situation is very serious either…
J: My… My “situation” isn’t very serious…
CS: These things that you’ve said… You can send us an e-mail…
J: This is not a “situation” - I simply do not have a “situation”. And my mom? My mom is a… Three months after the last time that she contacted me in 2018… She was planning to retire three months after that. A retired… Someone who, for thirty years… Both my mom and my dad were Party cadres for thirty years in the Industry and Commerce Bureau, in Qorgas County’s Industry and Commerce Bureau. They worked for thirty years. If this country actually has law and order, if it’s obliged to protect its citizens’ rights, then why go and arrest a Party cadre with thirty years of work history and then sentence her? Can you think about this for me: if you were in my shoes, what would you do? If your mom was sentenced just because you attended university overseas, and she had come to visit you, with her travel group, and then got sentenced? What would you think? I just want to ask your thoughts here, or ask if you could put yourself in my position. You think about it. I really want to ask: those who sentenced my mom, or issued the order to have my mom arrested, issued the order to have my family taken to a concentration camp (although my dad and my younger brother were released I heard, but I still don’t know their situation) - I really want them to put themselves in my position and think about it, really, really, extremely carefully… I really want them to think about this with regard to their own humanity, all right? You said just now that these are Chinese people. Right? I… But I only realized this point now. Clearly, they are Chinese people, with the rights of Chinese citizens, so then why sentence my mom? Saying that I attended some “activities” in Egypt and in Turkey, when I have not even been to Egypt. I can even take a photo of every page in my passport for you - you look and see if there’s an Egyptian visa there. Or you can check the entry and exit records that are recorded in my passport. I can also send my passport to you now. You take a look. See if there’s Egypt.
CS: All right… With this situation, I believe that the mainland also have their reasons. I feel like, now, if you have your passport information, or other kinds of proof that you did not attend those activities, then, I feel like, you can send it over to our e-mail, and we can help you report that to the mainland.
J: I can do that. I can take photos one by one and send them to you.
CS: Yes, and if there’s some other situation, or if you want directions for dealing with some problem, you can just write an e-mail and send it to us. I see that you wrote e-mails to us before, and even writing in Chinese wasn’t a problem. You send those things to us and the mainland might be able to help. They’ll certainly help.
J: Yes, I… I will send it over to your e-mail in a bit. There’s another thing that I want to ask: what’s my mother’s crime? I really want to understand. Can you send me my mother’s written verdict? Can you provide it to me? What is the crime?
CS: This… We don’t really have this on our side. It’s not something we handle.
J: Can you, from the Xinjiang government…?
CS: But your mom… I’m pretty sure the crime was “assisting in terrorist activities”.
J: “Assisting in terrorist activities”? When did she “assist in terrorist activities”? I…
CS: This… I believe that if the mainland gave the sentence, then they must have evidence. To tell you the truth, that’s to say, as a warning, this is… They… There’s no way to keep up with what they do over there. I suggest… I think the best thing that you can do now is to clarify your own situation, so we can let the mainland take a look, and then see if you can first make contact with your dad and your brother.
J: I… I do want to contact my dad and my brother, but I really, absolutely want to know my mother’s verdict. Send it to me. I want to look for an international lawyer. I want to look for an international lawyer to defend my mom. My mom… Just now you said that my mom was involved in some terrorist… My mom doesn’t even know what terrorism is - she is just a plain and ordinary, an extremely, how to put it, law-abiding… Always respecting the country’s laws. She’s never even broken the law, never even had the idea of breaking the law. She’s a Party cadre who spent thirty years always working for the country, contributing to the country. I…
Even while at the Industry and Commerce Bureau, when my mom wanted to retire early - because of her health, she wanted to retire early - she ended up realizing that her work unit couldn’t do all the things that someone in her position needed to do, and so she kept waiting until she could retire regularly and not because of poor health. That’s how giving of a person she is. All of a sudden, “terrorist” something… “Assisting in terrorist activities”? Let me tell you: when I went back… I came out here by myself, going to school while also leading tour groups, and I never even asked [my parents] for a single cent. I know that relatives sometimes send money overseas, to children studying overseas, the tuition fees, and that this can be the cause of their arrest. But my mom didn’t even do that. Not even this. There aren’t even any records of her sending me money. It’s all money that I earned myself. I work here with a Chinese travel agency, collaborating with them, leading tour groups, keeping myself alive with the money that I’ve earned myself.
CS: These, these… These feelings I can understand. But at the same time, I personally feel like right now what would be best for you would be to gather the materials, first explaining your own situation, and then see if we can help you get in touch with your family members in the mainland first. I feel like this is the more urgent thing right now, and also what would help solve your problem?
J: I… I want… I want to contact my family members, and right now I also want to have my mother’s written verdict. Her written verdict. Written verdict. Can you give that to me? You said, in the e-mail…
CS: We don’t have that either. This…
J: I’m asking you to request it from the Chinese government, from the court. This written verdict. Because I want to go look for a lawyer. I can look for one in Beijing, or look for one outside the country. I want to find a lawyer.
CS: I feel like the more urgent thing right now… I feel like the more urgent thing right now is to first explain your own problem to the mainland, and then to talk about other things. If your situation can be clearly explained, then it can help resolve your mom’s problem. But if the mainland thinks that you did some bad things here, they will not trust you, and there’ll be no one [there] who trusts you. So, you… I feel like you should clearly explain your own situation first. This is more important.
J: Yes, even my passport I can…
CS: …don’t you think so?
J: …every page…
CS: Mainly, whatever materials you have, you can directly… Or these things you’ve said. You can write all of it up as text and send it over to our e-mail.
J: Okay then. All the information from Turkey onwards. How I went to university, and then even every page of my passport. And you take a look to see if I’ve been to Egypt?
CS: Yes. Uh-huh.
J: But I still want… I still want… You need to provide me with the written verdict. Because each day my mom spends over there, being tormented… I know what the situation over there is like, and right now the COVID-19 situation is also extremely severe. My mom, she…
CS: This thing… Right now, it’s definitely not a problem. That we can confirm for you. But I feel like the more pressing thing now is to first resolve your own problem. Only then can you talk about other things. If the mainland decides that you’ve done a lot of things here that aren’t right, then the mainland will not help you. Your family also isn’t willing to contact you right now, right? Explain your own situation clearly first. Only by doing that will you be able to make progress in resolving this problem. J: I really want to know - is it that my family doesn’t want to contact me, or is it the government not letting me contact them? I don’t even know right now.
CS: Right now, it is your dad and your younger brother who don’t want any contact with you.
J: Why? As a child… For a father to not want to contact his child is an extremely unnatural situation, don’t you think?
CS: That’s why I feel like you should clearly explain your own situation first. Only then can these other things be resolved.
J: I will take my passport, where I went to school here, what I did here, when I received which tour groups… I will write every single thing out for you.
CS: That’s right. That’s right.
J: Okay. I will send it over.
CS: You can tell us all of this, send us all of this.
J: Can you tell me your name? If I want to directly… If I want to learn about my family’s situation, I will look for you directly and call this number.
CS: Uh… You send us the e-mail first, and then we’ll contact you again.
J: Then, the e-mail address is the one I wrote to before?
CS: Yes, that’s right.
J: Right now, my request… My request is that you provide me with my mom’s written verdict. I really must see its contents. What my mom’s criminal charge was - I really want to understand that. This is my… I feel that, for a Chinese citizen, this is an extremely normal request, right? The consulate should be able to provide me with this, right? Because the consulate is there to protect the rights of citizens who are overseas in the countries the consulates are in, right? This is my right, right?
CS: That’s why right now the issue is your mom, who is currently in the mainland. I feel like what’s most important right now is to change the mainland’s opinion of you. If you yourself have any…
J: The mainland’s opinion of me is a separate matter. The sentence given to my mom…
CS: This is not a separate matter. Right now, they are the same thing.
J: …which of China’s laws says that the issues of the child must drag down their whole family? Even though I don’t have any, regarding which I can provide you all the relevant information. But still: if a child, or anyone who is abroad, does a bad thing, why should that implicate their family members? That’s why I say that these are two separate things. For a citizen, what I request is an extremely normal thing. It is my mom who is currently in jail, who was sentenced. I really want… Because I… Don’t China’s laws also have this? The right to appeal, right? We can go to the Supreme People’s Court to appeal, right? In any case, going to the Supreme People’s Court to appeal is an extremely normal thing, a normal legal process. That’s why I want the consulate, if it really wants to help me, to ask the court for the written verdict. CS: To be honest, this… Right now, it’s not… Right now, it’s not us helping you. Right now, it is you needing to help yourself. First, explain your own situation clearly. Tell us about your situation first, and only then will it be possible to talk about other things.
J: I… This… Like I said, I’ll send you everything about my travels, my studies here… I’ll send it all to you, even including my university graduation diploma, when I graduated… I will send it all. Where I studied, where I work…
-- February 12, 2020 (second call with Istanbul consulate) --
CS: …you need this to go look for people in Xinjiang…
J: When I try to contact people in Xinjiang, no one replies to me. I found someone from a police station the other day, someone who used to be in my WeChat contacts. After I found them, they deleted me.
CS: No… The reason why they aren’t replying to you now is because they think that, right now, you yourself have social problems. I think that, if you can clearly explain your issue, the mainland’s attitude towards you will also change. That’s what I can help you with right now.
J: I will provide you with all the information, but you also need to help me ask for the written verdict. Because I want to go find - I have already found - a lawyer. I have already found a lawyer. I have found a lawyer in Beijing and I have found a lawyer internationally: one in England. I want to appeal, so I need to see this written verdict. I think that this is an extremely normal process in Chinese law. To appeal, to refute, to go to the Supreme People’s Court and appeal, to find a lawyer - this is how the legal process works. I don’t think that this violates the law in any way. Right now, my request is also very simple.
CS: This… You might have the right to do this, but right now we over here don't have a way to help you appeal either…
J: No, no, no. I haven’t asked you to help me appeal. I just want the written verdict.
CS: What we can help you with now is… You should supply us with a description of your activities and your basic situation.
J: Okay. After I finish writing it up, I will send it over to you immediately.
CS: It will be best if there are other people who can serve as witnesses for you.
J: Other people serving as witnesses? Whom should I look for…? Should I write down the tour groups’ names? I’ve already led over 100 tour groups here.
CS: That works…
J: Where should I look? Which group…?
CS: Your own groups, or your travel agency’s person in charge. All are fine.
J: I will write down all of the tour groups that I’ve led for you. One by one, and you can just contact them. There are groups from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan… All of them. CS: Or they could write you a letter of attestation. That might be better.
J: I can get this. But can you record that I have this request: that Jewlan Shirmemet requests the Chinese government for his mother’s written verdict. I will also state this request in my e-mail.
CS: That works, that works. Just write it all in the e-mail. We’ll get it all.
J: Okay.
CS: Okay. So, that’s it for today.
J: Okay. Bye.
-- April 21, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
Embassy staff: Hello.
J: Hello. My name is Jewlan Shirmemet. I live in Istanbul. I have been requesting that the consulate let me contact my family for 4 or 5 months already, but I still haven’t received a reply.
ES: Oh, I see. The consulate, right? You mean the consulate in Istanbul?
J: Yes, yes.
ES: Oh. We’re the embassy…
J: I know…
ES: You can write down your e-mail, name, passport number, family information, and send it over to me, after which we’ll report it to the mainland. Does that work?
J: Okay, all right. What’s your e-mail address?
ES: I’ll text it to you, okay?
J: Okay.
ES: I’m just afraid you might write it down incorrectly.
J: Okay.
ES: Don’t worry, don't worry. I just need to ask: your family… Is it that you can’t contact them, or - sorry for asking - but did your family members do that…?
J: No, my family members… I…
ES: Was it because of that sort of, that sort of… You know, that kind of stuff… I mean, were they arrested by the local Xinjiang government? J: Yes, my mother was detained by the Xinjiang authorities.
ES: Aiya…
J: My dad and my younger brother were also detained, but later released. Since their release, I haven’t… I didn’t… I haven’t been able to contact them. I told the embassy…
ES: Have you not returned to China for a very long time?
J: I have not gone back to China since 2016.
ES: Okay, got it. We’ll get in touch with the mainland, don’t worry. We’ll get in touch with the mainland. During this time, don’t get too agitated with your online activity, all right? It won’t be good for getting in touch with your family. Okay?
J: Look, I’ve never… I’ll send you the e-mail. It’ll be better if I e-mail you, right?
ES: Okay, I’ll send you the address now. All right.
-- May 5, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello?
J: Hello, this is Jewlan Shirmemet.
ES: Hello?
J: Two weeks ago, I sent you an e-mail, but still haven’t received a reply.
ES: Was it about getting a passport or looking for family members?
J: Looking for family…
ES: Has our colleague contacted you?
J: He wanted me to send an e-mail, so I did…
ES: Yes, yes, this is something that needs time. This needs time…
J: Sir, I just want to ask… From December… In December, I sent an e-mail to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul. I kept waiting, then in February I sent another email. I still have not received any news. The embassy has its phone number posted on Twitter, so I called the number and was told to send an e-mail. I sent one and now it’s been two weeks. How…
ES: Two weeks is not… Two weeks is not too… Two weeks is not a long time…
J: How can it not be a long time? Here, I’ve been…
ES: We have a colleague who specifically handles this. I will have them give you a call. Based on my understanding… I’ll give them your phone number soon and tell them that you called. Based on my understanding, my colleague sent a collective report with the relevant information to a number of agencies in mainland China two weeks ago, including the five to six, or four to five… We should have a total of five requests for help contacting family members who are out of contact. Five in total. We reported all these cases together. But we are still waiting for the mainland’s reply, as we cannot decide this.
J: Sure, but this is very… I am a Chinese citizen, I’ve been in Turkey for five years, working in the tourism sector. Working while studying. When a Chinese citizen loses their passport, they can get it in two days, and any problem that comes up can be resolved in a day. My request is simple: let me contact my family, and release my mom. My illegally imprisoned mom. It’s that simple.
ES: It’s like this… It’s like this… Let me put it as…
J: I’m just requesting what I’m entitled to as a citizen. I don’t have any other requests.
ES: So… I know what you mean, but there are a lot of things I need to check. First, we are a country of law, and it’s not like the family members of anyone who says their family members have been arrested… have been arrested illegally…
J: Before, I requested the written court verdict. You didn’t give it.
ES: That’s…
J: I requested a lawyer…
ES: There are a lot of things that can be requested. We could also request a lot of things, but speaking within the legal framework… How to put it: I’m not in charge of this. I’m in charge of making ID-related documents. I will get my colleague to contact you, okay?
J: Okay, fine.
ES: Okay. Don’t be too worried about your situation. Also, I…
J: Put yourself in my position and ask yourself if you’d be worried. I haven’t talked to my family in over two years.
ES: I understand, I understand. If members of my family… If members of my family were arrested, I would be very angry too. I understand you… I understand you very well. But whether or not this situation is against the law is not something I can determine. Because this needs China’s…
J: We’re in the 21st century…
ES: This is up to China’s judicial system to determine…
J: China is a technologically advanced country. 21st century… It’s the 21st century and I have not been able to contact my family for over two years. Two and a half years. Surely, this is insane. I…
ES: I will have my colleague call you, okay?
J: Okay. Sure. ES: Okay, then. Bye.
-- May 6, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello?
J: Hello?
ES: Hello, how are you?
J: Hello. I’m Jewlan Shirmemet. I called you yesterday as well. I’m calling regarding my family.
ES: Yes…
J: Two weeks ago…
ES: You’re Jewlan, right?
J: Yes.
ES: Jewlan, it’s like this… We have already reported your situation to the mainland. Please wait a little. We are also waiting so as to be able to get back to you. Your situation, the letters you’ve written… The letters you wrote were quite long… Because we’ve also taken a look… From our perspective, we’re also quite sympathetic, you know? We’re all Chinese citizens, including the members of your family who are in this situation. First, we need to verify the situation. Additionally, see if there’s other ways. What I mean is: just wait some more. All right? Does that work?
