Professor Muhtar Supurge (in Uyghur: مۇختار سۈپۈرگى, in Chinese: 穆合塔尔·苏菲尔格) is among the individuals who were arrested and sentenced in 2018 -2019. He is currently serving a prison sentence in Hotan, southern parts of East Turkistan. His detention reportedly related the “problematic Uyghur textbooks” which put at least more than hundred Uyghur scholars in prison, like Yalqun Rozi, Sattar Sawut, Alimjan Memtimin, Wahitjan Osman, Tahir Nasir.
Muhtar Supurge was born on March 29, 1963, in Aksu Onsu village. In 1980, he completed his high school education and enrolled in the Faculty of Language and Literature at Hotan Teachers College. After graduating in July 1984, he began his teaching career at the same faculty. