The list of Detained & imprisoned Literary artists in China, comprising ethnic Uyghurs and other minorities, is shown below:
| Entry | Victim’s Name | Chinese name | ID no. | About the Testifier | Relation | About the Victim | Assumed Location | When Detention Took Place | Detention Reason | Victim’s Status | How Testifier Learned of Status | Additional Info | About the Testifier (Translated/Edited) | Relation (Translated/Edited) | About the Victim (Translated/Edited) | Assumed Location (Translated/Edited) | When Detention Took Place (Translated/Edited) | Detention Reason (Translated/Edited) | Victim’s Status (Translated/Edited) | How Testifier Learned of Status (Translated/Edited) | Additional Info (Translated/Edited) | Prison Term (Years) | Age | Gender | Ethnicity | Location | Detention type | Detention time | Detention reason | Official detention reason (1) | Official detention reason (2) | Official detention reason (3) | Health status | Profession |
| 2 | Perhat Tursun | 帕尔哈提·吐尔逊 | 653001196901????O? | 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. |
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. [Testimony 7: At age 24, he wrote the “Art of Suicide”, a controversial novel that has since been included in the list of the hundred best works of Uyghur culture.] |
Unknown, likely in Urumchi | January 30, 2018 | Testimony 6: 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. | Unknown [according to a reliable source on October 9, 2019: Perhat has been given a prison sentence] |
News of his detention first circulated via social media. It was later confirmed during visits by international researchers in Urumchi. [Testimony 7: the news came in coded messages, with poet Tahir Hamut being told by a mutual acquaintance that Perhat had been “hospitalized”.] |
RFA coverage (Testimony 5) Abduweli Ayup’s op-ed (Testimony 6) SupChina feature about the victim (Testimony 7): |
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. |
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”). He received his PhD degree from China’s Minzu University in 2011, in the field of Chaghatay language and Uyghur folklore. |
He had been living in Urumqi before. However, the current location is unknown, especially as he is reported to have been sentenced. | Detained on January 30, 2018. News that he had been sentenced were received in early October 2019. | 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. | Sentenced to prison. It’s been said that he’s been sentenced to 16 years, but this has yet to be verified. |
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. |
This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. Mentioned in Abduweli Ayup’s op-ed for PEN/Opp RFA coverage Featured in SupChina Some Mandarin translations of his poems. An article by Zhang Qinghua, a literature professor in Beijing, that mentions Perhat and his poetry. 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 |
35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | nationalism, patriotism | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 3 | Ablajan Awut Ayup | 阿布拉江·阿吾提·阿尤甫 | 65322319841111??O? | 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. |
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. | [According to a Radio Free Asia article (Testimony 5) from May 15, 2018, Ablajan was arrested in Sanju village in Hotan’s Guma County. As he is originally from Hotan, it is likely that he is being held in the Hotan prefecture] | Feb-18 | Unknown, it is likely related to the themes of his music | Unknown | News of his disappearance first circulated via social media. It was later confirmed by the Financial Times in March 2018 [Testimony 3]. | [This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here (Testimony 4) Wikipedia page] |
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. |
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. | 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. | February 2018. | Unknown, but it is likely related to the themes of his music. | Unknown. | The victim’s brother presumably has more direct knowledge of the case, as do the local police. | This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. Wikipedia page RFA coverage |
18-35 | M | Uyghur | Hotan | unclear (hard) | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | nationalism, patriotism | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 6 | Aygul Turap | 阿依古丽·吐拉甫 | 65020219750428004X | Testimony 1*: Ghalip Turdi, a Canadian citizen living in Edmonton. (brother-in-law) Testimony 2: Omerjan Turdi, as reported by Globe and Mail. (husband) Testimony 3: @munisa323, an unverified Twitter account. (relation unclear) Testimony 4: Anonymous, as reported by AidET. (relation unclear) |
Aygul Turap, used to work in government ruled cultural center in Maytagh city. [added by G. A. Bunin: Chinese name: 阿依古丽*吐拉甫 Address: Karamay City (克拉玛依市), Maytagh District (独山子区), Fifth Residential District (第五居民区), Qariyaghachliq Neighborhood (榆园小区), Third Building, Apt. 39] |
unknown, possibliy in Karamay city | Oct17/2017 [additional document from AidET group: Oct 24, 2017] |
her husband lives in Amesterdam, Netherlands | unknown | from family members | [From the Globe and Mail (Testimony 2): Among the first additions to the database are Ilham Turdi and Aygul Turap, the brother and wife of Umerjan Turdi, a musician living in the Netherlands. Authorities detained the pair because of their relationships with people overseas, Umerjan said, even though Ilham divorced his American wife in 2015 after a brief marriage. The family showed the divorce judgment, which The Globe and Mail has reviewed, to police in Xinjiang. It shows the couple separated six days after their wedding. But police responded that Ilham had “stayed with that American girl for too long a time, and his brain had been destroyed,” Umerjan said. Police told the family that Ilham would be sent to what the family calls “re-education” after he was subjected to several months of questioning. Ms. Turap, Umerjan’s wife, is an acclaimed dancer. She disappeared Oct. 24, 2017. Umerjan also hasn’t spoken for a year with his 14-year-old son, who remains in Xinjiang. In one of their last conversations, his son said his teacher checks his phone every two days and “warned him to not communicate too frequently with me, or ‘your mom won’t be released,’” Umerjan said.] |
Testimony 1*: Ghalip Turdi, a Canadian citizen living in Edmonton. (brother-in-law) Testimony 2: Omerjan Turdi, as reported by Globe and Mail. (husband) Testimony 3: @munisa323, an unverified Twitter account. (relation unclear) Testimony 4: Anonymous, as reported by AidET. (relation unclear) |
Aygul Turap used to work in the government-managed cultural center in Maytagh, Karamay. She is an acclaimed dancer. Her husband, Omerjan Turdi, is a well-known musician. Address: Apt. 39, Building No. 3, Qariyaghachliq Neighborhood, No. 5 Residential Area, Maytagh District, Karamay City, Xinjiang (新疆克拉玛依市独山子区第五居民区榆园小区3幢39号). |
Unknown; possibly in Karamay City. | Reported as October 17, 2017 by her brother-in-law. A separate testimony lists the detention date as October 24. | Her husband living in Amsterdam. | Unknown. | From family members. | Globe and Mail coverage This article (in part) describes how Aygul’s husband, living abroad, contacts their 14-year-old son who is still in Xinjiang. The son was warned by a teacher that frequent communication is a threat to his mother. |
35-55 | F | Uyghur | Karamay | — | Oct. 2017 – Dec. 2017 | contact with outside world | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 254 | Abduqadir Jalalidin | 阿不都卡德尔·加拉里丁 | 65312119640311??O? | 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) |
Professor Abduqadir Jalalidin was a renowned Uyghur poet and scholar, as well as Literature Professor at the Xinjiang Education College. | Unknown | January 29, 2018 | Unknown | Testimony 3: Detained in political re-education camp Testimony 8: possibly in re-education camp in Urumqi’s Midong District |
Testimony 4: Feng Wenchang checked a list of arrested university staff to confirm the detention | Testimony 5: On January 29, 2018, police reportedly raided Jalaleddin’s home, placed a black hood over his head, and took him into custody. Testimony 3: According to a local official, authorities brought him to a political re-education camp. Sources: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholar-04252018140407.html (Testimony 1-4) https://uhrp.org/news/release-professor-abdulqadir-jalaleddi https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduqadir-jalalidin-01142019185353.html (Testimony 5) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighur-intellectuals.html (Testimony 6) https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/abduqadir-jalalidin-terbiyelesh-lagerida-04272018210011.html (Testimony 8) This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 7) Mentioned in the CECC report Baike Baidu page Uyghur Wikipedia entry |
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) |
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. | 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.] |
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. | [Unknown, but ethnic-minority intellectuals in Xinjiang appear to have been heavily targeted during the recent repressions.] | Previously reported as having been taken for re-education. [However, there does not appear to have been any news since.] | 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. |
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-04272018210011.html New York Times coverage UHRP statement CECC report This victim is also included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals, available at here. Victim’s Baike Baidu page Victim’s Uyghur Wikipedia entry A pro-Party article that he authored His tutor profile Some of his poems, translated into Mandarin: https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137543 https://www.chinesepen.org/blog/archives/137524 |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | no news for over a year | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 411 | Abdurehim Heyt | 阿不都日衣木·艾衣提 | 65310119640601??O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Tahir Hamut, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 3: Aziz Isa Elkun, an Uyghur writer and now British citizen. (friend) Testimony 4: Aydınlık, the newspaper of the Patriotic Party in Turkey. Testimony 5*: Anonymous, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (acquaintance) |
Abdurehim Heyt, popularly known as the Dutar King in Xinjiang, is a prominent uyghur musician and an important cultural figure. Born in 1964 in the southern town of Kashgar, “he studied at Kashgar Arts College and worked in the prestigious Central Nationalities Ensemble in Beijing between 1986 and 1993 before returning to Urumchi to join the Xinjiang Song-and-Dance Troupe, where he performed many songs promoting unity and friendship among the peoples of China.” None of his song have ever been banned by the governement, and most people describe him as a “State Artist”. | As of november 2017, was said to be held in Urumchi. [According to the pro-China Aydinlik report, he is living in Urumqi following his release.] |
Arrested in march or april 2017. | According to Uyghur poet Tahir Hamut, living in the US, Abdurehim had been arrested because of his performance of a song called Atilar, or “Forefathers.” The song had previously been cleared by government censors, though, he said. “The poet who wrote those lyrics, Abdurehim Abdulla, was arrested at the same time. The problem with the poem was that it used the phrase “jenglerde shehit” (martyrs of war); that’s why it was sensitive. Actually, the main message of that song was about remembering the sacrifices made by our fathers and criticising the way young men these days go around partying … but they said that it was connected to jihad.”” | Some questionably reliable source mentions he has been sentenced to 8 years of prison (Testimony 3). [In early February 2019, there started circulating rumors, originating from Turkey, that Heyt had died in detention, prompting official condemnation from Turkey and China releasing a video of what appeared to be Heyt saying that he was fine, not abused, and currently under investigation.] [In late July 25, 2019, the pro-China Turkish paper Aydinlik interviewed Heyt in Urumqi, where it was claimed that Heyt had only spent 2 weeks in detention and was released after investigation. He also went on record as saying that he had been living happily and working as a musician with a stable salary. A number of propaganda photos – e.g., Heyt holding a copy of Xi Jinping’s book – were also shown as well.] [in October 2019, a reliable source (Testimony 5) informed that Heyt is “back in his community”, though it remains unclear to what extent his movements/actions/words are monitored and how much freedom he actually has] |
Reports : – https://freemuse.org/news/uyghur-dutar-king-detained-in-china/ – https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/musician-11022017162302.html (Testimony 2) Aydinlik report (Testimony 4) This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1) |
Mentioned in the CECC report Wikipedia entry |
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Tahir Hamut, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 3: Aziz Isa Elkun, an Uyghur writer and now British citizen. (friend) Testimony 4: Aydınlık, the newspaper of the Patriotic Party in Turkey. Testimony 5*: Anonymous, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (acquaintance) |
Abdurehim Heyt, popularly known in Xinjiang as the “Dutar King”, is a prominent Uyghur musician and an important cultural figure. After studying at the Kashgar Arts College, he would go on to work at the prestigious Central Nationalities Ensemble in Beijing from 1986 to 1993, after which he returned to Urumqi to join the Xinjiang Song-and-Dance Troupe, for which he performed many songs that promoted “unity and friendship among the peoples of China”. None of his songs had ever been banned by the government, and most described him as a “State Artist”. | Most likely in Urumqi, as this is where he is believed to have been held and where the (pro-China) Turkish outlet “Aidinlik” reported him as living. | He was arrested in the early spring of 2017. Following widely circulating online rumors of his death and a condemnation from the Turkish MFA, a video of him in detention was posted by the Chinese state in February 2019, in which Abdurehim Heyt said that he was in good health and being “investigated”. In July 2019, the Turkish outlet Aidinlik ran a report in which it interviewed Heyt, saying that he was free and working as a musician [this outlet also reported that Heyt had only been detained for 2 weeks, however]. | The official reason is unclear, but US-based Uyghur poet Tahir Hamut has suggested that Abdurehim was arrested for his song “Atilar” (“Forefathers”). This is based on the poet who wrote the lyrics, Abdurehim Abdulla {1256}, being arrested at the same time, even though the song had previously been cleared by government censors. According to Tahir: “The problem with the poem was that it used the phrase “jenglerde shehit” (martyrs of war); that’s why it was sensitive. Actually, the main message of that song was about remembering the sacrifices made by our fathers and criticising the way young men these days go around partying … but they said that it was connected to jihad.” |
If the pro-China Aydinlik is to be believed, Heyt is not in “hard” detention and is likely under some sort of residential surveillance. A reliable source has corroborated this to some extent, saying that Heyt was “back in his community”, though it remains unclear to what extent his movements/actions/words are monitored and how much freedom he actually has. |
It is not clear how Abduweli Ayup or Aziz Elkun Isa learned about the detention [likely through the grapevine]. Tahir Hamut says that Abdurehim’s colleagues confirmed the news. Aydınlık visited the victim in Urumqi. It is not clear which specific channels the anonymous source got their info through. |
A number of publicly available reports: – https://freemuse.org/news/uyghur-dutar-king-detained-in-china/ – https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/musician-11022017162302.html – https://www.aydinlik.com.tr/aydinlik-olduruldu-denilen-unlu-uygur-ozan-abdurrehim-heyit-ile-gorustu-turkiye-temmuz-2019-6 – https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/10/world/asia/china-turkey-uighurs.html This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. He has also been listed in the CECC report His Wikipedia entry The “proof-of-life” video released by the Chinese state in February 2019 was the direct prompt for the MeTooUyghur social media campaign, in which numerous Uyghurs around the world demanded that the Chinese state show videos of their relatives also. An interview with the victim from 2016 |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (soft) | Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2017 | related to religion | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 529 | Abdusemi Obul | 65900319????????O? | Sirajidin, Uyghur man living in Norway. | unclear | Abdusemi Obul, Uyghur man from Tumshuq. Well known actor and voice actor. His body was returned to his family on September 3rd (probably this year) after his death in detention. It’s unclear if he was placed in camp or prison. | Dead | unclear | unknown | Dead | unclear | none | — | M | Uyghur | Tumshuq | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | deceased | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 530 | Gulbahar Abdurahman | 65????19????????E? | Sirajidin, Uyghur man living in Norway. | unclear | Gulbahar Abduraxman, 53 years old Uyghur woman. Well known actor (film actor), voice actor (dubbing artist). Arrested and placed in concentration camp since September, 2017. Whereabouts unknown. | Urumqi, presumably | arrested on September 10 2017 in Urumqi’s Tianshan District | [from CECC report: “One of her daughters who lives in the United States told RFA that she believed her mother’s detention was connected to her having visited her daughter for several weeks in July 2017. While in the United States, Gulbahar Abdurahman received multiple telephone calls from Urumqi, likely from officials, requesting that she cut short her visit and return to China, which she did. Upon her September detention, authorities reportedly ordered to serve 3 months in a “political reeducation” center (…)”] | [CECC report: As of May 2018, information on her whereabouts or possible release was unavailable.] | unclear | Information about this victim is also available in the CECC report | 35-55 | F | Uyghur | Urumqi | concentration camp | July 2017 – Sep. 2017 | related to going abroad | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 531 | Behtiyar Niyaz | 65????19????????O? | Testimony 1: Sirajidin, Uyghur man living in Norway. Testimony 2: “humar uyghur” (Twitter handle: @HumarUyghur) |
Testimony 1: unclear Testimony 2: father |
Behtiyar Niyaz, 57 (as of February 2019). Well-known film director/editor, voice/movie actor. Worked at the Xinjiang radio and television station. | unknown | Testimony 1: placed in camp in 2017 (over a year, exact date is unclear) Testimony 2: taken to camp on April 20, 2017, no information since |
— | presumably still in camp | unclear | — | 55+ | M | Uyghur | — | concentration camp | Apr. 2017 – June 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 965 | Yalqun Rozi | 牙里坤·肉孜 | 650102196603044034 | 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. |
Yalqun Rozi is a famous Uyghur writer, poet, and critic, known for his writing on Islam and the Uyghur identity. He was a central figure of the 1980s-1990s Islamic renaissance in Xinjiang, and rose to fame after publishing an essay denouncing fellow scholar Perhat Tursun as an “enemy of Islam” for his novel, The Art of Suicide. | Exact location unknown | December 12, 2016 Testimony 6: October 2016 |
Attempting to incite separatism, and promoting “Turkism”, a reference to the Uyghur’s historic cultural and linguistic connections to Turkic-language speaking people in Central Asia and Turkey Testimony 6: “subverting state power” |
Sentenced to life in prison Testimony 6: In October 2016, Yalqun was taken away for investigation for “ideological problems”. After being detained in an undisclosed location for over a year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of “subverting state power” on January 3, 2018. |
RFA found a Chinese-language document on the internet that carried a notice from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Education Supervision Bureau that said Rozi retired from his position in February 2015 for medical reasons. It also said he was arrested on Dec. 12, 2016 by security authorities in the XUAR capital Urumqi for attempting to incite separatism and lost his pension and other benefits because of the arrest. | Yalqun Rozi’s status was further confirmed in a government-produced propaganda film covering alleged crimes of Uyghur intellectuals. In the film, Rozi appears alongisde Satar Sawut, Tashpolat Teyip, and other prominent scholars, all wearing prison uniforms and described as separatists. The film has been shown to multiple audiences, including all students and teachers at one middle school in Xinjiang. Sources: Testimony 1-4: 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/ This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 5) Included in testimony by Rushan Abbas (Testimony 9): https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/040919_Abbas_Testimony.pdf |
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. |
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 Village, 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”. |
His exact location is unknown [as he has been sentenced]. | 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. | 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”. |
Serving a 15-year prison sentence. | 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. |
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-chinese-bid-erase-culture/#.XdUs71czbcc Rushan Abbas mentions the victim in her written testimony This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. |
15 | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | before 2017 | — | inciting subversion | separatism | — | — | art & literature | ||
| 1256 | Abdurehim Abdulla | 65????19????????O? | H. | information publicly available | name: Abdurehim Abdulla (阿不都热依木.阿不都拉) age: unknown ethnicity: Uyghur occupation: poet, senior editor, Xinjiang Audiovisual Press (新疆音像出版社) gender: male Abdurehim Abdullah was arrested at the same time as Abdurehim Heyit, possibly because of the song ‘Atilar’ |
possibly Urumchi | April 2017 | unclear. He wrote the lyrics of Atilar (sung by Abdurehim Heyit), which is probably the reason why detained | detained | http://freemuse.org/news/uyghur-dutar-king-detained-china/#.WfotBLmxEjE.facebook (published 1 NOV 2017) | List of Uyghur intellectuals imprisoned in China from 2016 to the present (14 November 2018), English version (list also available here) | — | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | Apr. 2017 – June 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1491 | Adil Mijit | 阿迪力·米吉提 | 6502??19640101??O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Adile Adil, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter) Testimony 3|4|5: Arslan Hidayat, an Uyghur web activist and son-in-law of comedian Adil Mijit. (son-in-law) |
Adil Mijit, 54, is a well-known drama actor, famous for his comedy sketch. He started his carreer in the mid-1990s. According to Darren Byler, “it was under his direction that etot [comedy sktech] was promoted to a featured performance during Uyghur festivals. As a spokesperson for official Uyghur cultural institutions, Adil is an important figure in debates regarding the future of Uyghur performance art.” According to RFA, he “had [recently] spent over 70 days in hospital after being dismissed from his job [at the Xinjiang Opera Troupe]” and has been suffering heart issues. His family lost contact with him around november, soon after he was out of the hospital. HE graduated from Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1982. |
Unknown | According to Arslan Hidayat, Mijit visited his daughter and son-in-law (Hidayat) in Turkey in June 2017. His passport was confiscated immediately after coming back from Turkey. After that, Arslan says they were talking in coded conversations through WeChat, where he got to know that his father was starting to feel pressure at work and from his boss. His last notable performance was at the October 1 National Day TV extravaganza in 2018, two weeks after which he was suspended from work. His family members lost contact with him around on November 2, 2018. In late October 2019, his son-in-law posted a video of the victim that was found on Douyin, showing a much skinnier Adil Mijit greeting an audience at an event. |
According to RFA sources, the reason is making a trip to the Muslim holy city of Mecca without authorities’ permission, although her daughter – who lives in Turkey – claims the trip was approved by officials | Social media sources—confirmed by anonymous reports to RFA— [say] he is now serving a three-year prison term. His daughter’s family was contacted by a person who claimed to be Adil’s nurse in prison. Update in late October 2019: Apparently “released” from detention, given his appearance at a social event, but exact situation unclear. Testimony 5: His son-in-law Arslan Hidayat says he had heard about his release about a month before a video of him in an event was posted on October 26, suggesting he might have been released in September 2019. |
His daughter was able to contact him directly before his disappearance. That he had apparently been released was made clear by a video on Douyin. |
Testimony 5: Arslan Hidayat once contacted the Chinese affairs section who then got in touch with the Chinese government, and their response to the case was that Arslan’s wife (the victim’s daughter) should come back to China if she wanted to know her father’s whereabouts. – https://livingotherwise.com/2013/12/13/uyghur-hip-hop-vs-uyghur-folk-music/ (source in English for Adil Mijit story and role in the Xinjiang cultural sphere) This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1) RFA coverage (Testimony 2): https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/comedian-12212018150839.html https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/adil-mijit-12172018180415.html Feature in The Guardian His son-in-law’s interview (Testimony 5) Other sources available online: – https://twitter.com/Uyghurspeaker/status/1075031544480325632 – https://twitter.com/Uyghurspeaker/status/1075032734484099073 UHRP report Wikipedia entry His Baidu Baike entry A summary of his webradio broadcasts, done around the time of the 19th Congress: “He talks in a chat group, perhaps a Wechat Business Group (99 Taobao Internet Platform). In the first part, he apologizes to his llisteners for that he hasn’t been able to contact them via Internet or telephone or in groups for so long time due to busy work load before and after the 19th Congress, especially due to his Bureau’s deployment and stuff. He says that after the Internet law has been enacted, many people voluntarily exitted from the groups for precaution. He encourages people to cheer up, not to lock themselves in, instead to work hard and stay optimistic. In the second part, first he celebrates the National Day holidy. Then he talks about 99 Taobao Business Internet Platform and encourages people in the group to grab the opportunity earlier and open shops on 99 Taobao Platform as doing business on the internet has been already the fashion and main stream. In the third part, he starts his talk, encouraging people to open shops on 99 Platform and in the end of his talk, he asks the group members to pay very close attention to their words and messages, think before every single word, never to say or write words or anything that harm unity of nations, stability, and eternal peace of Xinjiang. In the fourth part, he still talks about 99 Platform. (It sounds like 99 Platform is co-founded by Adil Mijit and others). He says that the 99 Platform hasn’t been officially launched yet, but it will open officially very soon and there will be a big opening ceremony and ads on the TV.” |
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Adile Adil, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter) Testimony 3|4|5: Arslan Hidayat, an Uyghur web activist and son-in-law of comedian Adil Mijit. (son-in-law) |
55+ | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (soft) | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 1542 | Nijat Sopi | 65????19????????O? | Anonymous volunteer | None. | Nijat Sopi is the chair of Department of Literature, Ili Teacher’s College. He graduated from Xinjiang University in 1990. And he obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degree under the supervision of Dr. Arslan Abdulla from Department of Philology, Xinjiang University. Since then, he has been working at the Ili Teacher’s College. He was removed from his position in the beginning of 2018, however, whereabouts of the victim is still unknown. | Unclear | According to an RFA source, it was announced that Sopi and others were being inspected at the end of 2017. In January 2018, they supposedly started to be taken to education centers. | Unclear | Concentration camp | UHRP reports and RFA news | UHRP report RFA news This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals |
— | M | Uyghur | Ili | concentration camp | Oct. 2017 – Dec. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1560 | Abbas Muniyaz | 6529011966??????O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Erkin Sidiq, an Uyghur-American NASA engineer living in the United States. He was born in Aksu and is a graduate of Xinjiang University. (friend) |
Abbas Muniyaz a professional writer and member of XUAR Writer’s Association. Testimony 2: He was a writer and has published more than 20 books. |
Unclear | Unclear | Unclear | Testimony 1: Detained. Testimony 2: taken to concentration camp. [However, testifier doesn’t mention if he is still there.] |
Testimony 1-2: not clear | UHRP report This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1) |
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Erkin Sidiq, an Uyghur-American NASA engineer living in the United States. He was born in Aksu and is a graduate of Xinjiang University. (friend) |
35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1561 | Tahir Talip | 65312219460715??O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Rune Steenberg, an anthropologist from Denmark. (friend) |
Tahir Talip is a poet and senior editor of Kashgar Daily (Qeshqer Geziti) (1978-2003), born in Yamanyar Township of Kashgar’s Yengisheher County. He was detained by the local authorities and whereabouts of the victim is still unknown. His poems were often used in schools for Uyghur children as part of the curriculum. He learned Mandarin when he was young and was one of the best speakers of his generation, spending some time working as a translator for the local authorities. He’s published 100s of poems, with the first published when he was 15 in the newspaper that he worked for at the time. One of his best known poems is called “Chunki men hesiyatliq hayat adem” (printed in many textbooks, read in schools). He was a very prominent cultural personality. He was a father of 5 (3 sons, 2 daughters). |
[Presumably in Kashgar.] | Testimony 2: August 2017 | Unclear | Testimony 2: no real news since detention, and it’s not clear where exactly he’s being detained (and if he’s in formal detention or under house arrest). He’s been struggling with heart disease for some time. |
Testimony 1: not stated Testimony 2: the testifier is well acquainted with the family. |
UHRP report This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1) |
Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Rune Steenberg, an anthropologist from Denmark. (friend) |
Tahir Talip was born in the Yamanyar Township of Kashgar’s Yengisheher County. A lifelong poet with hundreds of published poems, he published his first at the age of 15, in the newspaper that he worked for at the time. He learned Mandarin as a young man and spent some time working as a translator for the local authorities. From 1978 until his retirement in 2003, he worked for the Kashgar Daily (Qeshqer Geziti), where he would become a senior editor. Tahir was a prominent cultural figure, and his poems were often published in textbooks and read in schools. One of his best known poems is called “Chunki Men Hesiyatliq Hayat Adem” (“Because I’m a Living, Feeling Human Being”). He was a father of five – three sons and two daughters – three of whom were also detained. |
[Presumably in Kashgar.] | Fell out of contact in August 2017, though it’s not clear if he’s been formally detained or just kept under close surveillance. | — | There’s been no real news since August 2017, and it’s not clear where exactly he’s being detained (and if he’s in formal detention or under house arrest). He had been struggling with heart disease for some time. |
It is not clear how Abduweli Ayup learned about his disappearance or potential detention. Rune is well acquainted with the victim and his family (and presumably heard through mutual friends/acquaintances). | The victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. He is also listed in the Uyghur Human Rights Project report about prominent disappeared Uyghurs |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | — | July 2017 – Sep. 2017 | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | ||||
| 1736 | Qasimjan Osman Ghazi | 65312919????????O? | Anonymous volunteer | None. | Qasimjan Osman Ghazi is one of the administrators of the “Awan’gart” poetry website. He was a poet and a cadre at the propoganda department of Payziwat county communist party office. He was arrested by the local authorities. |
Presumably in Peyziwat County, Kashgar Prefecture. | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear | UHRP report | UHRP report This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals |
— | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1739 | Qeyser Qeyyum | 65????19????????O? | Testimony 1: Qutluq Almas, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague) Testimony 2: Juret Nizamidin, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 3: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 4: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 5: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 6: Rushan Abbas, an Uyghur-American activist. (friend of relative) |
Qeyser Qeyum, 55-year-old editor-in-chief of literature translation magazine (“Literary Translations”), which was published under the Xinjiang Association of Literature and Art. He killed himself by jumping out of the 8th floor of his office building out of fear of being detained in a political re-education camp in August 2017. | Died in Urumqi. | Killed himself in August 2017 Testimony 6: September 2018 [this is almost certainly confusion by the testifier, as this is when the death was reported by RFA, not when it took place] |
Testimony 2: It is believed Qeyser was shocked by the detention of Ilham Weli, Memtimin Obul, Juret Haji, and Mirkamil Ablimit, as Qeyser believed he would have been next in line (the Xinjiang Daily office being next to the Xinjiang Association of Literature and Art). | Deceased. | Testimony 1+2+4+5: not clear Testimony 3: the source is in Xinjiang and close to the case. |
RFA coverage (Testimony 1-4) Mentioned in UHRP report Included in list of prominent Uyghur victims (Testimony 5) Testimony 6: https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/040919_Abbas_Testimony.pdf |
Testimony 1: Qutluq Almas, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (colleague) Testimony 2: Juret Nizamidin, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 3: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 4: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (relation unclear) Testimony 5: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 6: Rushan Abbas, an Uyghur-American activist. (friend of relative) |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | other | July 2017 – Sep. 2017 | — | — | — | — | deceased | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1748 | Ablimit Ghojaabdulla | 65????19????????O? | Anonymous volunteer | Anonymous volunteer | Ablimit Ghoja’Abdulla is a writer and he published his work mainly on Misranim and Bagdax. His most famous writing is a satirical story “Tohti Pokan Story Series”, which hit more than 50 thousand reads within weeks. His account under the name of “Sheyhim” was banned online in June 2013 for stopping him publishing his work. He was arrested in 2014 and sentenced to 6 years in prison. | Unclear | 2014 | CECC report: The arrest was reportedly a measure to prevent him from criticizing official restrictions on Uyghurs’ activities during Ramadan. | Prison | UHRP report | UHRP report World Uyghur Congress report Mentioned in the CECC report |
— | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | before 2017 | challenging authority | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 1805 | Senuber Tursun | 塞努拜尔·吐尔逊 | 65400219710601??E? | Testimony 1: Dilnur Reyhan, an Uyghur scholar, originally from Ghulja but now in France. Testimony 2: Lisa Ross, a photographer living in the United States. (friend) Testimony 3|4|7: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 5: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (friend) Testimony 6: Agence France-Presse, an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. |
name: Sanubar Tursun gender: female ethnicity: Uyghur age: unknown place of origin: Ghulja occupation: musician According to a tweet from 29 December 2018, Sanubar Tursun was sentenced to 5 years in prison. She was supposed to perform at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes, France on 10 February 2019 which is not possible anymore. The theatre replaced her by an Uzbek performer. |
unknown | Testimony 2: December 18, 2018 [November 1, 2018 according to her Wikipedia entry] Testimony 7: released in October 2019. |
unknown | Released from detention, according to linguist/scholar/activist Abduweli Ayup in a July 25, 2019 post (Testimony 3). [update from an anonymous source in early October 2019 (Testimony 5): I’ve just had quite credible information from Xinjiang that Sanubar Tursun has been released, and is currently in Urumchi, teaching dutar] |
tweet by @DilReyhan on 29 DEC 2018 | Change in performance programme: https://www.nantes.fr/infonantes/agenda/30673-sanubar-tursun-et-wu-man—voix-du-monde http://www.angers-nantes-opera.com/la-programmation-1819/sur-les-routes-de-la-soie (cached) Coverage by AFP post-“release” (Testimony 6) This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 4+7) Wikipedia entry |
Testimony 1: Dilnur Reyhan, an Uyghur scholar, originally from Ghulja but now in France. Testimony 2: Lisa Ross, a photographer living in the United States. (friend) Testimony 3|4|7: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 5: Anonymous, but with a verified identity. (friend) Testimony 6: Agence France-Presse, an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. |
Senuber Tursun is a well-known musician from Ghulja. She has performed abroad on multiple occasions. | Currently living in Urumqi. | According to Lisa Ross, she was disappeared on December 18, 2018. Senuber’s Wikipedia entry puts the date at November 1, however. News of her disapperance began to circulate when it was announced that her performance at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes, France (on February 10, 2019) would be cancelled, with Senuber being replaced by an Uzbek performer. There were some claims that she had been sentenced to 5 years in prison. However, in a July 25, 2019 Facebook post, Abduweli Ayup – a scholar residing in Norway – reported that Senuber was among those prominent Uyghurs who had been recently released from detention. In March 2020, however, he updated his prominent detained Uyghurs list to say that she had been released in October 2019 (and not earlier). |
— | Allegedly released from detention and teaching dutar in Urumqi. In October 2019, she was announced as scheduled to perform at an event in Shanghai on November 4, 2019. However, she didn’t show up. A source who knows the victim reported that she was not given permission to travel to Shanghai, suggesting that she is under town arrest (or the like). In a video that was posted on Twitter in December 2019, she announced her new Douyin account (the video appears to have since been deleted). In March 2020, she created a Weibo account (https://www.weibo.com/u/7406301053), uploading a video of herself playing the piano and singing. |
It is not clear where the explicit news of her detention were obtained from. The suggestion that she had been detained came from the fact that she was unable to make a show that she was scheduled to perform at in France, however. It is not entirely clear where the explicit news of her release came from, either. However, that she was scheduled to perform in Shanghai seemed to indicate this, just as her ultimately not being able to make the show seemed to indicate that her freedom was somehow restricted. Recent social-media videos from the victim herself seem to suggest that she is not in hard detention, however. |
Mention of the change in the performance programme at Nantes: https://www.nantes.fr/infonantes/agenda/30673-sanubar-tursun-et-wu-man—voix-du-monde http://www.angers-nantes-opera.com/la-programmation-1819/sur-les-routes-de-la-soie (cached) Coverage by AFP post-“release” The victim’s Wikipedia entry This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. |
35-55 | F | Uyghur | Urumqi | house/town arrest | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 1910 | Adil Tuniyaz | 6531261970??????O? | Surname Beliqiz, via Radio Free Asia | Adil Tuniyaz was a former neighbor of Beliqiz | Adil Tuniyaz is a well-known Uyghur poet whose work encompasses a variety of contemporary subjects, including beer. Adil Tuniyaz and his wife, Nezire Muhammad Salih, were both arrested in December of 2017. Their eldest son, Imran (19 years old), was also arrested. It is believed that their three younger children have been placed in state-run orphanages for Uyghur youth whose guardians have been detained. Adil’s father-in-law, the well known Uyghur scholar Muhammad Salih Hajim, died in a re-education camp in Urumqi in January 2018. A Chinese officer at a prison in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture’s Miquan county, where another relative is being held, informed family members in February 2018 that they “shouldn’t hold out any hope for Nezire and Adil” because of the seriousness of the accusations against them. |
Unknown | December 25, 2017 (most likely) | Promoting terrorism and religious extremism | Arrested | RFA spoke to a former neighbor of Adil and Nezire, who received information from authorities in Xinjiang | Sources: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholar-09252018145144.html https://twitter.com/penamerican/status/1054776503127498752?lang=en This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals |
35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | Oct. 2017 – Dec. 2017 | — | terrorism | extremism | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2018 | Peride Mamut | 6531??19????????E? | H. | information publicly available | name: Peride Mamut gender: female ethnicity: Uyghur age: in her 50s place of origin: Kashgar occupation: musician and singer (at Karamay Theater) |
unknown | unknown | unknown | sentenced to 5 years in prison | tweet by @Xjscholars on 27 dec 2018 | blog entry by Elise Anderson elisemarieanderson.com This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals |
— | F | Uyghur | — | sentenced | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Abduzayir Ablimit | 阿布都扎依尔·阿布力米提 | 653021198506160231 | Testimony 1|8: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. Testimony 2: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (brother) Testimony 3*|4*: Abduwaris Ablimit, a chef now residing in the United States. (brother) Testimony 5: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by AidET. (brother) Testimony 6: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 7*: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother) |
name: Zahirshah Ablimit gender: male ethnicity: Uyghur place of origin: Atush occupation: singer He and his parents were arrested after travelling to Turkey. He and his parents were sent to a “re-education” camp. Testimony 3: Abuduzayier Abulimiti. Born June 16, 1985 in city Atush, Xinjiang, China. He is famous Uyghur singer, pop star in Xinjiang. He has won a musical talent show “The Voice of the Silk Road” in 2015 [according to another participant, he didn’t win but was a finalist]. [Address: Meshet Road (买谢特路) 022, Suntagh village (松他克村), Suntagh township, Atushi municipality] |
Testimony 1: No. 5 Re-education Camp in Gongye Yuanqu industrial disctict near Atush Testimony 3: Concentration camp #5 in ATush city of Xinjiang, China. Testimony 7: presumably at home in Atush. |
Testimony 1: 2017 Testimony 3: July 2017 [additional from testimony event (Testimony 5): December 15, 2017] |
Testimony 3: Visited me in Turkey in 2016. | Testimony 1: in a “re-education” camp Testimony 3: Detained in Concentration. Testimony 7: appears to have been released. |
Testimony 1+2+8: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/singer-12172018144127.html (published 17 DEC 2018) Testimony 3: Through a friend in Guong Zhou. Testimony 7: victim’s social media account. |
[This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 6) Covered by Free Muse] |
Testimony 1|8: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. Testimony 2: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (brother) Testimony 3*|4*: Abduwaris Ablimit, a chef now residing in the United States. (brother) Testimony 5: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by AidET. (brother) Testimony 6: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 7*: Abduwaris Ablimit, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (brother) |
Abduzayir Ablimit (popularly known as “Zahirshah”) is a well-known Uyghur pop singer. In 2015, he was one of the finalists on the “Voice of the Silk Road” music talent show. Address: 22 Meshet Road, Suntagh Village, Suntagh Township, Atush City, Xinjiang (新疆阿图什市松他克乡松他克村买谢提路022号). |
Presumably at home. | July 2017 appears to be the likely time, as this is what has been reported by the victim’s brother. However, December 15, 2017 was given as a detention date at a separate testimony event held in early 2019. He was reported by local police to have been taken to the No. 5 camp in the Gongye Yuanqu industrial district, close to Atush. In late December 2019, his brother reported that he had been released just recently, as evidenced by posts on the victim’s social media. |
Abduwaris believes it is because his brother visited him in Turkey in 2016. | No longer in camp, but exact situation unclear. | Abduwaris got the information about the arrest through a friend in Guangzhou. The local police who confirmed it presumably have direct knowledge of the case. The information about his being out of camp came from the victim’s social media account. |
RFA coverage Covered by Free Muse This victim is also included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. |
18-35 | M | Uyghur | Kizilsu | unclear (soft) | — | related to going abroad | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||
| 2084 | Besir Ablimit | 65????19????????O? | H. | information publicly available | name: Besir Ablimit gender: male ethnicity: unknown (most likely Uyghur) age: 56 or 57 (as of 6 DEC 2019) occupation: Professor of Uyghur literature, Dean of Philology Institute (Xinjiang Normal University) |
unknown | 2018 | unknown | detained | twitter: @Xjscholars on 6 Dec 2018 | — | 55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2313 | Chimengul Awut | 6531??1973??????E? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Chimengul Awut. She was a well-known poet and chief editor at kashgar Uyghur press. She was born in Kashgar in 1973. She was an influential poet that earned her fame with poems like “flower of revenge”, “stone leaves”, “The Road of No Return”, and her epic “The Other Side of Shor River” which won the 14th Hantengri literature award. Some of her poems were translated into other languages such as Chinese (https://www.douban.com/note/219061708/). According to reports, she was arrested and placed in concentration camp in July, 2018 (https://cpj.org/data/people/chimengul-awut/index.php, https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/investigation-uyghur-poet-detained-for-editing-problematic-book-11132018144554.html). | unknown (possibly in Kashgar) | July, 2018 | she was accused of producing books of “problemtic” or “dangerous” (https://cpj.org/data/people/chimengul-awut/index.php, https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/investigation-uyghur-poet-detained-for-editing-problematic-book-11132018144554.html) | in concentration camp | unclear (Her detention with other colleagues were reported on RFA and other wensites) | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
35-55 | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | concentration camp | July 2018 – Sep. 2018 | — | problematic literature | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2316 | Memeteli Abdurehim Danish | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Memeteli Abdurehim (family name is also called as Danish in other sites). He was a retired vice principal of XUAR Committee for Language and Writing. He is now in detention and current situation is unknown. | unknown (possibly in Urumqi) | unknown | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2361 | Wahitjan Osman | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Wahitjan Osman.He was a well-known poet and editor at the Xinjiang Educational Press. His poem collection “Awazliq Oqya” has won “Tulpar” award in 10th National literature of Minorities. He is arrested in late 2017 and placed in concentration camp. | unknown(possibly in Urumqi) | likely in late 2017 (as RFA posted in early 2018 https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/qisqa_xewer/uyghur-bilim-ademliri-tutqun-qilinmaqta-01202018182825.html) | unknown | in concentration camp | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | concentration camp | Oct. 2017 – Dec. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2364 | Yasin Zilar | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Yasin Zilar. He was a poet and editor in chief of the journal Tarim. His poem collection “Love” has won “Tulpar” award in 7th National literature of minorities. He is now in detention and current situation is unknown. | unknown | unknown | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2374 | Qeyyum Muhemmet | 克尤木·买买提 | 653128196706????O? | Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | Qeyum Muhemmet (克尤木.买买提). He was born in June, 1967 in Yopurgha county of Kashgar prefecture. He was an associate professor and chair at Xinjiang Arts Institute. He was a well-known actor and host. | [Presumably in Urumqi, as that is where he was based.] | unknown | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals His XJ Arts Institute page (since removed) He and his detention are briefly mentioned in a SupChina feature about Perhat Tursun |
Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 2510 | Enwer Qutluq Nezeri | 65292919711116??O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Enwer Qutluq Nezeri. He was born in Kelpin county of Aksu prefecture on November 16th, 1971. In 1990, he was accepted by the Xinjiang Normal University without an entrance exam. He was a prolific writer, poet, and editor at Xinjiang TV station. | unknown (possibly in Urumqi) | According to his brother living in Japan he was detained in early 2017 and placed in concentration camp (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=375181736605413). | unknown | in concentration camp | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
35-55 | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | concentration camp | Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2514 | Koresh Barat Ozbash | 6529271972??????O? | Zulpiqar Barat Ozbash (Facebook account name) | unclear | Koresh Barat Ozbash. He was born in Uchturpan county in 1972. He graduated from linguistics and Literature department of Xinjiang University in 1997. He was a teacher at Urumchi NO. 23 high school. He worked as a host at XJTV for the program “one book, one world”, which was a weekly program lasted for 4 years. He was also a voice artist on a TV show called “detective from Adana”, translated from Turkish into Uyghur language. He also worked as a host for “Ilim Cheyi”. He is older brother of well-known Uyghur scholar, socialist, Zulpiqar Barat Ozbash. He was detained in October, 2018 and disappeared since then. | urumqi | October, 2018 | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2517 | Mirzahid Kerimi | 6531011939??????O? | 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 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) |
Mirzahit Kerim, 80 years old. He was a writer and a retired editor at Kashgar Uyghur Press. He was imprisoned for 13 years while he was 20 years old in 1959 for writing “sanduq ichidiki bowaq”. He wrote about Uyghur history and historians. He was detained and sentenced for 11 years(https://eastturkistaninfo.com/2018/11/11/edib-haji-mirzahid-kerimi-yene-qamalghan-jaza-mudditi-11-yil/, https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/heptilik/heptilik-xewer-11162018171704.html). | [Unclear, as sentenced.] | unknown | Testimony 2: books he had written about Uyghur history, a speech on an event which was dedicated to his life. | in prison he has a number of health issues |
RFA confirmed | RFA 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 This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1) Mention in Foreign Policy |
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 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) |
(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. |
[Unclear, as sentenced.] | It’s not clear when he was detained in the more recent incarcerations. | 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. | Sentenced to 11 years in prison. He is said to have a number of health issues. |
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. | RFA 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 This victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs, available at here. Mention in Foreign Policy |
11 | 55+ | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | — | problematic literature | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | |||
| 2519 | Mutellipjan Memtimin | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup, | none | Mutellipjan Memtimin. He was a photographer, and owner of Kashgar White Horse Photo Studio. He is in detention and current situation is unknown. | possibly in Kashgar | unknown | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2521 | Muhemmedjan Ghoja Umidwar | 65292619????????O? | Testimony 1: This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. Testimony 2 (direct submission): An acquaintance of the victim. |
Testimony 1: none Testimony 2: acquaintance |
Mehmutjan Ghoja from Aksu’s Bay County. He was a poet, editor of the Xinjiang Youth journal. He is now in detention and current situation is unknown. | unknown | Testimony 2: around the middle of 2017. | unknown | in detention | Testimony 2: over WeChat | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2524 | Halide Israil | 650100195210????E? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduwei Ayup. | none | Xalide Israil, She was born in October, 1952. She was a well-known Uyghur writer. She was writer of well known “Altun Kesh”, “Qumluq Chushi”, “Tash Sheher” (https://ug.wikipedia.org/wiki/خالىدە_ئىسرائىل). Uyghur TV program “Mediniyet Bostani” dedicated their 469th program to Xalide Israil’s “Altun Kesh” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwWIDnNDylY). She is in detention although she was sick. And current situation is unknown. | possibly in Urumqi | unknown | unknown | in detention | unclear | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals Mention in Foreign Policy |
55+ | F | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2525 | Ablajan Seyit | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Ablajan Seyit. He was vice editor in chief and academic editor at Kashgar Uughur Press. He was detained on October 15th, 2018 (https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-ziyaliy-11072018144811.html). Current situation is unknown. | Kashgar | October 15th, 2018 | unknown | in detention | RFA report. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2526 | Osman Zunun | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Osman Zunun. He was retired former editor-in-chief and academic editor at Kashgar Uyghur press. He was detained in early 2018 (https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-ziyaliy-11072018144811.html). His current situation is unknown. | Kashgar | early 2018 | for editing “problematic books” | in detention | RFA report | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | problematic literature | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2527 | Abliz Omer | 65????19????????O? | This victim is placed in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals made by Abduweli Ayup. | none | Abliz Omer. He was retired former editor-in-chief and academic editor at Kashgar Uyghur Press. He detained 20 years ago from his work and had health conditions while his detention (https://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/qanun/uyghur-ziyaliy-11072018144811.html). | Kashgar | in 2017 | for editing “problematic books” | in detention | RFA report | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals This victim is also in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals provided by Uyghuraid |
— | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | problematic literature | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2866 | Yasinjan Sadiq Choghlan | 653125196603????O? | H. | information publicly available | name: Yasinjan Sadiq Choghlan gender: male ethnicity: Uyghur occupation: novelist |
unknown | early 2018 | unknown | arrested | https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/abey-arrest-10152018172356.html (published 15 OCT 2018) | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2870 | Muhter Helil Bughra | 65????19????????O? | H. | information publicly available | name: Muhter Helil Bughra gender: male ethnicity: Uyghur occupation: poet, writer, film director, producer, worked for Xinjiang People’s TV Station |
arrested in Urumchi, current whereabouts unknown | early 2018 | unknown | In the May 23, 2019 version of Abduweli Ayup’s list of detained intellectuals, it was announced that the victim has been released. [This was later corroborated by Arafat Erkin on Twitter, who mentioned that the victim had been active online.] |
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/abey-arrest-10152018172356.html (published 15 OCT 2018) https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/scholars-12132018162357.html (published 13 DEC 2018) |
This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (soft) | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2881 | Kerimjan Abdurehim | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Kerimjan Abdurehim, a poet and an instructor at the Kashgar Pedagogical Institute. | Very possibly in Kashgar, as that was where he lived and worked. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2889 | Osman Ehet | ????????????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Osman Ehet, from Qarluq Electronics. Music editor. | — | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2891 | Abdurahman Abdurehim | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Abdurahman Abdurehim, an editor at the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2892 | Memet Sidiq | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Memet Sidiq, of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2893 | Anargul Hekim | 65????19????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Anargul Hekim, of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2894 | Guzelnur Qasim | 65????19????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Guzelnur Qasim, of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2895 | Mahinur Hamut | 65????19????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Mahinur Hamut, of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2896 | Erkin Emet | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Erkin Emet, the head of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2897 | Emrulla Enwer | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Emrulla Enwer, of the Kashgar Uyghur Press. | Likely in Kashgar. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kashgar | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2907 | Osman Hoshur | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Osman Hoshur, a writer. | — | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2908 | Memet Emet Chopani | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Memet Emet Chopani, a writer and poet. | — | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2909 | Ibrahim Alptekin | 65300119????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Ibrahim Alptekin, a poet and publisher from Atush. | Presumably in Kizilsu. | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Kizilsu | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2913 | Reshide Dawut | 65??????????????E? | Testimony 1*: Helime Valiyff, from Adelaide, Australia. (niece-in-law) Testimony 2|3: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) |
Rashida Dawut, famous singer in 80,90s. she was arrested when the government cracked down the artists in Xinjiang Art & culture beauru (Xinjiang wenhuating. She was taken November 2018. No one heard from her since then. Her mum passed away in February 2019, her mother in law who is mother in law’s mu passed away in march 2019. Rashida appay was not part of any of their funerals. Now, we heard from social media that she was released 2 months ago. around May 2019. However, in a mentally instable condition. My mother in law is totally devastated, as she can not verify the information also could not talk to anyone about her mum’s death. | Xinjiang wenhuating residential area. Urumqi [unclear, as sentenced] |
November 2018 [Testimony 3: sentenced to prison in 2020] |
sang Uyghur folk songs [unlikely that this was reason given] |
unknown | social media | her phone before the detention +86 131 9980 7252 [This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 2-3)] |
Testimony 1*: Helime Valiyff, from Adelaide, Australia. (niece-in-law) Testimony 2|3: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) |
55+ | F | Uyghur | — | sentenced | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2914 | Aytulla Ela | 65??????????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Aytulla Ela, a singer from the XUAR theater. | — | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2916 | Memetjan Abduqadir | 65????19????????O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Douyin user, an unverified Douyin account. (relation unclear) |
Memetjan Abduqadir, a singer and actor. | — | Unclear. | — | Testimony 1: Detained. Testimony 2: According to comments on a post about him on Douyin, he appears to have been sentenced to 7 years, with 2 of the years served already (as of October 2019). However, it is not clear who and how reliable the source is. |
Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Douyin user, an unverified Douyin account. (relation unclear) |
7 | — | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 2917 | Mahire Yusup | 65??????????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Mahire Yusup, a singer from the Urumqi Song and Dance Troupe. | — | Unclear. | — | Detained. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 2918 | Nurshat Mijit | 6527??19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Nurshat Mijit, a singer and song writer from Bortala. | Presumably, in Bortala. | Unclear. | — | Released (from camp, presumably) on January 18, 2019. Unknown where to, however. | Unclear. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Bortala | unclear (soft) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3053 | Memetjan Rozi | 65????1979??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Memetjan Rozi, born in 1979, graphic designer and film editor. | — | September 5, 2017. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | July 2017 – Sep. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3120 | Reyhangul Mehmut | 65????19????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Reyhangul Mehmut, a graphic designer from the Qarluq electronics company. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3121 | Yusup Ehmet | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Yusup Ehmet, a graphic designer from the Qarluq electronics company. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3125 | Ebeydulla Ibrahim | 6532251951??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Ebeydulla Ibrahim, a writer and editor-in-chief of the “Xinjiang Youth” paper. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals Mention by Welt |
55+ | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3137 | Hamut Yasin | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Hamut Yasin, from the Xinjiang Education Press. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3150 | Telet Qadiri | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Telet Qadiri, from the Xinjiang Education Press, editor of a grade-8 Uyghur textbook. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3155 | Tohti Muhemmed Arish | 托合提穆罕默德·阿日西 | 653125196005102414 | Testimony 1*|2: Abdulla Tohti Arish, originally from Yarkand but now living in Germany. (son) Testimony 3: Abdulla Tohti Arish, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son) |
My father Tohti Muhammad Arish was born on 10 may 1960, his National ID card number is 653125196005102414, he was a teacher by training and became the Secretary of the Department of Education in the township of Tagharchi from 1980 to 2002. During this period, he published his two books and they are “The Village Story”, “Tears stained with Blood” by Kashghar Uyghur Publishing House. Later he became as the Chairman of the Committee for Writers and Artist in Yarkant County from 2002 to 2008. He retired in 2009, because of his health. He moved to Urumchi in 2011 and stayed with my family. During this period, he published his third book “Corn Naan”. He was detained in concentration camps on 11 may 2017 and I received this news via different channel as I live overseas. | Urumqi | 11 May 2017 [from testifier (Testimony 3): released at some point in mid-late 2019] |
Born As Uyghur, Born as Muslim, Born in East Turkistan | — | Vis Chinese Han Friend | [mentioned in RFA Article] | Testimony 1*|2: Abdulla Tohti Arish, originally from Yarkand but now living in Germany. (son) Testimony 3: Abdulla Tohti Arish, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son) |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (soft) | Apr. 2017 – June 2017 | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 3162 | Hamutjan Hekim | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Hamutjan Hekim, from the Xinjiang Education Press, editor of a grade-8 Uyghur textbook. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3163 | Shirmuhemmet Jarup | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Shirmuhemmet Jarup, from the Xinjiang Education Press, editor of an Uyghur textbook. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3169 | Adiljan Ayit | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Adiljan Ayit, artist for the Uyghur textbook from the Xinjiang Education Press. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3171 | Zamanidin Pakzat | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Zamanidin Pakzat, a poet and instructor at the preschool teachers college. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3172 | Gulchihre Chongelem Eziz | 65????19????????E? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Gulchihre Chongelem Eziz, a writer. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | F | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3173 | Ablikim Kelkun | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Ablikim Kelkun, a XUAR theater comedian. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3177 | Abdushukur Wahit | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Abdushukur Wahit, 37 (as of February 2019), of the Urumqi Sezgu advertising company. Film editor. “Brother” (likely cousin) of poet and film producer Tahir Hamut. | Arrested in Urumqi, so likely there. | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3215 | Hisamidin Eziz | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Hisamidin Eziz, poet, from the Xinjiang Representative Office in Beijing. | — | June 2018. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | Apr. 2018 – June 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3223 | Kamal Abliz | 65????1979??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Norway. Later info was taken from the victim’s Weibo account. | No known relation. | Kamal Abliz, born in 1979. Film maker and producer at the Dolan company. Director of the film “There is No Way for These Kids” (possibly inaccurate title). | — | Taken to camp on June 9, 2017. Based on his Weibo (which became active again after a long period of detention), he was released in August or September 2019 [if not earlier]. | — | Appears to be released, judging by his Weibo activity. [according to his girlfriend’s Weibo, they got married in October 2019] | That he was released can be conjectured from his Weibo, which is publicly available. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (soft) | Apr. 2017 – June 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3380 | Shemshiye Qurban | 6531??19????????E? | Zupikar Uyghur, an Uyghur man living in Turkey. | Mother | Shemshiye Qurban, 56 years old. Chinese passport no. E04587326. A worker in the City Library of Kashgar | Kashgar | Unclear | — | In re-education camp | Through friends, since direct contact has been cut since March 2017 | — | 55+ | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | concentration camp | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3624 | Uyghur Tekin | 65????19????????O? | “Fatimah Abdulghafur” (Twitter handle: @FatimahAbdulgh2) | No known relation, but they seem acquainted. | Uyghur Tekin, a famous Uyghur poet specializing in classic Uyghur poetry. | — | Taken to a camp on February 9, 2017. | — | “Disappeared” since being taken to camp. | Not stated. | — | — | M | Uyghur | — | concentration camp | Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3648 | Tahir Qasim | 65????19????????O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Norway. Testimony 2: Mustafa Tahir. |