J: But I’ve already waited for over five months, always contacting you guys…
ES: I know, I know. I know what you mean. I can only tell you that… We… It’s really an important matter. Once the pandemic is under control, you can come to the consulate general too… With everyone… You can also talk to everyone face to face. How about this: if we receive any news, we’ll call you? Does that work?
J: Can you be certain? Because I am extremely worried, this is… And you don’t…
ES: I understand, I understand. How about this… Because the pandemic in Turkey is really quite serious, you should take good care of yourself first. Which school are you at? I think you’re a student, is that right?
J: Yes, I’m in Istanbul. I’m in Istanbul…
ES: Right, right. Because in Istanbul, the pandemic is… There’s a lot of tourists…
J: This… Right now, I can take care of myself. It’s my family that I’m worried about. About my mother, because right now she is in jail…
ES: Because right now… It’s like this: I can tell you that right now in the mainland, when it comes to Xinjiang, there isn’t a single case right now. Before, there were 76 cases, right? 73 have recovered, which means that 3 people passed away, but 73 people have now left the hospital. And there hasn’t been a single infected case, you know? J: Sir… Maybe there really isn't any illness there, but right now she is in prison. Think about it. Can you think of me for a second? Put yourself in my position…
ES: Yes, yes, yes. I know, I understand. I can understand your feelings. Really.
J: My mom is currently in prison, and right now, you see, the simplest… the simplest thing… I cannot even contact my family. It’s the 21st century. A Chinese citizen, in the world’s most scientifically advanced country… A citizen…
ES: Yes, yes. Yes.
J: I am unable to contact my family. Isn’t that absolutely crazy? This is really damaging to the country’s reputation too, no?
ES: Hmm, it’s like this… I mean, we actually have to do our jobs as well. Also, if you have any friends in Xinjiang, then you will understand that it’s not actually all like this. These are individual cases.
J: Yes, individual cases.
ES: What I meant… I hope you’ll understand, but our country, because of some not-so-good things that happened in Xinjiang in the past… It has to…
J: Those not-so-good things…
ES: It has to… I mean… Wrong things have happened in Xinjiang. I mean, these past few years, things have returned to normal. Listen, we can talk about this properly and slowly… Getting documents done, contacting your family, going back there to visit them. I mean, [unintelligible]… There is a process.
J: This…
ES: I do understand your feelings, but if you could have turned to the Chinese mission from the very start, your problem would have been resolved that much faster.
J: Mister, let me just tell you. The first thing I did was to turn to the consulate. That was the first thing I did. I called them every day. Called them every day. Sent e-mails every day. I can send you those e-mails. I even contacted the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Didn't get a reply there either. Beijing, Shanghai… I contacted… Including the Xinjiang…
ES: Look, the other places you got in touch with I don’t really care about. Since you’ve now addressed the embassy, we - I’ve told you this already - we are working hard to get in touch with the mainland, to see what the best way to resolve this is. All right?
J: These words… Because I am extremely, extremely worried. This… in China…
ES: I understand your feelings. I understand your feelings.
J: …not being able to contact your family is extremely crazy.
ES: You should… Look, if we get any news then we’ll contact you. All right? J: Try to be faster. I am extremely, extremely worried.
ES: Okay, okay. Also, masks, protective clothing, and such… You have all that?
J: No [likely misspoken]. I do, I do.
ES: Right. If you do need anything, the Chinese mission can help out. We can send the things over to you, okay?
J: I’m all set. This…
ES: You have the embassy’s e-mail. Just like for our other overseas Chinese, if you need anything, you can just tell us what you need via e-mail: with your address, the quantity needed… It’s all doable.
J: This… Stuff like this… I have no problems when it comes to myself, it’s just… The only thing I’m worried about right now is my family…
ES: Look…
J: For me… Apart from…
ES: Listen, it’s not that I’m forcing you, but I hope that you’ll understand - we will certainly deal with this to our fullest ability.
J: Aren’t I extremely understanding…?
ES: Because we are all overseas Chinese in Turkey. You are also a Chinese citizen, right? I mean, we were always meant to… Overseas Chinese need to stick together. Second, the Chinese mission definitely wants to help overseas Chinese…
J: With the Chinese mission, I… I worry… Right now, I’m just thinking about how two months ago… with the Chinese mission… about how I have already sent all my documents to the one in Beijing…
ES: The Beijing one is… Beijing is not…
J: No, I mean the Ankara one. The embassy in Ankara. Two months ago, I sent them all of my information…
ES: In that case, look… You should…
J: I still haven’t received any news…
ES: If we get any news, we’ll contact you, all right?
J: I hope so… Can you also…
ES: Because, you know, two days ago the mainland was celebrating a holiday, right? Today’s the first day back at work. Right?
J: Sure. Then just please try to be a little faster. ES: Can do. Okay. That’s it, then. Take care of yourself, all right?
J: Hmm.
ES: Okay, bye.
-- May 7, 2020 (call with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) --
Ministry staff: Hello, this is the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How may I help you?
J: Hello, this is Jewlan Shirmemet. I’m now living in Istanbul, Turkey. I’m originally from Xinjiang, and my ID number puts me in Qorgas County of Xinjiang’s Ili Prefecture. I have not been able to contact my family for over two years - two and a half years - and I have learned that my mother was arrested by the Xinjiang government. My mother is a civil servant. A civil servant who had served the country for thirty years. The last time I contacted them was on January 11, 2018, on WeChat. After that, I lost all contact. At that time, my mother told me that she was going to retire in two months. A mother who was just about to retire… Why would she be arrested by the Xinjiang authorities and illegally imprisoned? I am now requesting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact Xinjiang, and allow me to establish normal contact with my family, as well as release my mother. That’s why I’m calling you now. I have already been communicating with the consulate in Istanbul, Turkey for over five months, but they have never given me a proper reply. Why does the consulate treat its own citizens like this?
MS: Can you provide us with your name and your ID number?
J: All right. My name is Jewlan Shirmemet [Mandarin: Jiawulan Xi’ermaimaiti]. “jia” as in “jiafa”…
MS: How do you write that?
J: [Explains characters used to spell his first name.]
MS: Jiawulan, right?
J: Yes, yes. [Explains the spelling of his last name.] Xi’ermaimaiti.
MS: Okay.
J: My ID number is…
MS: Jiawulan Xi’ermaimaiti, is that right?
J: That’s right. My ID number is 654123…
MS: 654123…
J: …1991…
MS: …1991…
J: …0506… MS: …0506…
J: …0014.
MS: …0014.
J: Yes. For my mother, her work unit is…
MS: Do you have an ID num…? Do you have a passport number?
J: Yes, I do. One second… Let me get you my passport number.
MS: Hmm.
J: One moment… Passport number is… G… Please wait a moment. Passport number is: G… G…
MS: J? Is it that…
J: Not that one. G as in “Ge”. Yes.
MS: And then?
J: 5739…
MS: 5739…
J: …7606.
MS: …7606.
J: Correct.
MS: G57397606?
J: Correct. G57397606.
MS: This is your own passport number, right?
J: Yes.
MS: Please wait a moment. Umm, you just said that right now you’ve lost all contact with your family, is that right? That is…
J: Correct. My family…
MS: Apart from your mother, are there other members of your family that you can’t contact?
J: Correct. In my family, you have my dad and my mom, who are both civil servants, and my younger brother, who is also a college graduate. My dad and my mom both worked for the country for thirty years. My dad is a civil servant in the environmental protection bureau, the Xinjiang Ili Qorgas County Environmental Bureau. My mother was a bank teller at the Xinjiang Ili Qorgas County’s Bureau for Industry and Commerce - a national civil servant for thirty years. My younger brother is also a college graduate. In January 2018, I…
MS: And right now you can’t contact any of them, right?
J: Correct. My dad… The last time I contacted the embassy in Istanbul, they told me that my dad and my younger brother were taken to Xinjiang’s so-called “training centers”, but… I don’t understand… My dad and my mom were both civil servants for thirty years, and my younger brother is also a college graduate, so why take them to training centers? I don’t get this, sorry. It’s something I still cannot understand.
MS: Sir, please start by getting a hold of yourself and answering my questions.
J: All right…
MS: When you say so much, I don’t really understand what you’re saying.
J: All right, all right.
MS: Trust me.
J: Right, I…
MS: Your situation… What exactly is the reason for why you can’t contact them right now? Is it all of them, or just one or two that you are unable to contact? From what time have you been unable to contact them? Please explain these things to me.
J: All right. January 11, 2018 was the last time I contacted my family, on WeChat. On January 13, I’d discover that they had all deleted me on WeChat.
MS: On which date, again?
J: On January 13, I discovered…
MS: January 11, 2018, you said?
J: Yes.
MS: You mean that you lost contact with them then, is that right?
J: Yes, they deleted me on WeChat at that time.
MS: Sir, it’s like this… Even though our purpose here is to provide overseas Chinese citizens with consular [unclear] services [unclear], what you’re asking is not within the scope of our work, so unfortunately we are not able to assist you. You can try such agencies as the local police department. If people have gone missing, you can report it to the police. These are the methods that you can try to find your relatives.
J: Right now, I… No, right now, there’s something I just want to ask: what is it that the Foreign Ministry is supposed to protect? What aspect of the citizens’ lives? Just now, I found your number online and called you. This is one of the rights of an overseas Chinese citizen, right?
MS: Yea… J: Right now, my rights are being infringed on by the Xinjiang authorities…
MS: The Xinjiang authorities are in the mainland, Sir. This is not, this is not our [unclear]… I mean, for example, when you are in Turkey and you experience some other kind of emergency situation in Turkey, this is where we come in. But if something happened to your relatives in Xinjiang, then you need to contact the local… For example, the police department or other departments. Do you understand what I mean?
J: Yea, I understand. But then why did I just spend all that time giving you all my ID numbers…? Okay. Heh. All right. I get it.
MS: These conversations are all recorded, but if you like we can also not record this.
J: No, no problem. If you can, when you have the time… If the foreign ministry has any news regarding this, and if they want to understand the situation, to go look, then you can call…
MS: This situation is not within our purview. There’s really nothing we can do.
J: Okay. All right.
MS: You can contact departments… I mean, the local police departments or others. All are okay.
J: All right.
MS: Okay, then. I’ll end the call here.
J: Hmm.
-- May 13, 2020 (call with Ankara embassy) --
ES: Hello, how are you?
J: Hello, how are you? This is Jewlan Shirmemet…
ES: I know, I know. I know you.
J: I… Has there been any news of my family?
ES: Uh… We’ve already… Our colleague has already sent all the information regarding looking for relatives to the mainland, and the mainland has not yet gotten back to us.
J: When will they get back to you? It’s already been over two weeks… three weeks…
ES: We’re also waiting… We’re also waiting… Waiting for the mainland… this is Xinjiang, right?
J: Yes.
ES: We’re also waiting for the Xinjiang government to get back to us. J: You… This… I think about it over and over, and I just don’t get it. Three to four weeks. How is it that such a simple thing…? Contacting my family members, releasing my mother… It’s just such a simple thing.
ES: Aiya… I guess I’m not being clear. We’ve sent the information over. I mean, in the cases where Chinese citizens can’t contact their family, sometimes the mainland gets back to us and sometimes they don’t. Yours they haven’t gotten back to us about. Some they’ve gotten back to us on.
J: Some they got back to you about, some they still haven’t. In my case, they haven’t.
ES: Yes, that’s right. Sometimes they’ve gotten back to us. Some… There are one or two cases where the family members are in prison that they’ve got back to us on. For others, they haven’t. They still haven’t replied. I don’t know where your family members are, I promise. Aiya… I don’t know either. I’m waiting.
J: Oh…
ES: If we learn anything, we’ll contact you. We have a colleague who specifically takes care of this stuff.
J: All right. I’ll wait some more… Otherwise, I’ll find other ways.
ES: Okay, okay. That’s it, then.
Victims among relatives
Shirmemet Hudayar (7240), Irfan Shirmemet (7241)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/CevlanJevlan/status/1245899058490806273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/KampMagdurlar/status/1346737759474614277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/7239_1.jpeg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_7239.png
Entry created: 2020-01-20 Last updated: 2021-04-11 Latest status update: 2021-04-01 7763. Abla Eziz (阿布拉·艾则孜)
Chinese ID: 65292519730601153X (Toksu)
Basic info
Age: 47 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Sufane Alimjan, an Uyghur now living abroad. (niece-in-law)
Testimony 2|3: Alimjan Turdi, a resident of Turkey. (uncle-in-law)
Testimony 4: Mamutjan Abdurehim, a resident of Australia who previously studied in Malaysia, but fled because of fear of deportation. (friend)
About the victim
Ablajan (sometimes "Abdulla") Eziz was a self-employed entrepreneur who obtained a graduate degree from the International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Returning to Urumqi, he founded the Xinjiang Bilkuch Library, located under his company office (the Xinjiang Bilkuch Culture & Media LTD, 新疆笔力科旗文化传媒有限公司). Well-known intellectuals such as Abduqadir Jalalidin, Yalqun Rozi, and Zulpiqar Barat all gave lectures at this library.
Chinese passport: G34418575.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Urumqi.]
When victim was detained
He was taken from his home on July 3, 2017.
At some point, authorities allegedly told the victim's family that he would be charged.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
--- Victim's status
Possibly charged, but not clear.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Not stated.
Additional information
Business listing for his company: https://archive.vn/jHDME
Mention by Anadolu Agency: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/life/-where-is-my-family-uighurs-dreading-for-relatives-in-china/2119131
Victims among relatives
Nurmuhemmet Turdi (5165), Helimem Turdi (7759), Osman Rozi (7760), Mubarek Osman (7761), Qemerdin Osman (7762), Elzat Eli (6079)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKMAf4AiG3U Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/A_Turdiniyaz/status/1307572390860333058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/MamutjanAB/status/1310520894855557120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://shahit.biz/supp/7763_3.jpg photo with Abduqadir Jalalidin: https://shahit.biz/supp/7763_5.jpg photo at library: https://shahit.biz/supp/7763_6.jpg
Entry created: 2020-03-01 Last updated: 2021-02-13 Latest status update: 2021-02-09 7800. Erbolat Qusman (叶尔保拉提·胡斯曼)
Chinese ID: 654301198912012236 (Altay)
Basic info
Age: 31 Gender: M Ethnicity: Kazakh Likely current location: Altay Status: documents withheld When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: culinary
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|6: Altynai Arasan, a Kazakhstan citizen who moved to Kazakhstan with her parents in 2019. (wife)
About the victim
Erbolat Qusman used to work as a cook, running a small restaurant named "Bir Shauqim Shai" ("A Pot of Tea") in Kazakhstan's Pavlodar Region with his wife.
Address: Aqqudyq Village, Abytan Municipality, Altay City, Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区阿勒泰市阿苇滩镇阿克库都克村).
Chinese passport: E34335555.
Victim's location
In his home region in Altay.
When victim was detained
He was originally detained on October 27, 2017 and taken to camp. On December 29, 2018, he was released to house arrest, but would not be able to obtain documents to rejoin his wife in Kazakhstan.
On January 3, 2020, local authorities questioned him about his wife. A week later, he was pressured by the local authorities into signing a document divorcing her [not completely clear if he actually signed, as this pressure continued] and another document stating that he had learned cooking during his time at the camp.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His wife provides various reasons in her testimonies:
1) being in contact with a religious group, 2) not drinking or smoking, 3) asking that his passport be returned.
Victim's status
Under pressure from the local authorities and unable to reunite with his wife in Kazakhstan.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Altynai has been able to contact him on multiple occasions.
Additional information
Radio Free Asia mention: https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/hx0329a-03292021071511.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4EL8DC0qf4 Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw-hv_pWUZs Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUSI0VrqTns Testimony 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTrXeEMUJs Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YojK85ZYGuY Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/78jl99dgVmBAGoM/status/1334165554416988161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw wedding photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/7800_5.jpg marriage certificate: https://shahit.biz/supp/7800_6.png social security card: https://shahit.biz/supp/7800_8.jpg
Entry created: 2020-03-05 Last updated: 2021-06-23 Latest status update: 2021-06-05 8199. Memet Abdulla (买买提·阿不都拉)
Chinese ID: 65280119????????O? (Korla)
Basic info
Age: 55+ Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: Apr. 2017 - June 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): "problematic" association|"two-faced", "separatism", "taking bribes" Health status: has problems Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Iskender Memet, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son)
Testimony 2: Subhi Memet, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter)
Testimony 3|4|5|6: Subhi Memet, a resident of the United States. (daughter)
Testimony 7|8|9: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 10: Subhi Memet, as reported by France 24. (daughter)
Testimony 11: Xinjiang People's Procuratorate, the official prosecuting government body for Xinjiang.
Testimony 12: Subhi Memet, as reported by William Yang. (daughter)
Testimony 13: Elijan Anayit, a spokesperson for the XUAR People's Government Information Office.
About the victim
Memet Abdulla was previously the mayor of Korla City, and had also served as the head of the Xinjiang State Forestry and Grassland Administration from 1992 until his retirement in 2008. He is a father of three.
Victim's location
Xinjiang No. 3 Prison (Cell No. 11).
When victim was detained
In 2017, while living in Urumqi, Memet received permission from the Chinese government to travel to the US in April of 2017 because his son had had a child. He had previously traveled to the US several times before to visit his son and youngest daughter, Iskender and Subhi Memet. He had an airline ticket booked for April 30.
On April 29, Memet and his wife had been at home packing for their flight when Memet told his wife that he was stepping out to buy last-minute gifts for their grandchildren in the US. When he did not return home, his wife phoned him but he did not answer.
Later that day, two Chinese officials came to their house and confirmed to his wife that he had been detained. They then confiscated their passports.
That same day, Memet's son Iskender in the US received a call from his older sister in Urumqi, who instructed him to cancel the flight tickets, without providing much detail. He reportedly noticed from his older sister's voice over the phone that something was wrong, but that she was not able to speak about the situation freely. He then went to his sister Subhi's house and told her that they needed to cancel their father's flight, and that their father was not going to come.
A few hours later, Subhi was able to contact her mother, who told her that two Chinese police officers had arrested Memet.
He was charged in May 2017. However, his family in Urumqi were not given access to him or told of his whereabouts following his arrest. They wouldn't see him until two years later, at his first court hearing in September 2019, during which he was convicted in court proceedings that were closed to all family members except his eldest daughter, who was let in after "kicking up a fuss". His wife reportedly sat outside on a bench and witnessed him being escorted into court in chains along with other detainees - it was apparent to her that her husband had lost weight and could not properly balance himself.
An appeal in December 2019 was rejected, with only his lawyer present to alert the family of the verdict, with Memet handed a life sentence and forced to hand over all assets to the state. His family was fined 4 million RMB.
As of February 2020, his son Iskender had not been able to secure official documentation confirming his father’s life sentence.
In October 2020, prison officials hinted that they might release Memet, prompting his daughter Subhi to stop her campaign to secure his release. However, she now believes that this was a trick and worries for her father's health.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
He was accused of "bribery", being “two-faced”, and "separatism". Elijan Anayit, a spokesperson for the XUAR People's Government Information Office, confirmed that the Xinjiang Discipline Inspection Commission opened a case against Memet for "bribery" (allegedly taking advantage of his position).
(According to his youngest daughter Subhi, the separatism charge was a result of the fact that she and her brother both live in Virginia, where there is a large Uyghur community with protests relatively concentrated in their area.)
Victim's status
Serving a life sentence in prison. [There is a high likelihood of the victim being subjected to forced labor, as the Xinjiang No. 3 Lathe Factory is based inside the prison and is reported to employ the majority of inmates.]
He has health issues: he suffers from high blood sugar and high blood pressure, and previously had kidney cancer. In October 2020, he contacted his oldest daughter and told her that he was "well". Two days later his wife and daughter attempted to visit him in prison but were denied.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Memet's oldest daughter attended his trial in September 2019, with most of the information obtained by relatives abroad coming from her.
The worker at the Korla Forestry Department where Memet Abdulla had previously been employed presumably had relatively direct knowledge of the case.
The local officials whom Radio Free Asia spoke to were informed of the arrest at a meeting.
The XUAR People's Procuratorate is the public prosecuting body responsible for the prosecution of the victim.
In October 2020, Memet allegedly called his wife and daughter in Urumqi.
Additional information
His case is mentioned in the XUAR People's Procuratorate 2018 work report as one of the examples of cracking down on "two-faced people": https://archive.ph/U3qAm
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/life-03102020141909.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/siyaset/ikki-yuzlimichi-12062018144919.html
France 24 coverage: https://www.france24.com/en/20200701-breaking-the-silence-on-china-s-two-faced-campaign-against-uig hurs
Change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/donald-j-trump-help-me-rescue-my-71-year-old-father-mamat-abdullah-from-c hina-s-prison
Story by William Yang: https://williamyang-35700.medium.com/former-uyghur-official-called-his-family-after-being-sentenced-to -life-imprisonment-1d5fec7b6074
Memet's wife and oldest daughter were both subjected to months of questioning by the Chinese authorities, with the focus appearing to have been on their family in the US. For the first two months, they were "taken for questioning almost every single day for eight straight hours".
The victim reportedly wrote a letter from an unknown detention camp, a photograph of which was sent to Subhi Memet. Subhi Memet's uncle has also been arrested and detained.
An interview with Memet Abdulla: https://archive.is/wduzS
Book written by him: https://archive.is/twIpM
Articles and reports about his work: https://archive.is/oKCei https://archive.is/SolpH
Original transcript of the press conference where Elijan Anayit commented on his case: https://archive.is/rVMEI
Official communication(s)
Source: XUAR People's Government Information Office
------
[This is an excerpt from an official press conference held on June 1, 2020 by the XUAR People's Government Information Office.]
China Global Television Network: It is reported that some foreign media claim that “Xinjiang government framed former director general of Xinjiang Forestry Department Memet Abdula as a two-faced man and sentenced him to a prison term.” It is true? And could you brief us about it?
Xu Guixiang: This question goes to Elijan Anayit.
Elijan Anayit: Recently, former director general of Xinjiang Forestry Department Memet Abdula’s daughter complained to the Voice of America that her father was mischarged as a “two-faced person” and put in prison. Her accusation was completely fabricated, which was to mislead international opinion, solicit support for her criminal father and attack China’s policies on Xinjiang by misleading public opinion.
In April 2017, the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC (Communist Party of China) Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee filed a case against Memet Abdula on suspicion of taking bribes. The investigation found that, during his tenure as chief of the department, he violated organizational discipline to trade power for money in personnel selection and appointment; broke the Party’s rules on clean governance for illegal acceptance of money and gifts and engaging in profitable activities; was suspected of crimes involving bribery and abuse of power to seek profits for others. According to the CPC Regulation on Disciplinary Punishment and the Regulation on the Disciplinary Actions against Civil Servants of Administrative Organs and other relevant regulations, his case was transferred to the judicial authorities for further investigation.
The court's investigation, through the first and second trials, found that Memet Abudla used his position to seek benefits for others and by raising logging quotas, and solicited and accepted money and properties many times from others that are of enormous value. His behaviors had constituted crime of bribery. The people's court imposed a criminal sentence on him based on clear facts and solid evidence in accordance with the provisions of Chinese laws and regulations. His daughter's so-called "he was framed" allegation was just confusing truth and falsehood. (Please take a look at the video for your reference)
Corruption is a tumor to social development and is detested by people. Anyonewho violates, regardless of his or her ethnicity, the law and discipline will surely be brought to justice. Xu Guixiang: Today's press conference concludes now. Thanks all the invitees and reporters.
Supplementary materials instrument video: https://twitter.com/SubiMamat/status/1299365362627219456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/SubiMamat/status/1318185542710972417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/SubiMamat/status/1318974522326962178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/SubiMamat/status/1341388862707421185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/Irfan_Tursun1/status/1258631236303622146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo with son: https://shahit.biz/supp/8199_1.jpeg photo with wife: https://shahit.biz/supp/8199_2.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/8199_3.jpg propaganda video about victim: https://shahit.biz/supp/8199_9.mp4 courtroom still: https://shahit.biz/supp/8199_10.png photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_8199.png official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_8199.png
Entry created: 2020-03-26 Last updated: 2021-05-01 Latest status update: 2021-06-11 8381. Gao Zhisheng (高智晟)
Chinese ID: 653101196404200838 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 56 Gender: M Ethnicity: Han Likely current location: inner China Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting subversion", "endangering state security" Health status: has problems Profession: law
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Anonymous, identity not verified. (friend)
Testimony 2|4: Gao Zhiyi, as reported by New York Times. (brother)
Testimony 3: Geng He, as reported by Hong Kong Free Press. (wife)
Testimony 5: Hu Jia, as reported by Wall Street Journal. (relation unclear)
Testimony 6: Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based organization seeking to facilitate representation for arbitrarily detained individuals.
Testimony 7: Shao Zhongguo, a friend of Gao Zhisheng and now a Chinese political prisoner. (friend)
Testimony 8: Official incarceration notice, which provides the details about a given inmate's upcoming internment.
Testimony 9: Gao Zhiyi, as reported by Rights Protection Network (维权网). (brother)
Testimony 10: Geng He, wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. She lives in the United States. (wife)
Testimony 11: Chinese Mission to the United Nations, China's official representative body in the United Nations in Geneva.
Testimony 12: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Gao Zhisheng, born in Shaanxi's Jia County, is a human rights lawyer, once praised by the Chinese Ministry of Justice as one of the country’s ten best. In 2010, he was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s International Human Rights Lawyer Award. He is [possibly: was] legally a resident of Urumqi.
During his career, he defended victims of medical malpractice, dispossessed landowners, Falun Gong practitioners, factory workers, fellow human rights lawyers, and many others. He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, but resigned in 2005.
In 2006, he converted to Christianity. His wife and two children live in the United States.
Victim's location
[Presumably in inner China.]
When victim was detained
He was first convicted in December 2006 for “inciting subversion”, and would be under house arrest between 2007 and 2010, though there were times when he was held incommunicado by officials and later reported being tortured repeatedly.
In 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison for “violating his parole” and was imprisoned at the Shayar Prison in Aksu on December 19, 2011.
He was visited in Shayar Prison by family members on March 24, 2012 and again on January 12, 2013, with his brother reporting that they were denied a visit on January 10, 2012, with the authorities claiming that there was an ongoing "3-month study period" and that Gao Zhisheng allegedly did not want to see them. While at the prison, Gao Zhisheng was fed a very restricted diet of bread and cabbage, which resulted in his losing nearly 50 pounds.
According to a change.org petition in his support, Gao “was locked in a tiny room with no windows, no ventilation, and no human contact. Communication was forbidden and he was not allowed to read for the entire duration of his detention”. According to his wife, he was kept in solitary confinement without sufficient light.
In July 2014, Tom Malinowski, a US State Department assistant secretary, called for the Chinese Government to release Gao Zhisheng as scheduled.
On August 7, 2014, Gao Zhisheng was released from Shayar Prison, after which he reportedly first went to relatives' homes in Urumqi and then planned to continue on to Yulin, where he was raised. He was severely malnourished at the time of his release and was missing several teeth. The New York Times reported that he was “utterly destroyed” and could “barely talk — and only in very short sentences — most of the time he mutters and is unintelligible”.
In 2017, he disappeared from Yulin, with his whereabouts unknown since.
In 2020, the Chinese Mission to the United Nations denied that Gao was ever detained post-2014. However, in April 2021, police in Yulin County allegedly told relatives that they could not see Gao because of "strained China-US relations".
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Originally placed under house arrest for "inciting subversion", and later jailed for "violating his parole".
It is not clear what prompted the most recent disappearance/detention. He is also included in a 2017 "WASFRY" police list [presumably short for 危安释放人员, or "endangering-security released persons"].
Victim's status
As of June 2019, he was believed to be in detention, with Shao Zhongguo - who was actively looking for ways to save him - expressing concern for the victim's health. (Shao was later arrested, as confirmed by the Chinese authorities in 2020.)
In April 2021, local police said that Gao couldn't be visited [however, it remains unclear what exactly this says about Gao's status].
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The main sources are relatives of the victims, who had contact with him during and after his detention.
Shao Zhongguo does not say how he knew where Gao Zhisheng was being held (but is in China and had been actively looking for him).
Additional information change.org petition for the victim: https://www.change.org/p/president-xi-of-china-free-lawyer-gao-zhisheng-now
Coverage of his case in various outlets: https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/family-of-dissident-lawyer-fears-for-his-health-after-pri son-2/ https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/08/13/year-lawyers-disappearance-highlights-chinas-escalating-huma n-rights-disaster/ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/world/asia/visit-confirms-gao-zhisheng-chinese-dissident-is-alive.h tml https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/08/07/chinese-lawyer-gao-zhisheng-released-from-prison-now- what/ http://www.freedom-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Gao-Zhisheng.pdf http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_5882.html
Global Times criticizing Western media coverage of his case and release: https://archive.is/C8qOD
The Chinese government formally denying his latest detention: https://www.nchrd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/April-2-2020-Chinese-government-response-on-case -of-Gao-Zhisheng.pdf
Articles quoting him: https://archive.is/e7r5A https://archive.is/1543n https://archive.is/39DBF https://archive.is/yTdb6 https://archive.is/EJJRn https://archive.is/AjTGr Media article that he contributed to: https://archive.is/kqqP1
Coverage of cases he was involved in: https://archive.is/hwd0R https://archive.is/Z8ThL
Press conference with Chinese MFA from 2010, in which a question about his initial disappearance is deflected: https://archive.is/dPYep
[There is also the likelihood that he was subjected to forced labor, as the Shayar Tarim Runcheng Farming and Livestock LLC (沙雅塔里木润城农牧有限责任公司) operates out of Shayar Prison.]
Supplementary materials
Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/Genghe1/status/1331267421932449795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 10: https://twitter.com/Genghe1/status/1381457355439665157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/8381_1.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/8381_2.jpg Testimony 8: https://shahit.biz/supp/8381_4.jpeg Testimony 11: https://shahit.biz/supp/8381_5.pdf photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_8381.png
Entry created: 2020-03-31 Last updated: 2021-08-14 Latest status update: 2021-04-11 8470. Ablikim Gheni (阿布力克木·艾尼)
Chinese ID: 65292719680627027X (Uchturpan)
Basic info
Age: 52 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (5 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abdurehim Gheni, an Uyghur activist famous for his solo protests in Amsterdam. (brother)
Testimony 2: Letter from the Chinese government, providing an official reply regarding a certain query or issue.
Testimony 3: Abdurehim Gheni, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Ablikim Gheni is a businessman. He has three children and three grandchildren.
Address: 8 Sixth Street, Yengimehelle Road, Uchturpan Municipality, Uchturpan County, Aksu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
The testifier lost all contact with the victim, and all relatives in general, in May 23, 2017 (last point of contact).
According to the official information from the Chinese state, the victim was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in August 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
He was sentenced for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The news of the victim's sentence comes directly from the Chinese authorities.
Additional information
Mention in Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/02/china-uyghurs-abroad-living-in-fear/
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/jailed-10122020121624.html
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Government (branch unclear)
------
The Situation of Abdurehim Gheni’s Relatives in Xinjiang
The oldest brother, Ablikim Gheni, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in August 2017 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order; in March 2019, Ablikim Gheni’s oldest daughter, Patime Ablikim, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The second oldest brother, Mijit Gheni, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2018 for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination.
The wife’s oldest younger brother (first younger brother-in-law), Turghun Hamudun, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2019 for the crimes of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination and gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The wife’s second oldest younger brother (second younger brother-in-law), Adil Hamudun, was sentenced to 3 years in May 2019 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The mother, Tohtihan Bekri, passed away from illness on October 9, 2014; the remaining relatives are all in the community living normal lives.
Victims among relatives
Abdugheni Hudaberdi (8469), Abdukerim Gheni (8479), Hasiyet Rozi (8476), Zinnethan Kichik (8471), Patime Ablikim (8472), Aminem Ablikim (8473), Bumeryem Ablikim (8474), Mijit Gheni (8475), Zulpiye Mijit (8477), Hudaberdi Mijit (8478), Abdulla Abdukerim (8480), Turghun Hamudun (4966), Adil Hamudun (11504), Aygul Qari (15166)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF57C7a5WvE official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_8470.png
Entry created: 2020-04-08 Last updated: 2020-12-26 Latest status update: 2020-09-30 8472. Patime Ablikim (帕提玛·阿布力克木)
Chinese ID: 6529271989??????E? (Uchturpan)
Basic info
Age: 31-32 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (6 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"disturbing public order", "picking quarrels" Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abdurehim Gheni, an Uyghur activist famous for his solo protests in Amsterdam. (uncle)
Testimony 2: Letter from the Chinese government, providing an official reply regarding a certain query or issue.
Testimony 3|4: Abdurehim Gheni, as reported by Amnesty International. (uncle)
About the victim
Patime Ablikim is a mother of two. She was a housewife prior to her detention.
Address: 8 Sixth Street, Yengimehelle Road, Uchturpan Municipality, Uchturpan County, Aksu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
The testifier had completely lost contact with the victim (and all other relatives) since May 23, 2017. It is unclear when the victim was first detained [but presumably after this date].
According to the Chinese government, she was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months in March 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Sentenced for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".
Victim's status
Sentenced. How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The information regarding the sentencing comes directly from the Chinese authorities.
Additional information
Mention in Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/02/china-uyghurs-abroad-living-in-fear/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR062
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/jailed-10122020121624.html
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Government (branch unclear)
------
The Situation of Abdurehim Gheni’s Relatives in Xinjiang
The oldest brother, Ablikim Gheni, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in August 2017 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order; in March 2019, Ablikim Gheni’s oldest daughter, Patime Ablikim, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The second oldest brother, Mijit Gheni, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2018 for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination.
The wife’s oldest younger brother (first younger brother-in-law), Turghun Hamudun, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2019 for the crimes of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination and gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The wife’s second oldest younger brother (second younger brother-in-law), Adil Hamudun, was sentenced to 3 years in May 2019 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The mother, Tohtihan Bekri, passed away from illness on October 9, 2014; the remaining relatives are all in the community living normal lives.
Victims among relatives
Abdugheni Hudaberdi (8469), Ablikim Gheni (8470), Abdukerim Gheni (8479), Hasiyet Rozi (8476), Zinnethan Kichik (8471), Aminem Ablikim (8473), Bumeryem Ablikim (8474), Mijit Gheni (8475), Zulpiye Mijit (8477), Hudaberdi Mijit (8478), Abdulla Abdukerim (8480), Turghun Hamudun (4966), Adil Hamudun (11504), Aygul Qari (15166)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF57C7a5WvE official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_8472.png Entry created: 2020-04-08 Last updated: 2021-09-18 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 8475. Mijit Gheni (米吉提·艾尼)
Chinese ID: 652927196905200277 (Uchturpan)
Basic info
Age: 51 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (16 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"inciting ethnic hatred", "disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: driver
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Abdurehim Gheni, an Uyghur activist famous for his solo protests in Amsterdam. (brother)
Testimony 2: Letter from the Chinese government, providing an official reply regarding a certain query or issue.
Testimony 3|4: Abdurehim Gheni, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Mijit Gheni was a businessman and taxi driver. He is a father of two.
Address on ID: House No. 9, Block [possibly: Building] No. 2, No. 2 Street, Dulduruq Road, Uchturpan County, Aksu Prefecture.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
The testifier had completely lost contact with the victim (and all other relatives) since May 23, 2017. It is unclear when the victim was first detained [but presumably after this date].
According to the Chinese government, he was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2018.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
He was sentenced for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order" and "inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination".
Victim's status Serving a prison sentence.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The news of his sentence comes directly from the Chinese government.
Additional information
Mentioned in Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2020/02/china-uyghurs-abroad-living-in-fear/
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR063
Radio Free Asia coverage: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/jailed-10122020121624.html
Official communication(s)
Source: Chinese Government (branch unclear)
------
The Situation of Abdurehim Gheni’s Relatives in Xinjiang
The oldest brother, Ablikim Gheni, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in August 2017 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order; in March 2019, Ablikim Gheni’s oldest daughter, Patime Ablikim, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
The second oldest brother, Mijit Gheni, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2018 for the crimes of gathering a crowd to disturb public order and inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination.
The wife’s oldest younger brother (first younger brother-in-law), Turghun Hamudun, was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in May 2019 for the crimes of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination and gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The wife’s second oldest younger brother (second younger brother-in-law), Adil Hamudun, was sentenced to 3 years in May 2019 for the crime of gathering a crowd to disturb public order.
The mother, Tohtihan Bekri, passed away from illness on October 9, 2014; the remaining relatives are all in the community living normal lives.
Victims among relatives
Abdugheni Hudaberdi (8469), Ablikim Gheni (8470), Abdukerim Gheni (8479), Hasiyet Rozi (8476), Zinnethan Kichik (8471), Patime Ablikim (8472), Aminem Ablikim (8473), Bumeryem Ablikim (8474), Zulpiye Mijit (8477), Hudaberdi Mijit (8478), Abdulla Abdukerim (8480), Turghun Hamudun (4966), Adil Hamudun (11504), Aygul Qari (15166)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF57C7a5WvE photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/8475_2.jpeg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_8475.png
Entry created: 2020-04-08 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 9049. Memet Ablet (麦麦提·阿卜来提)
Chinese ID: 652922198001160652 (Onsu)
Basic info
Age: 41 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: has problems Profession: manual work
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|2|3: Abdul'eziz Ablet, originally from Onsu County but now living in France. (brother)
Testimony 4: Abdul'eziz Ablet, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Memet Ablet was a self-employed businessman and had his own shop, the "Memet Ablet Universal Store" (麦麦提·阿卜来提综合商店). Owing to the shop's business being slow, he had also been working at the Aksu Huafu Textile LTD (阿克苏华孚色纺有限公司) since 2016, where he was employed as a gardener and was also responsible for cleaning the factory yard. He has an elementary-school education.
He has struggled with psychological problems, and was hospitalized twice in 2008. After a month of in-hospital treatment at the Xinjiang No. 4 Hospital (in Urumqi), he continued to take medications in order to stabilize his health. He has a second-degree “Psychiatric Disability Certificate” from the Onsu County Disabled Persons’ Federation (温宿县残疾人联合会). Long-term medication use has also caused him to gain a lot of weight and to sleep a lot.
From 2015 on, his psychological problems got better. He has a daughter, and would always be looking to provide a better education for her.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
He had been previously arrested and held at the Onsu County Detention Center for 30 days in 2015, following a get-together with around 15 people from the local mosque. No formal documentation of his arrest was provided at that time.
In January 2018, he was taken by the authorities and released three days later. However, he was taken again by the police a month later, with his mother having no news of him since. In early 2020, the testifier learned from someone in inner China that Memet had been given a long prison sentence around 2019.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
The testifier believes that it may be because Memet had previously served as a (government-sanctioned) assistant to an imam, on a part-time basis at his local mosque starting in 2010, for a few years.
It is also likely that he was detained again because of his previous detention history.
Victim's status
In prison.
He is officially recognized as suffering from a psychiatric disability, with his brother mentioning that he does not like to stay indoors for long or remaining in the same place for more than an hour (which is why he worries about Memet's mental health in prison).
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The testifier got the information from "reliable sources", including someone in inner China. He has also spoken to his mother following Memet's arrest, to learn that he had not returned home since being taken.
Additional information
Business listing for his shop: https://archive.vn/OvWSh
Amnesty International case info: https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR011
Memet's sister was also detained, being sent to camp and later transferred to a factory.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Tayor22968302/status/1259689564878274561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/Tayor22968302/status/1320637665310629889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_1.jpg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_2.jpg photo (3): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_3.jpg photo (4): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_5.jpg photo (5): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_6.jpg photo (6): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_7.jpg photo (7): https://shahit.biz/supp/9049_8.jpg
Entry created: 2020-05-06 Last updated: 2021-09-18 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 9594. Miradil Ablet (米尔阿迪力·阿布来提)
Chinese ID: 650102198101214530 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 40 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): relative(s)|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|5: Mir'ehmet Ablet, a Dutch citizen of Uyghur descent. (brother)
Testimony 3: Mir'ehmet Ablet, as reported by Yahoo News. (brother)
Testimony 4: Mirkamil Ablet, originally from Kashgar but now a resident of Canada. (brother)
Testimony 6: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands' ministry responsible for foreign relations, foreign policy, international development, and international trade, among other matters.
About the victim
Miradil Ablet is an IT graduate from Xinjiang University in Urumqi, and a father of two.
Address: Apt. 221, Entrance No. 2, Building 14, Yard No. 1, Saghlamliq Road, Kashgar City, Xinjiang (新疆喀什市萨格拉木路1号院14号楼2单元221号).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Miradil was taken away by Chinese police in Kashgar in August 2017. At some point later, he was put on trial and sentenced, allegedly pleading guilty.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Mir'ehmet, his older brother left China to study in Canada, where he then settled [dates unknown], refusing requests by the Chinese government to return to China. The victim's family believes that this is the reason for Miradil's arrest and subsequent detention. Victim's status
Sentenced.
Approximately two years ago [as of July 2020], the parents of the victim reportedly communicated with Miradil through unknown means while he was "in prison". The victim was reportedly unwell, both physically and psychologically.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The victim's brothers learned about his detention from friends.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs obtained the news that Miradil was sentenced directly from the Chinese embassy.
Additional information
Mir'ehmet says that he believes his father passed away in January 2020.
Mir'ehmet mentions hearing from his "contact" that his mother has been begging that he stop his activism (despite them not having any direct contact).
Yahoo! News coverage: https://au.news.yahoo.com/mans-desperate-search-for-brother-disappeared-chinese-uyghur-camps-1041 13702.html
Official communication(s)
Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
------
Dear Mirehmet Ablet,
We share your concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and your feeling of helplessness over the lack of news about your brother.
Recently we have made several inquiries about your brother's situation. I have been informed by the Chinese Embassy that your brother has been convicted of criminal offenses, pleaded guilty, and that his trial was fair. Unfortunately, we have not received more details from the embassy.
The Netherlands continues to stand up for the human rights of Uyghurs in China both bilaterally and in an EU and UN context. We also draw attention to the impact this has on the Uyghur diaspora. I would therefore like to hear from you if you would like us to make another attempt to find out more information about your brother's case.
I wish you and your family the best of luck.
Yours sincerely,
[redacted] Deputy Director, Asia and Oceania
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rijnstraat 8 | 2515 XP | Den Haag Postbus 20061 | 2500 EB | Den Haag
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/mirehmet/status/1273334916068118528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/mirehmet/status/1284126365168672771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/Mirkamill/status/1295848975099191299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/mirehmet/status/1341487922269343744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/9594_2.jpg WGEID mandate: https://shahit.biz/supp/9594_5.jpg official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_9594.png
Entry created: 2020-07-18 Last updated: 2021-05-12 Latest status update: 2021-05-12 10155. Ablajan Bekri (阿布拉江·巴克尔)
Chinese ID: 653222196802180112 (Karakash)
Basic info
Age: 53 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (25 years) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"extremism" Health status: --- Profession: religion
Testifying party
Testimony 1: The "Qaraqash List", a local government document from Qaraqash County, leaked abroad in the middle of 2019. (from same town/region)
Testimony 2: Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as reported by Xinjiang Daily.
Testimony 3: CGTN, an international English-language news channel based in Beijing and owned by China Central Television.
About the victim
Ablajan Bekri was the hatip (Friday imam) of the Qaraqash Grand Mosque.
He had also served as a member of the Autonomous Region Eleventh Political Consultative Conference, the deputy chairman of the Qaraqash County Political Consultative Conference, the vice president of the Hotan Prefecture Islamic Committee, and the president of the Qaraqash County Islamic Committee.
Victim's location
Urumqi Prison (乌鲁木齐监狱).
When victim was detained
Unclear when detained and when sentenced.
However, a notice from the CPPCC, stating that Ablajan Bekri's conference membership was being annulled because he had "violated the law", was published on September 15, 2017.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
In the CGTN propaganda film, Ablajan Bekri says that he worked together with official Shirzat Bawudun, with Shirzat helping suppress negative comments about Ablajan and Ablajan allegedly introducing Shirzat to Tayir Abbas, claimed to be a "key member of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement in Egypt". On camera, Ablajan claims to have realized that he was "being used" by Shirzat as a front to control the local clergy.
Memet Memet'imin (the new imam of the Qaraqash Grand Mosque) also appears in the film and says that Ablajan Bekri "used the religious platform to promote extremism".
Victim's status
Serving a prison sentence (25 years).
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The majority of the data comes directly from a local government document.
The notice of his CPPCC membership being annulled comes directly from the CPPCC.
CGTN put the victim on camera [for what was likely a coerced confession].
Additional information
The original Qaraqash list document (with minor redactions): shahit.biz/supp/list_008.pdf
Announcement of his membership being annulled: https://archive.vn/zjFUu (Mandarin) https://archive.vn/JBOdN (Uyghur)
State-media article mentioning that he's been sentenced: https://archive.is/pdVrf
His Baidu Baike page: https://archive.is/OrOrI
The Qaraqash list mentions him a total of 17 times in relation to other victims, many of whom were arrested for being followers of Ablajan.
State-media report(s)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlzunwilGM
Almira Muhter: "It was terrifying."
Kadir Memet: "Not an isolated attack."
Reporter: "Not a lone-wolf?"
Kadir Memet: "No."
Adil (Police Officer): "They're in the shadows."
Reporter: "The recruits?"
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "Young people." Abdul Tursuntohti: "I'm proud of my deeds."
Kadir Memet: "If we didn't, Urumqi would be..."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I'm a 'two-faced' man."
Murat Sheripjan: "Get rid of the 'two-faced'."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "Get them on the right track."
Dilnur Eziz: "I've grown up."
Kadir Memet: "The cost is high."
[Identity unclear]: "A battle without smoke."
=== The War in the Shadows.
A CGTN Production 2021. ===
=== WARNING
The following documentary contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Some footage is released to the public for the first time. Viewer discretion is advised. The terrorist attacks in the documentary are only a small part of the archives.
All interviewees have given permission to use their images. At the request of certain counter-terrorism organizations, the identity of some interviewees has been obscured for security reasons. ===
=== Part One The Networks ===
=== Urumqi ===
Yang Shaoheng (Victim's Family Member): "You see this little courtyard. My father-in-law was always working here... You can see all the tomatoes and peppers he planted."
Reporter: "He really loved life."
Yang Shaoheng: "Yes, he really loved life."
Reporter: "Did he spend a lot of time here every day?" Yang Shaoheng: "Yes, every day, the whole morning, working in the garden."
Yang Shaoheng: "Whenever I enter the courtyard, I think of him. He left on the morning of May 22nd and never came back..."
[On-screen]: "May 22, 2014, Urumqi. 39 civilians killed, 94 injured."
Yang Shaoheng: "His face was unrecognizable."
Yang Shaoheng: "We'd been together for so long, but I couldn't recognize him."
Narrator: "Police officer 'Adil' says whenever he thinks of the victims, it's hard to take."
[On-screen]: "North Park Street, Urumqi"
Narrator: "This incident keeps torturing him."
Adil (Police Officer): "There were fire engines, ambulances and SWAT teams... Many people were lying on the ground. Smoke was rising from two SUVs."
Yang Shaoheng: "There was a morning market on the street, with fresh produce at reasonable prices."
Adil: "I questioned the main suspect. He said they had surveyed the area many times. They thought more deaths guaranteed entering Paradise."
Kadir Memet (Fmr. Deputy Chief, Urumqi Public Security Bureau): "Two off-road vehicles had exploded. Four of the bodies we confirmed to be the suspects."
Kadir Memet: "Look at the aftermath. 39 people died, and over 90 were wounded. It was still very dangerous. There might be a second explosion. Once I arrived, I sensed it must be a terrorist attack."
Reporter: "So it wasn't a lone wolf attack?"
Kadir Memet: "No. Because there were many explosives, one or two persons couldn't have built them. After the Urumqi attack, they had planned something similar in Hotan's Pishan county."
Reporter: "Where did they get the materials?"
Kadir Memet: "They bought potassium permanganate and other chemicals on the internet and produced them. They learned on the internet.”