Testimony 1: No known relation. Testimony 2: father. |
Tahir Qasim, a writer, poet, and professor from the Aksu Educational Institute. | — | Testimony 2: Contact lost on September 20, 2018. | — | Testimony 2: in camp. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | concentration camp | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3680 | Rahmanjan Awut Ozhal | 65????19????????E? | Testimony 1|2: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | Rahmanjan Awut Ozhal, a poet, singer, and song writer from the XUAR Theater. | — | Time of initial detention not stated. Testimony 2: released in November 2019. |
— | Testimony 1: In detention. Testimony 2: released from (hard) detention. |
Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals (Testimony 1-2) | Testimony 1|2: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (soft) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3681 | Eysabeg Mamut | 65??????????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Eysabeg (Eysajan) Mamut, a well-known folksinger. | — | Not stated. | Accused of illegal religious activity. | Originally reported that he was sentenced to 10 years, but in the May 23, 2019 version of the detained intellectuals list, he was reported as having been released. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (soft) | — | related to religion | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3682 | Waris Ababekri | 6501??1966??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Waris Ababekri, one of the former leaders of the 1988 Uyghur student movement. He was a writer and film producer at the Xinjiang Dolan Co. RFA report: He was born in 1966 in Urumchi. He participated in orginazing “12th Novermber student movement” in 1985. In 1987, he and Dolqun Isa, Rushan Abbas built ” Science and Culture Student Union” and he was secretary general of it and he was also the eiditor of “Science and Culture” magazine. He and Dolqun Isa were expeled from university because they participated in orginazing the Student Moment in 1988. In 1994, He started Yoluchilar Technology and Information Company. He has been arrested and released many times. |
— | RFA report: He was arrested and put in concentration camp in January 2019 for unknown reasons. He was allegedly released in the middle of November 2019 and, after a week, died of “illness’ (it’s not clear how RFA confirmed this info). | — | RFA report: Deceased. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals RFA coverage |
35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (soft) | Jan. 2019 – Mar. 2019 | — | — | — | — | deceased | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3685 | Ehtem Omer | 6531??1962??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Ehtem Omer, a writer and an employee at state-owned XUAR filmmaking company. | Unclear, but he was born in Kashgar. | @Uyghurspeaker: March 2017 | @Uyghurspeaker: his nephew studied in Egypt. | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | 55+ | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2017 | relative(s) | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3686 | Sewirdin Imam | 65010919????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Sewirdin Imam, a host and actor. | Tiechanggou, Miquan (Midong), Urumqi. | January 2019. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | unclear (hard) | Jan. 2019 – Mar. 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3687 | Abduqeyum Imin | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Abduqeyum Imin, an actor and editor at Xinjiang TV. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3688 | Hezereteli Memettursun | ????????????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Hezereteli Memettursun, a singer and public figure. | — | Not stated. | — | In detention. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 3708 | Memtimin Hoshur | 6540211944??????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Memtimin Hoshur was born in 1944 and grew up in Ghulja. He is an extremely popular writer and former head of the XUAR Writers Association. A graduate of Xinjiang University, he underwent “re-education” in the Ghulja area at the time of the Cultural Revolution. |
— | Not stated. | — | Detained. | Presumed from his books being deemed “problematic”. Also based on news that someone got out from Xinjiang. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals His Wikipedia entry Some of his literature translated |
55+ | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 4111 | Abdulgheni Memetimin | 65????19????????O? | This testimony has been imported from China Rights Forum. | – | Abdulghani Memetemin 26-Jul-02 A 40-year-old writer, teacher, translator and advocate was accused of divulging state secrets abroad. Memetemin was convicted on the basis of articles he translated for the German-based East Turkestan Information Center, and for recruiting additional reporters for ETIC. He was sentenced to nine years. | [Unclear, as sentenced.] | 26-Jul-02 | Divulging state secrets abroad. | Unknown | Unknown | https://www.hrichina.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/CRF.4.2006/CRF-2006-4_Custody.pdf | 9 | 35-55 | M | Uyghur | — | sentenced | before 2017 | — | revealing “state secrets” | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 4113 | Nurmuhemmet Yasin | 65????1974??????O? | This testimony has been imported from China Rights Forum. | – | Nurmehemmet Yasin (Nurmemet Yasin), was born in 1974 and was arrested in November 2004, after publishing a Detention Center short story entitled “Wild Pigeon,” which allegedly advocated Uyghur independence. He was sentenced to ten years. | Urumqi No. 1 PSB Detention center. | 29-Nov-04 | inciting separatism | Unknown | Unknown | https://www.hrichina.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/CRF.4.2006/CRF-2006-4_Custody.pdf https://pen.org/advocacy-case/nurmuhemmet-yasin/ |
10 | 18-35 | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | sentenced | before 2017 | — | separatism | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 4265 | Yasin Kerim | 65320119????????O? | Testimony 1-2: Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | Testimony 1-2: No known relation. | Yasin Kerim, a calligrapher from Yengi Erik Township in Hotan. He’s been awarded at several international calligraphy competitions. | Possibly in Hotan, since that’s where he’s from. | Not stated. | — | Detained. | Not stated. | His Instagram page This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals |
— | M | Uyghur | Hotan | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 4268 | Abdureshit Eli | 65????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Abdureshit Eli, a poet who goes by the pen name “tundiki adem” (person of the night). Editor of the “Yengi Qashteshi” (a seasonal literature magazine). | — | Not stated. | — | Detained. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals. | — | M | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 4287 | Ayshem Ehmet | 6522011942??????E? | Victim is mentioned in the UHRP Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review | no relation, information publicly available | Ayshem Ehmet, a prominent Uyghur writer, former editor of Qumul Gazette and Chief Editor of the magazine Qumul Literature. | Unclear | 2016 | Ehmet wrote an historical novel Immortal Traces, which was published in 1987. The book depicted Uyghur peasant resistance to the Qing dynasty’s harsh treatment of Uyghurs. The book was banned in 2016. | Sentenced to 18 years in prison | Information publicly available | — | 55+ | F | Uyghur | — | sentenced | before 2017 | problematic literature | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 4361 | Tursunjan Emet | 654101195512031193 | Testimony 1: Amnesty International, a human rights organization. Testimony 2: Doğan Erdoğan, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son-in-law) Testimony 3: 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) |
Tursunjan Amat, an Uyghur poet. [RFA report: he is originally from Ili.] |
Urumqi [presumably in Urumqi] [his son-in-law (Testimony 4): in Miquan, Urumqi] |
2002 [RFA report: He was detained and released many times after he had read Uyghur poem which officials interpreted to be “anti-people and advocating seperatism” – the first detention was in 2002. According to his son-in-law, a Turkish citizen now residing in Kazakhstan, he was detained again a year ago – as of October 2019 – and hasn’t been released yet.] |
During the New Year’s Party in Urumqi People’s Hall in January 1, 2002, he read his poem in Uyghur that the officials interpreted to be “anti-people and advocating seperatism”. |
[presumably still in camp, according to his son in his video testimony; he suffers from diabetes] [according to son-in-law (Testimony 4): no news since mid-2019, when a cellmate told them that the victim was interned but “doing well”] |
Amnesty International report (Testimony 1) [later coverage by RFA (Testimony 2)] |
Tursunjan’s arrest led to the government establishing compulsory political classes for the literary elite in Xinjiang | Testimony 1: Amnesty International, a human rights organization. Testimony 2: Doğan Erdoğan, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (son-in-law) Testimony 3: 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) |
Tursunjan Emet is an Uyghur poet, originally from Ili. | Believed by his son-in-law to be in a camp in Miquan, Urumqi. | 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, with the most recent detention being towards the end of 2018. | The reason for the initial detention back in 2002 was “advocating 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. | Believed to be in camp. A former cellmate allegedly told his relatives in mid-2019 that Tursunjan was still there but “doing well”. He suffers from diabetes. |
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. | 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 Recent coverage from Radio Free Asia |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Urumqi | concentration camp | before 2017 | contact with outside world | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | ||||