Reporter: "Was there other evidence?"
Kadir Memet: "Yes, his cellphone. He used a chat app to contact terrorist groups outside China and to download videos. The flags were also taken from Hotan. They hung the flags on top of the vehicles beforehand."
Reporter: "What did this mean?"
Kadir Memet: "It's a statement of their 'jihad'. It was a suicide mission." ---
Reporter: "What stands out in your memory?"
Yang Shaoheng: "They are also human beings, those terrorists. Well... I don't know what they were thinking, either. Didn't they have parents and children at home? How could they be so brutal?"
---
Adil (Police Officer): "We soon caught the main suspect, about six or seven hours later."
Kadir Memet: "After the interrogation, we had a clear picture of the case. The terrorist group headed by Abliz orchestrated the incident."
Adil: "He was so resistant. We explained the state's policies and laws, he just wouldn't listen. I tried to explain it from a religious perspective. He just sat there and looked at me. 'If there had been someone who explained to me about Islam and the Quran like you, I wouldn't have taken part in the terrorist attack'."
Kadir Memet: "They are also victims. Why? Their minds were poisoned by the 'Three Evil Forces'. None of the masterminds committed suicide. They just took control of their minds and instructed them to (undertake suicide attacks) like a death squad. The significance was that it prevented similar incidents from happening."
Narrator: "Kadir Memet is a highly respected veteran of the Public Security Bureau of Urumqi. He has solved numerous cases. He figured out the attacks were part of a region-wide network."
Kadir Memet: "We've come to see the pattern that so many cases of violent terrorism were not isolated. They had unified command and planning. And they had very specific targets."
[On-screen]: "June 21, 2014, Yecheng County. 13 terrorists killed, 3 policemen injured."
Narrator: "Years of investigation have shown Kadir Memet the big picture."
[On-screen]: "February 25, 1997, Urumqi. 9 civilians killed, 68 injured."
Narrator: "He says the terrorists are working in the shadows, forming a vast network."
[On-screen]: "April 30, 2014. 3 killed, 79 injured."
Narrator: "His job is to bring them to light. Extremism ruins lives. Young people are radicalized in various ways."
Almira Muhter: "At first it didn't leave much of an impression on me. There're instructions like 'Only satisfying your mother's wishes ensures a place in Paradise'... Then it gradually moved to 'jihad', martyring oneself to enter Paradise. It was terrifying."
Muhter Kadir (Father of Almira): "She was a very hardworking student, first in her school."
Almira Muhter: "I came to believe the teachings, such as women should stay at home. Then I figured that continued education in college would be the wrong direction, and that I should give up. So I refused to go to college."
Muhter Kadir: "I was so angry. The extremist ideas ruined her."
Almira Muhter: "Back then I longed to live in another country and thought about moving there for the 'jihad'."
Narrator: "In 2012, Almira Muhter was convicted of inciting 'jihad' and extremism online, and other crimes. She was sentenced to 10 years."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "She thought she was correct. She was eager to sacrifice her youth to the so-called 'jihad'."
Almira Muhter: "I thought I was doing the right thing and it didn't count as breaking the law. I'd considered the consequences, but I thought my goal was to wage 'jihad' and I must carry it to the very end. After I entered prison, I was still influenced by such ideas. So I committed more crimes."
Narrator: "In 2018, Almira was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the prison. Her sentence was extended to 2035. Radicalized individuals can be a hard case. Abdul Tursuntohti is serving 9 years for inciting terrorism and other crimes."
Reporter: "Do you still believe you've done nothing wrong or illegal?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "I committed no crime, I'm proud of what I did."
Reporter: "You're willing to kill for Allah?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "If Allah orders, I will even kill my son, to say nothing of infidels."
Reporter: "What is your biggest wish?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "To do Allah's bidding, of course, and enter Paradise to fulfill myself."
Reporter: "What's Paradise like?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "Paradise is a beautiful garden, broader than Heaven and Earth. There are 72 houris for the faithful. There're divine delicacies mortals have never seen, never really appreciated and never heard of. There're double the amount of rewards ever imagined by humans. And it's eternal."
Reporter: "If Paradise is so great, why not go there now?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "The days in prison are the highest test Allah has given me. And it's the best life Allah has given me."
Reporter: "You don't think you're being deceived?"
Abdul Tursuntohti: "Rather than regret, I'd leap into fire and burn to death."
Reporter: "Will you change your mind some day?" Abdul Tursuntohti: "When I wake up each morning, I pray 100 times to Allah that I will never change."
=== Urumqi ===
Narrator: "Dilnur Guanfengbao is a police officer. She is also a prison psychological consultant. She says she studies why some young people become easy targets for extremists, and how to bring them back to normal."
Dilnur Guanfengbao (Psychologist): "We find some of the convicts are very obstinate. They fit the anti-social personality profile. It's hard for them to change... Their minds are like alkaline soil, hardened alkaline soil. You can't grow anything there. This group of people craves help but pushes you away at the same time. Their religious fervor pursuit is a psychological distortion. So during the counseling, we keep them company to find the reasons. I will keep bringing him back to reality. He might insist what he's been pursuing was what he needed. We aim to offer them a link. So the counselors offer warmth, which will be internalized. They would learn for the first time that 'I've actually never known myself'."
Reporter: "What are we doing to prevent recidivism?"
Dilnur Guanfengbao: "After he returns to society, his family has to re-understand him and accept him as someone new. Society might have to provide him all kinds of opportunities, in terms of employment, education, and skill training. Our efforts in prison are far from enough for them."
---
Almira Muhter: "Now I truly realize that I had really been an ignorant fool."
Bai Fengjie (Prison Instructor): "I keep having heart-to-heart talks with her. I try to approach it in terms of feelings and understanding of the law."
Almira Muhter: "I used to think that law was a word far removed from our life."
Bai Fengjie: "I hope even more they will truly transform on the inside."
Almira Muhter: "The Paradise I used to yearn for is a fiction. It's a cancer."
Bai Fengjie: "I think it's necessary to crack down on the dissemination of such misleading information."
Almira Muhter: "I think I failed my mother the most. She had such great expectations of me. I just want to be a good daughter."
Bai Fengjie: "I'm a police officer. But I'm more like a teacher. I want to help these straying children, these students, back on the right track. We shouldn't be afraid that one or two heart-to-heart talks have no effects. We mustn't give up on them. We have to believe they will eventually change."
---
Bai Fengjie: "How's your health recently?"
Almira Muhter: "Really good." Bai Fengjie: "Did you make the video call?"
Almira Muhter: "Dad was busy. Mom and my brother came. They are both well.
Bai Fengjie: “Keep your confidence up."
Almira Muhter: "Thank you, instructor."
---
Kadir Memet: "Urumqi is the political, economic and cultural center of the autonomous region. The enemy aims their destruction at Urumqi."
Narrator: "Some of the cases have never been made public before."
Kadir Memet: "This is the foiled December 11 terror plot in 2014. They had planned explosions and knife attacks around Urumqi. If it hadn't been stopped, Urumqi could've been... This is a violent terrorist group. It was controlled by a family. Two daughters joined. The father was the leader. Both sons-in-law were part of it. They recruited a dozen more people. They were going to convert a gas cylinder into a bomb. They were going to drive the car into a shopping center."
Reporter: "What is the priority of the crackdown?"
Kadir Memet: "Foiling their plans would be..."
Adil (Police Officer): "This is the most difficult."
Reporter: "We've paid such a high price."
Adil: "The biggest challenge is that they're hidden in the dark. They can see our operations. But we can't see their plans. If we go soft, there might be more deaths and suffering."
[On-screen]: "April 23, 2013, Seriqbuya. 15 police officers & community staff killed."
Adil: "So this is a lesson learned from blood."
[On-screen]: "2020 Counter-terrorism Drills. Urumqi Public Security Bureau"
[Footage of counter-terrorism drills plays.]
Kadir Memet: "Urumqi is such a beautiful place. Solidarity and prosperity, that's an Urumqi I'd like to see."
=== Part Two The Enemies Within ===
=== Hotan ===
Narrator: "Hotan was one of the hardest hit by terrorism in Xinjiang. Murat Sheripjan showed us the weaponry seized. He said many young people had been brainwashed. Insiders, dubbed the 'two-faced persons', were able to exploit the system."
Murat Sheripjan (Deputy Director, Hotan Public Security Department): "The infiltration of extremism had taken root. Also, some 'two-faced people' among us were secretly collaborating with them and facilitating their activities. This presentation lists a number of 'two-faced people' once occupying our key positions. A case in point is Shirzat Bawudun. He had been long hidden buried deep in our system as a 'two-faced person'. He created many obstacles in our work. He used to be one of us, and he protected many separatist forces. He finally became an agent for ethnic separatists and terrorists from outside China. He helped them expand their influence."
Shirzat Bawudun (Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Political & Legal Committee, Xinjiang): "All this now feels like a nightmare. It's like a bottomless pit, in which I kept sinking."
=== Shirzat Bawudun Fmr. Director, Public Security Bureau, Moyu County Fmr. Director, United Front Work Department, Urumqi Fmr. Director General, Department of Justice, Xinjiang Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Political & Legal Committee, Xinjiang ===
Narrator: "Shirzat Bawudun became a teacher at the Xinjiang Police College in Urumqi after graduating in 1988. But he applied to return to his hometown in Hotan. Even then he had certain ambitions."
Shirzat Bawudun: "Veteran separatists vigorously promoted their ethnic separatism and religious extremism, which began to spread and take hold. So I decided to go back and see what I could use to do something big."
Narrator: "During a crackdown on terrorists, Shirzat Bawudun was wounded and commended as a 'Counter-terrorism Hero'. For this, in 2001 he became the head of the Moyu County Public Security."
Shirzat Bawudun: "Then I got the position and the power. I had long considered the so-called dream of a country of our own. So I began to get in touch with prominent figures in religious extremism."
Narrator: "Shirzat Bawudun chose Ablajan Bakri."
[On-screen diagram: A photograph of Shirzat Bawudun is shown connected to a photograph of Ablajan Bakri. The word "Egypt" is displayed below the diagram.]
=== Ablajan Bakri Fmr. Imam, Moyu Mosque Fmr. President, Islamic Association, Moyu County Fmr. CPPCC Member, Xinjiang Fmr. Member, China Islamic Association === Shirzat Bawudun: "His words and theories all contained religious extremism. I knew many things about it."
Ablajan Bakri: [sic] "I was promoted to the Iman of the Grand Mosque in 2005. At the same time, people started to gossip behind my back. As the Moyu county chief, Shirzat Bawudun used all means to suppress those people to remove the negative comments about me."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I regarded him as an instrument to draw believers to our cause."
Memet Memetimin (Imam, Moyu Mosque): "Ablajan Bakri was the mosque's imam. He used the religious platform to promote extremism. To achieve his own ends, he was distorting the teachings of Islam. I remember when I was small, religious extremism in Moyu was very deep. They said dancing was not allowed; weeping was not allowed at funerals. They even forbade living in government-built housing and using IDs and RMB. Some of the preachers had their own motives. They had parents send their kids to underground madrasas to be indoctrinated. Many young people strayed and became criminals."
Murat Sheripjan: "That kind of fallacy confuses them and drives them to engage in terrorist activities."
Ablajan Bakri: "I believe Shirzat Bawudun had a role in this change."
[On-screen diagram: The photos of Shirzat Bawudun and Ablajan Bakri are connected to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas. The word "Egypt" is displayed below the diagram.]
Narrator: "In 2003, Ablajan Bakri introduced Shirzat Bawudun to Tayir Abbas, a key member of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, or ETIM."
=== Tayir Abbas East Turkistan Islamic Movement (Islamic Party of Turkistan) ===
Narrator: "It's been listed as a terrorist organization by the UN since 2002."
=== United Nations Security Council Since 2002, the ETIM has been listed as a terrorist organization by the UN. In 2004, the ETIM changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkistan, or TIP. ===
Narrator: "In 2004, the ETIM changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkistan, or TIP."
Shirzat Bawudun: "He said he mainly worked in tourism over there. And he was in touch with an ETIM (TIP) Egypt branch. I was thinking of Uygurs having a country of our own. I was muddle-headed and stupid."
Narrator: "Connecting with the ETIM (TIP), Shirzat Bawudun took action."
Shirzat Bawudun: "To accomplish anything, you need an economic base."
[On-screen diagram: The photo of Shirzat Bawudun is connected to Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri.]
Shirzat Bawudun: "So I thought about the Ablimit family and recruited the two brothers."
=== Ablimit Ababakri ETIM (TIP) Member ===
=== Abduehet Ababakri ETIM (TIP) Member ===
Abduehet Ababakri: "Shirzat Bawudun told my elder brother he was born in Moyu county. He urged us to invest here. He asked us whether we had any projects needing his support and help."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Now I realized that while he seemed to push us to do business in Moyu, he actually had some other motive, which we weren't aware of."
Narrator: "With the help of Shirzat Bawudun, the two brothers soon made money and their business began to thrive."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Of the four companies with which he had financial connections, these three -- real estate, road transport and gas stations, in each firm, Shirzat had a half-million shares. All did good business and paid dividends every year. He could draw funds as needed. That's how it was for a long time."
Narrator: "In 2011, Shirzat Bawudun was appointed Director of the United Front Work Department of Urumqi. Police say he secretly supported the spread of extremism. The same year, he encouraged the brothers to go to Egypt and meet with Tayir Abbas."
[On-screen diagram: A photo of Shirzat Bawudun is linked to photos of Ablajan Bakri, Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri. The latter three photos are linked to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas, next to which the word "Egypt" is displayed.]
Ablimit Ababakri: "In September 2012, my brother told me his wife had a baby there and asked me to come over. Nearly 30 people were there, including Tayir Abbas. One of them said, 'Let us work for Xinjiang's independence, for founding the Islamic Caliphate.' While talking with Abduehet, I found he was on good terms with some members of the group. They were key members of the ETIM (TIP). He wanted to join their organization. I said Tayir Abbas knew Shirzat Bawudun, who knew about the organization. After all, he was a police officer, we should ask Shirzat Bawudun when we got back."
Shirzat Bawudun: [sic] "From what they said, I thought they had found the right people or that organization."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Shirzat said, 'That's right. You should join the organization.'"
Shirzat Bawudun: "They had given more than 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to the ETIM (TIP) people."
Ablimit Ababakri: "Then Shirzat asked how much his half-million shares in the transport firm were worth. I said the shares plus dividends were worth some 1.2 million yuan. He said, 'You give all 1.2 million to Tayir Abbas and the ETIM (TIP) people as operation funding.'"
Shirzat Bawudun: "The two brothers told me they bought a 200-square-meter apartment for me in Cairo. I said I couldn't go and had to wait until I retired, and Tayir Abbas and his people could use it for the time being."
Ablimit Ababakri: "After saying this, he stressed three times, 'What I told you must not be told to a second person and must be kept secret."
Narrator: "In 2013, the ETIM (TIP) had a meeting and brought together some Uygur students. They were planning to send some to join the IS and work for 'jihad'. They were supposed to train for war. When they were ready to return, they could make greater contributions for the next step."
Abduehet Ababakri: "They had to do the ETIM (TIP) 'jihad' training. The aim was to turn these trainees into future successors of the ETIM (TIP)."
[On-screen diagram: A photo of Shirzat Bawudun is linked to photos of Ablajan Bakri, Ablimit Ababakri and Abduehet Ababakri. The latter three photos are linked to a silhouette representing Tayir Abbas, next to which the word "Egypt" is displayed.]
Narrator: "Police investigation shows that over 60 Uygur teenagers aged 14-18, have been sent overseas by the two brothers - Ablimit and Abduehet."
[On-screen: "Some joined ISIL"]
Narrator: "Some of them have joined the so-called Islamic State group, some have come back to Xinjiang."
[On-screen: "Some came back to Xinjiang"]
Ablimit Ababakri: "They said once Xinjiang was liberated, Shirzat would become the national leader of East Turkistan."
Shirzat Bawudun: "They appointed me the leader of ETIM (TIP) in Xinjiang and after nationhood, I'd be the leader. I was so excited and happy. I was muddle-headed."
Ablimit Ababakri: [sic] "He told us, 'When you work outside China, in China you must keep a low profile and work secretly. Don't draw the attention of public security and learn to be patient. You should wait for the chance.'"
Narrator: "Police say in 2015, during an official visit overseas, Shirzat Bawudun secretly met with key members of the ETIM (TIP) twice. He revealed anti-terrorism information in Xinjiang. And Shirzat Bawudun had his own strategy."
Shirzat Bawudun: "So I only rooted out those units already exposed and left alone those only suspected and being groomed. On the one hand, once they were ready, I'd have targets to strike. On the other hand, I could protect some of them. So the result was repeated strikes which just missed, and the ashes could burn again. After the strike, it's like chive roots. Prune the stalks and leaves, and fresh sprouts grow."
Murat Sheripjan: "Such arrangements gave terrorists an advantage. While we struggled to discover, the terrorists already knew. There was one of their own in our ranks. That's why they could act so boldly."
Ablajan Bakri: "Now I realize that Shirzat Bawudun had been using me all along. He was trying to use me as a front in Moyu to control the local clergy."
Ablimit Ababakri: "We were in a trap. We didn't clearly see Shirzat's true intentions. I should have seen through him earlier, but I didn't, and I didn't have the guts to do it."
Shirzat Bawudun: "I believe I kept it rather clandestine and well concealed. It's not easy to see through these. But one must wake from a dream."
=== Shirzat Bawudun Two-year Suspended Death Sentence Deprived of Political Rights for Life ===
Murat Sheripjan: "We have to first remove the 'two-faced persons' in our ranks. Otherwise, we can never remove the soil for terrorism."
Narrator: "Murat Sheripjan says even the term 'two-faced' doesn't properly describe such persons. They are the enemy, the enemy in the shadows."
=== Part Three The Textbooks ===
=== Urumqi ===
Narrator: "In 2016, there were reports of errors in the 2003 and 2009 editions of the Uygur-language textbooks for primary and middle schools. An investigation followed. Shehide Yusup, who worked on these textbooks, showed us the problems."
Shehide Yusup (Art Editor, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "These are textbooks published by our company. They contain many errors. I worked on the 2003 editions of the primary school textbooks, mainly in cover design and illustration coloring. Take this graphic for example. The national emblem is that of East Turkistan. It shouldn't appear in textbooks at all. This is the legend of seven heroic Uygur girls. It's all fabricated. Han Chinese soldiers trapped them at a cliff and they jumped to their death to defend their homeland. It's meant to incite ethnic hatred and it will misinform the students."
Shehide Yusup: "That's unimaginable. The mere thought of this would scare me."
=== Sattar Sawut Fmr. Deputy Secretary, Education & Work Committee, Xinjiang Fmr. Director General, Education Department, Xinjiang Fmr. Leader, Basic Education Curriculum Reform Group, Xinjiang === Narrator: "An investigation shows that starting in 2002, the then Director General of the Xinjiang Education Department, Sattar Sawut, set up a special group, as a front for criminal activities."
[On-screen diagram: A photograph of Sattar Sawut is shown connected to photographs of Alimjan Memtimin, Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir. The latter two are connected to photos of Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman.]
Narrator: "It included the Deputy Director General of the Education Department, the two consecutive presidents of the Xinjiang Education Publishing House, as well as two editors with radical separatist thoughts."
Sattar Sawut: "The idea was to use the power given by the Party and the people to spread our ethnic chauvinist sentiments and extremist errors among more Uygurs. It was meant to control their minds, influence them in childhood in order to turn them into separatists. In 2003, new Uygur-language textbooks were scheduled to be compiled for primary and middle schools. I was head of the Xinjiang Basic Education Curriculum Reform Group. So I saw an opportunity. I assigned Alimjan Memtimin and Abdurazaq Sayim to the project."
[Photographs of Alimjan Memtimin, Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir are displayed on-screen.]
Sattar Sawut: "I had several meetings with them and instructed them about compiling the textbooks."
Abdurazaq Sayim (Fmr. President, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "He said the textbooks were an excellent opportunity and it should proceed as we meant it to. It could help groom our 'successors'. So I picked Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman, who were quite persuasive, to join the committee. I instructed them to include more content on 'ethnic oppression' in the textbooks, mainly 'woeful tales' about the past. I asked them to add more Turkic heroes, especially those revolting against the state for independence."
[Photographs of Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman are displayed on-screen.]
Alimjan Memtimin (Fmr. Deputy Director General, Xinjiang Education Department): "Such textbooks would be approved and issued to all schools and allow many teachers to elaborate and incite ethnic hatred and such thoughts."
Narrator: "When Tahir Nasir succeeded Abdurazaq Sayim as president of the publishing house, he continued the editorial policy."
[Photographs of Abdurazaq Sayim and Tahir Nasir are displayed on-screen.]
Tahir Nasir (Fmr. President, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "When Sattar and Alimjan approached me and proposed that the new textbooks should push religious extremism, my mind was excited and clear about the meaning."
Shehide Yusup: "The art director is supposed to handle all the visuals. But in making the 2003 and 2009 textbooks, the editors intervened quite a lot."
Suriya Mirhadam (Editor, Xinjiang Education Publishing House): "For the 2003 and 2009 textbooks, Wahitjan Osman and Yalqun Rozi were responsible for text content. They simultaneously served as text editors, publishing editors, and initial and final proofreaders. Exercising such authority violates publishing protocol. Their superiors arranged it. They put it into practice."
Narrator: "Police say Sattar Sawut acted unilaterally to determine textbook content. Yalqun Rozi and Wahitjan Osman were instructed to fabricate separatist material for the 2003 and 2009 textbooks."
Alimjan Memtimin: "The primary school Uygur textbooks are full of 'Pan-Islamism' and 'Pan-Turkism'. The historical figures in them were meant to encourage the kids to seek their cultural origins and roots from outside China."
Suriya Mirhadam: "The 2003 and 2009 textbooks contain a lot of gore, violence, terrorism and separatism. By distorting historical facts, they wanted to instill separatism in students and incite ethnic hatred, with the end of splitting the motherland."
Shehide Yusup: "As guidance for students, such textbooks would obscure and undermine their sense of national identity; also the students would be exposed to 'Pan-Islamism' and 'Pan-Turkism'."
Suriya Mirhadam: "Textbooks should include the national flag, emblem and anthem. But these textbooks had none."
Narrator: "Investigation found a large quantity of material inciting extremism was included in the textbooks. From 2004, these textbooks were used region-wide for 13 years."
Shehide Yusup: "They were using such textbooks from primary school through junior high. So the insidious effects must be enduring. Some might be led astray and even led to commit crimes."
Sattar Sawut: "Many participants in the July 5 Incident and following terrorist attacks had used our textbooks. I think we had ruined these children."
=== Atikem Rozi Born: April 1991 Four-year sentence ===
Atikem Rozi: "When I was in junior high school, I learned some things from the textbooks. I also got the idea of doing something, too."
Kadir Memet: "The 'Three Evil Forces' have been trying to infiltrate our ideological sectors such as education, culture and religion. They've never given up. The sustained increase in terrorism in recent years is closely linked to such efforts."
Narrator: "Kadir Memet says the greatest danger often comes from the enemy within."
Alimjan Memtimin: "I am a double-dealing 'two-faced man'."
=== Sattar Sawut Two-year Suspended Death Sentence Deprived of Political Rights for Life ======Alimjan Memtimin Life Sentence ===
=== Abdurazaq Sayim Life Sentence ===
=== Tahir Nasir Life Sentence ===
Narrator: "The war in the shadows is being fought on many fronts. Kadir Memet says ideology is only one of the battlegrounds. Suriya Mirhadam was responsible for editing part of the new editions of the 2019 and 2020 textbooks."
Suriya Mirhadam: "This is Part One of the first grade's Uygur-language textbook. Here's the national emblem, and the national flag, and the statement 'We are Chinese'. Here is the flag-raising ceremony."
Narrator: "Suriya Mirhadam says the Kazak- and Kirgiz-language textbooks have the same content."
Reporter: "What are we telling the students with these pictures?"
Suriya Mirhadam: "They should know that they are citizens of the People's Republic of China, that Xinjiang is an inalienable part of the motherland. The textbooks are meant to keep students from separatism and ensure they have a sound mind so they can serve their family, their society and their nation."
=== Part Four The Black Hands ===
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "The internet is truly a battlefield without the smoke. I'm a special ops soldier. I identify and neutralize the threats, so youngsters won't be misled. I wipe the propaganda from the internet. I think our work is very meaningful. The violent ETIM (TIP) audios and videos have a domestic target, especially in Xinjiang, with specific purposes. The groups they try to recruit are mainly young people. Terrorist audios and videos are often well-concealed. They use special packaging, like encryption. And they use covert channels to transfer and share the content. Some are camouflaged, so to say. It looks like a regular video, but when it reaches a specific point, it will switch to terrorist content."
Narrator: "'Abduweli' has been working at the Xinjiang Internet Information Office since it was established in 2013. From his experience, the online materials are categorized as preaching, training, making weaponry, and specific groups like women and students."
Abduweli: "For a time after 2008, about ten each year on average. Since 2012, there has been an increase, with 200 to 300 each year." Mirzat (Police Officer): "The terrorist audios and videos actually serve as their initial approach. It resembles a pyramid scheme in a way. It tries to brainwash its audience repeatedly. If the brainwashing succeeds, people will join the violent terrorist activities. Such activities aim to cause maximal impact at minimal cost, that is, maximal destruction. That's their aim."
Narrator: "The fight against the criminal activities to spread radicalization materials has been going on for some 20 years. Police officer 'Mirzat' says nearly 90 percent of young people participating in terror attacks have watched such products. The main sources are from outside of China, mostly from the ETIM (TIP)."
Mirzat: "The terrorist content often wraps itself in religion and conceals its ulterior motive through such pretense. The observation and analysis in recent years indicate that the content has been produced by professional teams. They used to distribute the content at specific websites. But now they are using regular social media apps and point-to-point messaging apps. The storage devices are mostly hard disks. Other common devices are flash drives, storage cards, smartphones, tablets and so on."
Mirzat: "Here are the storage devices we seized in 2014 and 2015; they were all used to store terrorist audio and video."
Reporter: "Where did the content come from?"
Mirzat: "They were all downloaded from outside China."
Mirzat: "These are some CD-ROMs. All the content promotes violent terrorism."
Narrator: "Young people have always been the key recruitment targets."
Abduweli Heber: "They showed us ETIM (TIP) members doing physical training and making explosive devices. They asked us to join the ETIM (TIP). And they urged us to learn the skills so that we could use them some day. That is, after returning to Xinjiang, we could carry out 'jihad' and 'hejiras'."
Narrator: "Dolqun Yalqun went abroad for an advanced degree. While there, he became involved with a terrorist organization, the ETIM (TIP). In 2019, Dolqun was sentenced to 7 years for inciting terrorism and other crimes."
Dolqun Yalqun: "My thinking was gradually eaten away. I began to regard people with no religious faith as infidels. I now think the ideological damage is even greater. The philosophical influence can be gradual and subtle. Once I was taken in by such religious extremism, the pursuit of my life goals shifted to those of religious faith. I began to seek self-fulfillment in this regard. I felt all I'd done was worthless."
Reporter: "How can you help them change?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I can explain my current thinking to them, and this will inspire them to think for themselves. Through these lessons and examples, people can re-establish their hopes for a future life."
Narrator: "Girls were also recruited."
Dilnur Eziz: "They were all like me. At first it's just curiosity, and then only going to the Quran lectures. It was a steady trickle of indoctrination. At first I thought nothing of it, but just felt the inside atmosphere was off, everyone wearing black. Watching videos, then training, then going to do stuff in some countries, like this, like that." Mother of Dilnur: "I never regret she came back."
Reporter: "And if you hadn't come back?"
Dilnur Eziz: "I don't know where I would be."
Mother of Dilnur: "She was quite a handful, but very smart and sweet."
Dilnur Eziz: "At first I hated myself for going there. Then I came to learn enough to conclude that they had ulterior motives. Otherwise it wouldn't be free. At first they sweet-talked me, then they told me you must wear this and must do that. I think if I had stayed there for a long time, I could possibly become like those others."
Mother of Dilnur: "I hate them. They led my daughter astray."
Dilnur Eziz: "I feel deceived and used. I hate them so much."
Mother of Dilnur: "Whenever she could call, she said 'Mom, I miss you and want to go home soon.'"
Dilnur Eziz: "I regret it very much."
---
Reporter: "What's the greatest meaning in life?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "It is to walk the right path and realize one's value. I think this is also what the Quran says. People should do good works, deal with others harmoniously."
Reporter: "Do you dare face this matter (when made public)?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I can totally face this. I've made mistakes, and I don't want to see more people follow my example."
Reporter: "You're not afraid this will have a negative influence on you?"
Dolqun Yalqun: "I'm not afraid."
---
Abduweli Heber: "When I sleep at night, I always dream about them. I dream about dinner with my family and a happy life. I dream about playing with my younger brothers. I really miss hearing them call me 'Brother, Brother'. I also want to go back to study and have fun with my friends. Although I want all this very much, I've committed a crime and these chances can never come back."
Mother of Dilnur: "I hate those who took her away. If they hadn't done that, we would be having a normal life."
Dilnur Eziz: "I'm sorry for them."
Mother of Dilnur: "[She could be at home] helping me and talking with me." Dilnur Eziz: "Her beloved daughter has grown up. I know I was wrong."
Narrator: "Lawmakers also grapple with cause and effect."
Li Juan (Chairperson, Legal Affairs Committee, People's Congress of Xinjiang): "Among the Measures for Implementation of the Counter-Terrorism Law for Xinjiang, Section 7 is about educational management. Articles 38 and 39 provide for the establishment of vocational training centers and their training content and methods. They serve as a solid legal basis."
Li Juan: "These are common practices in many other countries. We've seen such measures adopted in Singapore and Britain. They all use such practices in educating people misled by extremist thinking, including vocational training centers. It's an international practice. It's about how to educate and rectify."
Li Juan: "The Autonomous Region also enacted the Internet Security Regulations. Online dissemination of violent content, especially incitement, are our crackdown priority."
Reporter: "What if some internet companies don't follow the rules?"
Li Juan: [sic] "Then we will hold them accountable. When we saw some young people carry out violent crimes and being charged, we felt they were actually victims. They were victims of those who incited them. They themselves didn't commit terrorism but they incited others. So it was based on the harm to society, China's Criminal Law stipulates that we hold you responsible for the making and dissemination of violent terrorist audio and video materials. Even if we block violent terrorist content, terrorism and extremism will not cease and they will try to find new ways. Terrorism is one of their methods. So I believe the challenge will remain for a long time."
Mirzat (Police Officer): "The challenges are more likely from outside China. The invisible hand of incitement from outside China has always been trying to mislead our people."
Abduweli (Xinjiang Internet Information Office): "Now we're focusing on identifying the source of terrorist content and taking targeted measures. When such content appears on internet platforms, we can find it as early as possible and then block it."
Mirzat: "We used to watch a number of spots, but now we're covering the whole picture. We have to cut off the paths by which terrorist content enters our country."
Abduweli: "We should work with other countries regarding the sources, including national security cooperation. Through such cooperation we can curb the terrorist organizations' living space. As long as terrorist organizations are out there, we can't relent in cracking down on such audio and video content."
Mirzat: "The ultimate goal is to uproot extremism and leave it no soil to grow back. That is the way to solve the problem effectively."
Kadir Memet: "Four years without violent terrorism. This is a preliminary victory of our previous work. It's hard won."
Adil (Police Officer): "I have two kids. But in a year, I have to be away for some 300 days. Why? Because the duty on our shoulders is so heavy. I hope more police officers' kids can have more time with their fathers." Narrator: "'Adil's' greatest hope is to walk out of the War in the Shadows... in a safe and secure Xinjiang."
[Credits begin. A propaganda song about Xinjiang plays to clips from various state media documentaries.]
=== Special thanks to: The China Society for Human Rights Studies The Xinjiang Development Research Center The Public Security Department of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ===
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlzunwilGM judgment enforcement record: https://shahit.biz/supp/10155_1.png photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/10155_3.jpg photos before and after detention: https://shahit.biz/supp/beforeafter_10155.png
Entry created: 2020-08-16 Last updated: 2021-05-17 Latest status update: 2021-04-01 10385. Nighmat Omer (尼依买提·吾买尔)
Chinese ID: 652401196504212815 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 56 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uzbek Likely current location: Ili Status: sentenced (2 years) When problems started: July 2019 - Sep. 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: has problems Profession: government
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2: Nurhoja Omerhoja, originally from Ghulja but now residing in Australia. (brother)
Testimony 3: Nurhoja Omerhoja, as reported by Amnesty International. (brother)
About the victim
Nighmat Omer (尼依买提·吾买尔), ethnic Uzbek from Ghulja. ID address is Bayandai Road 14, Bayandai town (巴彦岱镇), Ghulja municipality. Has worked for Ghulja's Water Management Bureau for 35 years, is a practising Muslim.
Testimony 3: he's married and is a father of two.
Victim's location
Testimony 3: Nighmat is assumed to be in Boz Prison, Ghulja. [This is the Ghulja City Pre-Trial Detention Center.]
When victim was detained
Testimony 1: Arrested at night on August 29, 2019 (Testimony 3: August 28)
Testimony 2: A few weeks ago (as of early September 2020), Nurhoja Omerhoja heard from an unspecified person that the victim has been sentenced to two years in prison; a local government official reportedly visited Nurhoja's sister-in-law [presumably in Ghulja] and verbally informed her that the victim had been sentenced to two years in prison, but did not provide a reason for the victim's detention or sentencing.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Nurhoja believes Nighmat was detained for practising Islamic rituals. Victim's status
Testimony 2: sentenced to 2 years.
Testimony 1: He suffers from a cardiovascular condition and has had heart surgery in 2012.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Relatives in Ghulja. When Nurhoja tried to reach them for more info, Nurhoja’s brothers refused to talk to him and asked not to call them again. His sister also was reluctant to talk about Nighmat and kept changing the topic.
Additional information
Amnesty International case info (Testimony 3): https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#case-SR037
Victims among relatives
Abdulla Ekrem (11505)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUfx0HwdElM Testimony 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CcSC4_EYJg Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUKFrzbBsI0 photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/10385_2.jpg Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/10385_3.jpg
Entry created: 2020-07-11 Last updated: 2021-09-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-01 10669. Muherrem Ablet (木艾热木·阿不来提)
Chinese ID: 653101198902191224 (Kashgar)
Basic info
Age: 32 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (5 years) When problems started: Jan. 2017 - Mar. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|"inciting ethnic hatred" Health status: --- Profession: housemaker
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*|4|7: Mamutjan Abdurehim, a resident of Australia who previously studied in Malaysia, but fled because of fear of deportation. (husband)
Testimony 2: Muyesser Abdul'ehed, a writer now living abroad. (acquaintance)
Testimony 3: Mamutjan Abdurehim, as reported by Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (husband)
Testimony 5: Mamutjan Abdurehim, as reported by CNN. (husband)
Testimony 6: CGTN, an international English-language news channel based in Beijing and owned by China Central Television.
About the victim
Muherrem Ablet, a housewife from Kashgar and a mother of two. She had previously spent 3 years in Malaysia, from early 2013 to late 2015, while her husband was doing his PhD studies there.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as she has been sentenced.]
When victim was detained
The victim's passport was stolen while in Malaysia, after which the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur issued her a one-off travel document and told her to travel back to Xinjiang to get a new passport. The victim then traveled back to Kashgar with her two children in December 2015 and received her new passport in April 2016. Because of the family's financial situation, the victim was unable to immediately rejoin her husband, who was still in Malaysia. Her passport was confiscated soon after Chen Quanguo came to power, sometime in early 2017.
At some point after returning to Xinjiang and before April 2017, the victim was questioned by local authorities in regard to her wearing a hijab. The testifier reports that the victim began to use facial expressions instead of words when they communicated [presumably over video chat].
In mid-April 2017, the parents of the testifier notified the testifier that the victim had been "taken away". Weekly family visits were originally promised, but were allegedly discontinued after the first week. (This was in addition to the testifier's father also having been detained for some time.)
In May-June 2017 (about two months after her detention), the victim contacted the testifier briefly, stating that she was "home for a day, but would be detained again" - having been allowed to come home for a day as someone had acted as a guarantor for her. She also messaged the testifier, saying "I will be gone, and so if I cannot message you again, just wait until I can contact you". (As of July 2020, this was the last message that the testifier received from the victim before the victim deleted her husband from her contacts and social media accounts.)
In a video posted by the son of the victim to a relative's WeChat account in early May 2019, the son reportedly says "my mom has graduated!" The testifier was reportedly able to hear the victim's voice in the background of the video, which indicated that she may have been released from detention.
An acquaintance of the testifier later confirmed to the testifier that the victim had indeed been released.
As of July 2020, the testifier suspects, based on coded words used in messages that he has seen (e.g., "not at home", "in the hospital"), that the victim was re-arrested in 2019. The testifier asked a close local contact "how old" the victim was, to which he received the response "5 years". Based on this coded message, he believes that his wife may have been sentenced to 5 years. In an August 2021 post, however, Mamutjan said that she had been sentenced to 9 years.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Unknown, but her husband suspects that it is because of her being religious and having gone abroad.
In a "counter-report" put out by CGTN within days of CNN's visit to the victim's house, the reporter stated that Muherrem had been arrested in 2019 for "inciting ethnic hatred".
Victim's status
Sentenced.
When CNN visited the victim's home in the spring of 2021, her daughter, Muhlise, told the CNN reporters that her mother was "at her other grandmother's house but that she [Muhlise] could not see her very often", saying that she had last seen her a month or two earlier.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Much of the information was obtained through coded messages on WeChat.
At one point, the victim was able to contact the testifier directly on a "day off" from camp. After she was released, there was a video on a relative's WeChat where their son exclaimed "my mom has graduated!", with the victim's voice in the background.
Additional information ABC (Australia) coverage: https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12456432
CNN coverage: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/18/china/xinjiang-uyghur-families-china-amnesty-report-exclusive-dst-in tl-hnk/index.html
Business Insider coverage: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/uighur-china-father-mamutjan-abdurehim-wife-detained-ordeal-202 0-7
State-media report(s)
Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-23/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDUzMDQy/index.html
Xinjiang Human Rights: Uygur family disturbed by CNN reporters asks son to come home
A Uygur family's cosy and simple life has been disturbed after three foreigners turned up on their doorstep, claiming to be classmates of their son, who currently works overseas. Family members are now calling on the man, who is currently living in Australia, to return home, as they haven't been in contact for five years. Huang Yue reports.
Muhlisa is a top student in her class in Kashgar No.1 Elementary School. The ten-year-old has received many awards for achieving high exam scores. Muhlisa's younger brother, who is six years old, will also start elementary school this September.
HUANG YUE (Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region): "The two children have been living a simple and happy life with their grandparents in an ancient city of Kashgar until several days ago, when some uninvited guests knocked at their door."
Muhlisa recalls that three "uncles" stopped by with photos of her father.
MUHLISA MAMUT (Resident of Kashgar): "They said they were my father's classmates. They told me my father is now in Australia and asked if I want to go there to reunite with him. I said I don't want to go abroad. I want to stay in Kashgar."
The three "uncles" turned out to be reporters from CNN. And later, a photo of the girl crying made headlines. CNN reported that the child is prohibited from leaving the country to reunite with her father.
Muhlisa's father, Mamutjan Abdurehim, got married in Xinjiang in 2009 after completing his master's degree. He then stayed in Kashgar for 45 days, before going to Malaysia with his new wife.
According to Muhlisa's grandfather, from 2009 to 2013, Mamutjan would come back home once a year. And in 2015, his wife brought the two children back to Kashgar. Mamutjan's wife, named Muharram Ablat, was arrested on suspicion of provoking ethnic hatred in 2019. And since then, the two children have been left to stay between their paternal and maternal grandparents.
MUHLISA MAMUT (Resident of Kashgar): "I can video call my mother. Yesterday, we had a video call. I told her I miss her. My brother also said so. My mother said she is doing great and told us not to worry about her. I want to show her the awards I got from school when she comes back. I believe she will be very happy." The last time the family had a phone conversation with Mamutjan was in April 2017.
ABLAT ABDUREYIM (Muhlisa's grandfather): "My wife picked up the phone. I was not at home. My wife asked why he hadn't called home for a long time. He said he went to Australia to apply for a doctoral degree, and would stay there until he received an offer. My wife said she was not feeling well and would go to the hospital the next day. And my son just said 'OK.'"
Ablat said with his monthly retirement pension of 1,900 yuan, he can support the family. He added that he and his wife have medical insurance to cover their hospital bills. And he doesn't need to pay for the children's tuition because they receive fifteen years of compulsory education for free in Xinjiang. So now, his only wish is to see his son back home.
ABLAT ABDUREYIM (Muhlisa's grandfather): "Come back home if you've finished your studies. Your mother and I are getting old. This is your home. And your two children are also here. We don't have any problem with our life, but you should raise your own children."
(Huang Yue, CGTN, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.)
Victims among relatives
Hikmet Mamut (14005), Muhlise Mamut (14006)
Supplementary materials
Al Aan TV report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojk8XY9Njg Testimony 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpF3tF1hokk Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Hendan_Hiyal/status/1294678957648949254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 7: https://twitter.com/MamutjanAB/status/1422134376943349763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw last WeChat post: https://shahit.biz/supp/10669_2.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/10669_5.jpeg
Entry created: 2020-07-20 Last updated: 2021-08-08 Latest status update: 2021-09-20 10993. Renagul Gheni (热纳古丽·艾尼)
Chinese ID: 652825198103200022 (Cherchen)
Basic info
Age: 40 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (17 years) When problems started: July 2018 - Sep. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion Health status: --- Profession: education
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8*|9: Qelbinur Gheni, an Uyghur residing abroad. (sister)
Testimony 10: Qelbinur Gheni, as reported by Voice of America. (sister)
About the victim
Renagul Gheni is an Uyghur woman who worked as a professional painter and then an art teacher at a Chinese government school for 15 years (Testimony 8: primary school in Cherchen County). Her Chinese ID number is 652825198103200022. She has a Bachelor's degree in Art and Literature, is the mother of two sons, has two younger sisters, and can speak Chinese well. Her two younger sisters are Kalbinur Gheni, who is a PhD student at the University of Malaya, and Mahire Gheni, who was a medical university student until she was taken to a concentration camp in August 2016. Mahire Gheni is the youngest of the victim's two younger sisters.
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained earlier: The testifier last heard from the victim in April 2018, but discovered later on that the victim was arrested and taken to a concentration camp in April 2019.
Testimony 6: taken in 2018 [contradiction].
Testimony 8-9: detained at home in August 2018. Later sentenced to 17 years (Testimony 9: testifier learned this news in around late November 2020).
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Testimony 8: praying at her father's funeral and reading a religious book. Testimony 9: 10 years of the sentence were for keeping a Quran on her desk, 7 years were for praying for her father when he passed away.
Victim's status
The victim was taken to a concentration camp in April 2019 but her sister, Kalbinur Gheni, does not know where she is or when she will be released.
Testimony 5: still not released.
Testimony 6: no news since her arrest.
Testimony 8: sentenced. (testifier also reports that she's in a Cherchen concentration camp in Aral village [presumably https://medium.com/@shawnwzhang/satellite-imagery-of-xinjiang-re-education-camp-65-%E6%96%B0%E 7%96%86%E5%86%8D%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E9%9B%86%E4%B8%AD%E8%90%A5%E5%8D%AB%E6 %98%9F%E5%9B%BE-65-8777020022af])
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Testimony 8: through a friend.
Testimony 9: not stated, but Qelbinur does say that the authorities informed her mother of Renagul's sentence, asking her to sign a consent form. There was allegedly no trial.
Additional information
Washington Post feature: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-uyghur-genocide/2021/03/19/8406dc90-7 e01-11eb-a976-c028a4215c78_story.html
Mention in metro.co.uk: https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/06/coronavirus-used-cover-muslim-concentration-camp-deaths-families-fear -12185333/
Mentioned by Voice of America (Testimony 10): https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/china-retaliates-against-uighur-activists-impri soning-relatives-us
Testimony 7: Chinese police have been threatening Qelbinur and telling her to stop talking about her sister's detention. At one point, they also coerced Qelbinur's mother into trying to convince Qelbinur into making videos praising the Chinese Communist Party.
Testifier on "Secure Freedom Radio" (Testimony 9): https://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2020/12/02/kalbinur-gheni-sister-sentenced-17-years-imprisonm ent-for-practicing-islam-in-xinjiang/
Testimony 10: Chinese police have added Qelbinur Gheni (the testifier) on WeChat and sent her threats; one of those threats reportedly said "If you keep speaking out against China and don't remove testimonies from Twitter, your mother and brother won't be safe, and you'll never see your sister live again. But if you behave well, we'll let you see your sister."
Victims among relatives
Mahire Gheni (10994), Zuleyhan Hashim (13756), Jappar Tomur (13757), Memetjan Yusup (13758)
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1203755312651677697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 2: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1206625384831291392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 3: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1209983080481591312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 4: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1214058448310210560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1300957228032196610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 6: https://twitter.com/Qelbinur10/status/1313948867570917381?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 7: https://shahit.biz/supp/10993_7.jpg Testimony 8: https://shahit.biz/supp/10993_8.png
Entry created: 2020-07-28 Last updated: 2021-05-09 Latest status update: 2021-08-05 11389. Halise Adil
Chinese ID: 650202199011080022 (Karamay)
Basic info
Age: 30 Gender: F Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Urumqi Status: sentenced (6 years) When problems started: Oct. 2017 - Dec. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to religion|--- Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1*: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (friend)
Testimony 2: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 3*: Anonymous, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (friend)
About the victim
Halise Adil was a student at Xinjiang University, but at one point dropped out and moved back to her home region of Karamay.
Victim's location
A prison in Urumqi.
When victim was detained
She was sent to camp in late 2017 (most likely in Karamay).
In June-July 2020, she was given a 6-year prison sentence, being transferred to a prison in Urumqi in around April 2021.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
For being religious and praying.
Victim's status
In prison.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status? Her friend learned of her situation "through mutual contacts".
Additional information
---
Supplementary materials photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/11389_1.jpeg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/11389_2.jpeg
Entry created: 2020-08-14 Last updated: 2021-05-28 Latest status update: 2021-05-28 12940. Abdughopur Abdureshit (阿卜杜吾普尔·阿卜杜热西提)
Chinese ID: 654101198810152210 (Ghulja City)
Basic info
Age: 32 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Ili Status: unclear (hard) When problems started: --- Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|--- Health status: --- Profession: tradesperson
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Hurshide Hesen, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (aunt)
Testimony 2: Abduletip Abdureshit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (brother)
Testimony 3: Juneydin, a resident of the United States. (cousin)
Testimony 4: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Abdughopur Abdureshid is an Uyghur man who was born in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1988 [day and month of birth unspecified]. He is a citizen of Afghanistan and a permanent resident of the PRC.
His mother is named Aynisahan Akbar and his father is named Abdureshid Hasan [surname inferred from relation to Hurshida Hasan].
According to unspecified relatives of Hurshida Hasan who reside in Turkey, Aynisahan Akbar passed away in Ghulja at some point in 2020 [circumstances unspecified].
Approximately two years after Abdughopur Abdureshid was born, his parents, Aynisahan Akbar and Abdureshid Hasan, fled the civil war in Afghanistan and moved [with Abdughopur Abdureshid] to Ghulja, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, XUAR.
According to Abduletip Abdureshid, his family [including Abdughopur Abdureshid] were required to renew their visas each year from 1990 to 1995 such that they could continue to live in China. After 1995, the family [including Abdughopur Abdureshid] was reportedly able to obtain permanent residency in China, but due to the danger of returning to Afghanistan, they were unable to return to Afghanistan to renew their passports and other paperwork.
According to Hurshida Hasan, who also fled Afghanistan with her [direct] family, moving to Ghulja in 1989, Abdughopur Abdureshid owned and operated a computer repair shop in Ghulja prior to his detention. Hurshida Hasan also specifies that Abdughopur Abdureshid's family (as well as her own family) were initially denied visas by the Chinese government after they fled Afghanistan, and were required to "register" [details unclear] every three months [presumably for some sort of temporary refugee permit]. Ultimately, the families went to a U.N. office in Beijing to resolve the situation by explaining to the U.N. that they were unable to return to Afghanistan [due to the civil war]. [They were presumably granted the year-long visas of which Abduletip Abdureshid speaks at some point after their visit to the U.N.]
Victim's location
[Presumably in Ili.]
When victim was detained
Hurshida Hasan says that contact with the victim's family became difficult after the July 2009 incident in Urumqi as a result of security measures implemented by Chinese authorities. When Hurshida Hasan called the victim's family in July 2009, she recalls that they were "really uneasy"; Hurshida Hasan and her family could sense that the victim's family were "a bit angry" [as a result of the phone call].
Hurshida Hasan called Abdureshid Hasan [father of Abdughopur Abdureshid] on 15 July 2009 and asked to talk, because she suspected that something was wrong. Abdureshid Hasan reportedly said to Hurshida Hasan: "Little sister, it would be best for you to please not call us anymore. We’re living very well."
Since the internment campaign began in the XUAR in 2017, Hurshida Hasan has not been able to speak with Abdureshid Hasan or any of the seven family members (in total) that remained in Ghulja [presumably including Abdughopur Abdureshid].
Hurshida Hasan learnt during a recent trip to visit relatives in Turkey that Abdughopur Abdureshid was arrested at some point in 2017 and sent to an internment camp. In Turkey, Hurshida Hasan met with a "young man" named Arapat Yadikar, who informed her that Abdughopur Abdureshid had been his classmate in Ghulja and that [Chinese authorities] had taken Abdughopur Abdureshid to an internment camp in 2017.
Abduletip Abdureshid heard about Abdughopur Abdureshid's disappearance from his aunt [presumably Hurshida Hasan]. He subsequently contacted the Chinese consulate in Istanbul and the Chinese embassy in Ankara via email in search of information pertaining to Abdoghopur Abdureshid's current status and whereabouts.
In July 2020, approximately two months after his emails to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul and the Chinese embassy in Ankara, Abduletip Abdureshid received a response from a representative of the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, informing him that Abdughopur Abdureshid was detained for "violating Chinese law" and was in "good health." The response in question contained no information about which Chinese law Abdughopur Abdureshid had allegedly violated, what his sentence was, or where he was being held. Abduletip Abdureshid then sent another letter to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul seeking clarification on Abdughopur Abdureshid's detention, but so far, there has been no response.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
--- Victim's status
Abdughopur Abdureshid was reportedly taken to an internment camp at some point in 2017. His current status and whereabouts are unknown.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Hurshida Hasan met with Arapat Yadikar on a trip to visit relatives in Turkey. Arapat Yadikar told Hurshida Hasan that he was a former classmate of Abdughopur Abdureshid and that Abdughopur Abdureshid had been taken to an internment camp in 2017.
Abduletip Abdureshid heard about Abdughopur Abdureshid's disappearance from his aunt [presumably Hurshida Hasan] at an unspecified point in time, and received confirmation from the Chinese consulate in Istanbul in July 2020 that Abdughopur Abdureshid had been detained for "violating Chinese law."
Additional information
The families of Abdughopur Abdureshid, and his aunt, Hurshida Hasan, had initially moved from Ghulja to Afghanistan in 1970 (before Abdoghopur Abdureshid was born); they all became citizens of Afghanistan soon after. They later decided to head back to their homeland in the XUAR when the war in Afghanistan began.
Hurshida Hasan and her direct family used their Afghan citizenship to flee the XUAR after the 1997 Ghulja incident, first settling in Central Asia and later relocating to the United States. The family of Abdughopur Abdureshid remained in Ghulja.
Abduletip Abdureshid has left messages with the Afghan Embassy in Turkey seeking assistance from the Afghan government in relation to Abdoghopur Abdureshid's case, but he has not yet received a response.
RFA coverage (Testimony 1-2): https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/afghan-10192020143338.html
Supplementary materials
Testimony 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNh93g60ARk Chinese ID: https://shahit.biz/supp/12940_1.jpg photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/12940_3.jpg
Entry created: 2020-11-11 Last updated: 2021-05-19 Latest status update: 2020-10-19 13409. Jin Dehuai (金德怀)
Chinese ID: 652323197411270052 (Kutubi)
Basic info
Age: 43 Gender: M Ethnicity: Hui Likely current location: Changji Status: sentenced (life) When problems started: before 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|related to religion, "illegal gathering", "disturbing public order" Health status: --- Profession: private business
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Official court document, as used in court proceedings in the People's Republic of China.
Testimony 2: Dui Hua, a San Francisco-based nonprofit humanitarian organization that seeks clemency and better treatment for at-risk detainees in China.
Testimony 3: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Jin Dehuai was a Hui businessman, who opened a series of driving schools and had a real-estate business. He was allegedly a major and prominent member of the Tablighi Jamaat, and would often organize conferences at various locations in Xinjiang, where he would preach scripture and encourage people to go out on missionary trips, many of which he allegedly facilitated.
Residential address: Villa No. 2-103, Luzhou Huating, Luzhou Road, Changji City, Xinjiang (新疆昌吉市绿洲路绿洲华庭2-103别墅).
Household registration: Hotan City, Xinjiang (新疆和田市).
Victim's location
Changji City Pre-Trial Detention Center (昌吉市看守所).
When victim was detained
He was first sentenced to 1 year and 6 months on November 5, 2009 for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order", being released on August 25, 2010. On May 19, 2015, he was sentenced on this charge again, this time to 7 years, and transferred to Wujiaqu Prison to serve his sentence.
During this period, the authorities would revisit his case and find "errors", prompting them to formally re-detain and re-arrest him [presumably while he was already in prison], with him being transferred to the Changji City Pre-Trial Detention Center as the court reviewed the new charge of "separatism" that was put forth by the procuratorate. Finding him guilty, the court voided the earlier verdict and sentenced him to life, with confiscation of all assets.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
His sentence in 2009 was for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order", which according to Dui Hua stemmed from his teaching the Quran to over a dozen Hui and Uyghur children, which the verdict allegedly said "inflicted harm on the children's health because they were confined in several small apartments that restricted their free movement".
The second sentence in 2015 was initially for "gathering a crowd" as well. However, his case was revisited and he was found guilty of "separatism". The actions that led to these charges were his activities as a prominent representative of the Tablighi Jamaat, with his extensive missionary work interpreted as gravely damaging society and trying to split the state.
Victim's status
Sentenced to life.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
The court verdict is an official document from the Xinjiang court system. Dui Hua also based its reporting on court verdicts that they were able to obtain.
Additional information
Dui Hua article: https://www.duihuahrjournal.org/2021/01/tablighi-jamaat-and-hui-muslims.html
Court verdict
Original: https://shahit.biz/supp/verori_40.pdf Translation: https://shahit.biz/supp/vertran_40.pdf Side-by-side: https://shahit.biz/verview.php?no=40
Victims among relatives
Bai Lu (15260)
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/13409_1.jpg original verdict transcribed: https://shahit.biz/supp/13409_2.pdf
Entry created: 2021-03-25 Last updated: 2021-05-19 Latest status update: 2018-09-15 14665. Shakir Turghun (夏克雅尔·吐尔洪)
Chinese ID: 650103199312045512 (Urumqi)
Basic info
Age: 25 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: --- Status: sentenced (9 years) When problems started: Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|past "transgressions", other Health status: --- Profession: security/police
Testifying party
Testimony 1|2|3: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
About the victim
Shakir Turghun was a public security People's policeman (公安民警).
First registration address: 900-333 Second East Alley, Liudaowan Road, Urumqi (六道湾路东二巷900号附333号).
Second registration address: Apt. 202, Entrance No. 4, Building No. 27, 19 Second East Alley, Liudaowan Road (六道湾路东二巷19号27号楼4单元202号).
Residential address: Apt. 1304, Building No. 6, Shanshui Lande Residential Area, 889 Longrui Street, Shuimogou District, Urumqi (水磨沟区龙瑞街889号山水兰德6-1304).
Victim's location
[Unclear, as sentenced.]
When victim was detained
Previously arrested for marijuana consumption on April 11, 2015 and held in a detention center for 15 days.
On March 5, 2018, he was sent to re-education camp for having a record of drug use. On July 30-31 of that year, he was released and transferred to community supervision.
After failing to find work (he did not pass political screening because of having been in a camp), he was arrested again in September 2018 and charged with "forging state documents". On February 14, 2019, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison. (Both of his parents were also sentenced to 9 years.) Likely (or given) reason for detention
He was sent to camp for having a history of drug use. Sentenced for "forging state documents".
Victim's status
Sentenced.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
These data come directly from police databases in Urumqi.
Additional information
---
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/14665_1.jpg
Entry created: 2021-05-22 Last updated: 2021-06-13 Latest status update: 2019-02-19 15887. Chen Haoyu (陈皓宇)
Chinese ID: 6502????????????O? (Karamay)
Basic info
Age: 18-35 Gender: M Ethnicity: other Likely current location: Karamay Status: sentenced When problems started: Oct. 2019 - Dec. 2019 Detention reason (suspected|official): ---|"spreading lies", "separatism", "picking quarrels" Health status: --- Profession: ---
Testifying party
Testimony 1: Dake Kang, a China-based reporter for the Associated Press. (acquaintance)
Testimony 2: XUAR People's Government Information Office, the formal body in charge of making official public statements to the outside world regarding events in Xinjiang.
Testimony 3: Vincent Gao, as reported by Associated Press. (friend)
Testimony 4: Wang Tonghe, as reported by Associated Press. (friend)
Testimony 5: @TGtadie, an unverified Twitter account. (relation unclear)
About the victim
Chen Haoyu (more commonly known as "Firdavs Drinov") is a linguist who represented China at the International Linguistics Olympiad in 2015. He is fluent in Mandarin, English, Uzbek, Uyghur, Russian, and French.
Victim's location
Karamay City Detention Center (克拉玛依市看守所).
When victim was detained
He was previously held at a detention center for 15 days in December 2019.
In January 2021, a text message was sent to government offices in Karamay telling each office to find one Uyghur to film a propaganda clip. Chen obtained a screenshot of the message from a friend (who had family working for the Karamay government). That same month, the victim sent the screenshot to Dake Kang of the Associated Press, and was promptly detained three days later.
In April 2021, the Xinjiang authorities confirmed that Chen was arrested, specifying that he was being held at the Karamay City Detention Center, under suspicion of "inciting separatism". In late June 2021, Twitter user @TGtadie wrote that Chen's sentence had allegedly been announced already.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
According to Wang Tonghe, the official reason for the December 2019 detention was "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", with police interrogating the victim in relation to his posts on Chinese social media (specifically, Xinjiang government documents from a New York Times story).
According to the XUAR information office, he had "fabricated and published false information, inciting people who did not have knowledge of the true facts to carry out separatist activities that harm the unity of the nation", with the recent arrest made on suspicion of the crime of "inciting separatism". According to friends of the victim, his January 2021 arrest was related to the screenshot he sent to Dake Kang three days prior.
Victim's status
Allegedly sentenced.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
Dake Kang was in direct contact with the victim prior to his arrest. He was also in contact with Vincent Gao, Wang Tonghe, and the Xinjiang authorities.
The confirmation of Chen's arrest comes directly from the Xinjiang authorities (the information office).
It is not clear how @TGtadie heard of the sentencing.
Additional information
Associated Press coverage: https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-technology-f6ffda9288b1671da741c07d8f4f8afc
Official communication(s)
Source: XUAR People's Government Information Office
------
Beijing Bureau of the Associated Press,
In a recent letter, your agency inquired 1) if government employees of Uyghur ethnicity were forced to record selfie videos to condemn the "anti-China" rhetoric by the United States; 2) if the man who had provided a screenshot of that video was imprisoned; and about other issues. Having gathered the facts, we hereby respond as follows:
1) Regarding the circumstances of the screenshot that your agency provided: Xu Guixiang, spokesperson of the People's Government Information Office of the Autonomous Region, has explained the matter in the interview with your agency on April 23. It is necessary to stress here that the anti-China rhetoric by the former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, infuriated people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang. They expressed their anger by posting videos and text, completely out of spontaneity.
2) Regarding the circumstances of Chen Haoyu. Chen Haoyu, of Han ethnicity, is a resident of Karamay City, Xinjiang, China. The police has established through investigation that Chen Haoyu repeatedly fabricated and published false information, inciting people who did not have knowledge of the true facts to carry out separatist activities that harm the unity of the nation. For his actions, he is under suspicion of the crime of inciting separatism. The Karamay City People's Procuratorate has reviewed the case and approved his arrest in accordance with the law. Subsequently, the Procuratorate will file an indictment with the Karamay City Intermediate People's Court. Chen Haoyu is currently held in custody at the Karamay City Detention Center. His various legal rights are guaranteed throughout the period of his detention.
Supplementary materials
Testimony 1: https://twitter.com/dakekang/status/1395267183622635521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Testimony 5: https://twitter.com/TGtadie/status/1408517270687604736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw photo (1): https://shahit.biz/supp/15887_4.jpeg photo (2): https://shahit.biz/supp/15887_6.png official communication(s): https://shahit.biz/supp/comm_15887.png
Entry created: 2021-07-07 Last updated: 2021-07-07 Latest status update: 2021-06-25 16146. Abdughopur Ehet (阿不都吾甫尔·艾海提)
Chinese ID: 653129198903030832 (Peyziwat)
Basic info
Age: 32 Gender: M Ethnicity: Uyghur Likely current location: Kashgar Status: no news for over a year When problems started: July 2017 - Sep. 2017 Detention reason (suspected|official): related to going abroad|--- Health status: --- Profession: student
Testifying party (* direct submission)
Testimony 1: East Turkistan Human Rights Watch, a Turkey-based Uyghur human rights organization.
Testimony 2: Urumqi police records, as reported by Yael Grauer.
Testimony 3*: Nureddin Izbasar, as reported by Mehmet Volkan Kaşıkçı.
About the victim
Abdughopur Ehet was a student in Egypt, having gone there in 2013.
Address: Group No. 1, Oteng Village, Gholtoghraq Township, Peyziwat County, Xinjiang (新疆伽师县卧里托格拉克乡吾堂村1组).
Chinese passport number: E10557232.
Victim's location
[Presumably in Kashgar.]
When victim was detained
He was arrested on September 3, 2017 at the Cairo Airport, to later be deported to China.
Likely (or given) reason for detention
Presumably for having studied in Egypt (as he was taken in the 2017 wave of detentions and deportations that targeted students from Xinjiang).
Victim's status
It is almost certain that he was detained after being deported to China, as Chinese police records mark him as a "person on the run (national level)" (全国在逃人员) and a "stability-related inspection target" (涉稳核查对象) [police are given explicit instructions to detain on sight everyone in the "on the run" category, with the "stability-related" tag also showing a high correlation with detention].
It is not known if he's been released since or if he is still alive and well.
How did the testifier learn about the victim's status?
It is not clear how ETHRW or Nureddin Izbasar heard about his deportation, though it is very likely that it was through people who knew the victim personally, as the event took place in Egypt and there are many available witnesses.
The police records come directly from the Chinese police.
Additional information
Mentioned in ETHRW report: https://www.ethrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DI%CC%87ASPORADAKI%CC%87-DOG%CC%86U-TU %CC%88RKI%CC%87STANLILARA-YO%CC%88NELI%CC%87K-HAK-I%CC%87HLALLERI%CC%87-MISIR-O%C C%88RNEG%CC%86I%CC%87-RAPORU.pdf
He is also listed in a local Peyziwat subsidy spreadsheet for Gholtoghraq Township: https://shahit.biz/supp/gholtoghraq.xls
Supplementary materials photo: https://shahit.biz/supp/16146_1.png Chinese passport: https://shahit.biz/supp/16146_2.png
Entry created: 2021-08-08 Last updated: 2021-08-09 Latest status update: 2021-07-24