| 4562 | Medine Ekber | 买迪娜·艾克拜尔 | 65????19????????E? | Testifier: Chinese government-backed Global Times article about people who study or have studied in re-education camps. The time of the interviews is October 22-23, 2018: https://news.rednet.cn/c/2018/10/26/4759465.htm (also mentioned in http://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1615211490571029042&wfr=spider&for=pc) | – | Medina Aqbar (买迪娜 艾克拜尔) was studying dancing in Beijing until her return to Xinjiang in 2015 to study Uyghur dances. She says that after finishing ethnic minority dance studies in Beijing, she went back to Urumqi and was condemned by peers for having a non-Muslim boyfriend. She broke up with her boyfriend after returning to Beijing from Urumqi, dressed conservatively and did not want to have contact with previous friends. 衣着开始保守，不再愿意和同学们联系或者一起出去玩。She went to restaurants with halal food signs and asked friends in Urumqi to send her halal coffee and chocolate. She was supposedly scolded at her hometown for wearing a T-Shirt. “I had to always keep in mind if I’m eating halal food, and I even had to buy a halal toothpaste! Thinking back now, I was so stupid!” | Presumably Kashgar, since the city is the focus of the article | Unclear | Unclear | Presumably still in camp | Interview taken at re-education camp | — | 18-35 | F | Uyghur | Kashgar | concentration camp | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 4695 | Nurmuhemmed Tohti | 努尔买买提·托合提 | 65322119491231??O? | Testimony 1: Berna Ilchi, as reported by Voice of America. (granddaughter) Testimony 2: Zohre Ilchi, as reported by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (daughter) Testimony 3: Babur Ilchi, as reported by Globe and Mail. (grandson) Testimony 4: Chinese government spokesperson, as reported by Globe and Mail. Testimony 5: Zohre Ilchi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter) Testimony 6: Babur Ilchi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (grandson) Testimony 7: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. Testimony 8: Rishat Musajan, as reported by Global Times. (from same town/region) |
Nurmuhammed Tohti, born in 1949 in Tawakkul township (塔瓦库勒乡), Hotan county. After finishing school Hotan, he became a farmer. From 1973-1977, he studied mathematics at Xinjiang University and taught at Hotan Normal College. He also served as the Secretary of Chinese Communist Party at Hotan region and a professional writer at the Xinjiang Writers Union. In 1984, he started his writing career and he has written over 50 stories. | Presumably in Hotan. | Detained in November 2018, then released in March 2019. | Testimony 4: “put under residential surveillance for illegal religious activities”, according to Chinese authorities | Died on May 31, 2019. He had heart problems and diabetes before going to the camp, and was not provided with necessary medicine. Testimony 4: The Chinese authorities claim that he had diabetes for over 20 years and that he had a heart attack on May 31 and died on the way to the hospital. |
After his release from camp, Zohra Ilchi (his daughter) and Nurmuhammad had a phone call, with many family members listening together with Zohra. However, Nurmuhammad couldn‘t utter a single word and instead cried, and so did everyone during the phone call. After his death, the family also had a phone call with the victim’s wife, who confirmed the news. Testimony 4+7: these are government sources, who presumably have direct knowledge of the case. |
Story covered by VOA (Testimony 1) Story covered by the Guardian Story covered by CBC (Testimony 2) Globe and Mail coverage: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-after-their-grandfathers-death-a-family-in-calgary-grapples-with-the/ (Testimony 3) https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-china-denies-holding-uyghur-writer-in-a-camp-said-he-was-under/ (Testimony 4) RFA coverage (Testimony 5-7): Testimony 8: In its reply to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s 2019 report, which mentioned Tohti’s death, the Chinese state-media outlet Global Times cited the mayor of Hotan, Rishat Musajan, as saying that Tohti had never studied in a vocational training center and had suffered from heart disease for nearly 20 years, with the writer dying after a heart attack on May 31, 2019. |
Testimony 1: Berna Ilchi, as reported by Voice of America. (granddaughter) Testimony 2: Zohre Ilchi, as reported by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (daughter) Testimony 3: Babur Ilchi, as reported by Globe and Mail. (grandson) Testimony 4: Chinese government spokesperson, as reported by Globe and Mail. Testimony 5: Zohre Ilchi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (daughter) Testimony 6: Babur Ilchi, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (grandson) Testimony 7: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. Testimony 8: Rishat Musajan, as reported by Global Times. (from same town/region) |
55+ | M | Uyghur | Hotan | unclear (soft) | Oct. 2018 – Dec. 2018 | — | related to religion | — | — | deceased | art & literature | ||||||||||
| 4828 | Abdurehim Ablethan | ??????19????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur scholar, linguist, activist now living in Turkey. | No known relation. | Abdurehim Ablethan, writer and filmmaker from Jigde Quduq village (沙枣井村), Huicheng township (回城乡), Yizhou area, Hami city | Presumably in Hami | Not stated. | — | Detained. | Not stated. | This victim is included in the list of detained Uyghur intellectuals | — | M | Uyghur | Hami | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 5098 | Ershidin Nurmemet | 65????19????????O? | “Elyar T 艾力亚尔” (Twitter handle: @TursunElyar) | Not stated. | Ershidin Nurmemet (艾尔西丁·努尔买买提) is the founder of CGI Dream Works, a 3D animation company. He is a 3D-animation trainer and also a member of the Xinjiang Youth League. | — | Disappeared into a camp in late November 2017. | — | [Presumably still in camp.] | Not stated. | — | “Elyar T 艾力亚尔” (Twitter handle: @TursunElyar) | Not stated. | Ershidin Nurmemet (艾尔西丁·努尔买买提) is the founder of CGI Dream Works, a 3D animation company. He is a 3D-animation trainer and also a member of the Xinjiang Youth League. | — | Disappeared into a camp in late November 2017. | — | [Presumably still in camp.] | Not stated. | — | — | M | Uyghur | — | concentration camp | Oct. 2017 – Dec. 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||
| 5201 | Memettursun Memet | 65??????????????O? | “Elyar T 艾力亚尔” (Twitter handle: @TursunElyar) | Not stated. | Memettursun Memet, a photographer. | — | Taken to camp in 2017. | — | [Presumably still in camp.] | Not stated. | — | “Elyar T 艾力亚尔” (Twitter handle: @TursunElyar) | Not stated. | Memettursun Memet, a photographer. | — | Taken to camp in 2017. | — | [Presumably still in camp.] | Not stated. | — | — | M | Uyghur | — | concentration camp | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||
| 5348 | Melikem Tomur | 65220119????????E? | Testimony 1: Abliz, originally from Urumqi but now living in Belgium. (nephew) Testimony 2*: Abliz, as reported by Vanessa Frangville. (nephew) |
Melikem Tomur is from Hami City and had spent many years as a singer in the Hami Uyghur music ensemble prior to retirement. Address: Hami City, Hami Prefecture. |
[Presumably in Hami.] | Arrested by Chinese police in February 2018 and taken to a concentration camp. [update in November 2019 (Testimony 2): the victim and her husband both appear to have been released in October 2019] |
— | [Presumably] still in camp. [update in November 2019: victim and her husband both appear to have been released] Her health had not been very good prior to detention and she was undergoing treatment. |
Not stated. | Her husband, Iskender, was also arrested at the same time and also taken to camp. | Testimony 1: Abliz, originally from Urumqi but now living in Belgium. (nephew) Testimony 2*: Abliz, as reported by Vanessa Frangville. (nephew) |
Melikem Tomur is from Hami City and had spent many years as a singer in the Hami Uyghur music ensemble prior to retirement. Address: Hami City, Hami Prefecture. |
[Presumably in Hami.] | Arrested by Chinese police in February 2018 and taken to a concentration camp. She was allegedly released in October 2019. | — | The testifier heard that she’s been released, but the details remain unclear. Her health had not been very good prior to detention and she was undergoing treatment. |
Not stated. | Her husband, Iskender, was also arrested at the same time and also taken to camp. According to what the testifier heard, he too was released around October 2019. | — | F | Uyghur | Hami | unclear (soft) | Jan. 2018 – Mar. 2018 | — | — | — | — | has problems | art & literature | ||||
| 5398 | Litip Limit | Twitter user Uyghur-Gul (handle: @Uyghur_gul) | None | Litip Limit, a musician from Hami who has also performed in bars in Yunnan province. His five year old son has disappeared since Litip’s detention | Hami prefecture | Beginning of 2017 | Possibly for travelling to Egypt for a holiday | In re-education camp | Through a friend | — | — | M | Uyghur | Hami | concentration camp | — | related to going abroad | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||||
| 6767 | Muhter Supurge | Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. | His name is Muhter Supurge. He is a poet. He is [probably a teacher at Hotan Pedagogical Technical College because he was included among those who were detained from this Collage.] | [Probably in Hoten.] | Unknown. | Unknown. | Probably in Keriye prison as the detainees from Hotan Pedagogical Technical Callege are allegedly in Keriye prison. | RFA report: One of the former political law cadres who was responsible for the education in Hoten has revealed that the victim and Enwer Hoshur along with other nearly 50 people from the College were in Keriye prison. | According to the news, there are five retirees among the detainees from Hoten Pedagogical Technical College and some of them have health problems. RFA coverage |
Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. | — | M | Uyghur | Hotan | sentenced | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||||
| 8511 | Gheni Semet | 65313019????????O? | Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | Gheni Semet, self-employed, a poet and an owner of an Uyghur bookstore. He is originally from Maralbeshi County. | — | Not stated. | — | — | Not stated. | The victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs | Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | — | M | Uyghur | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | |||||||||||
| 9041 | Gulnisa Imin | Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | Gulnisa Imin (古丽尼沙·依敏), an Uyghur poet and local activist. According to online Chinese sources, her poem Two-Spotted Cloud 《两点的云》has been selected as one of 1200 “Representative Works of Modern Chinese Poetry” in 2015. Her poetry has also been translated into Japanese and selected in Uyghur poetry selection published in Japan. |
Unclear | Unclear | Unclear | Detained | Not stated. | Full list of 1200 “Representative Works of Modern Chinese Poetry” http://archive.ph/wip/aNDB5 The victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs |
Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) | — | F | Uyghur | — | unclear (hard) | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature | ||||||||||||
| 9042 | Abduweli Muqiyit | 654???1945??????O? | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Dilnur Reyhan, an Uyghur scholar, originally from Ghulja but now in France. (from same town/region) |
Abduweli Muqiyit, an activist and cultural figure. Born in 1945 in Ghulja. | Testimony 1: A prison in Heilongjiang province | 2019 | Unclear | Testimony 1: Sentenced to 17 years in prison Testimony 2: Sentenced to life. |
Testimony 1-2: Not stated | The victim is included in the list of prominent detained Uyghurs (Testimony 1) | Testimony 1: Abduweli Ayup, a language activist, linguist, and writer, originally from Kashgar but now residing in Norway. (relation unclear) Testimony 2: Dilnur Reyhan, an Uyghur scholar, originally from Ghulja but now in France. (from same town/region) |
100 | 55+ | M | Uyghur | inner China | sentenced | — | — | — | — | — | — | art & literature |
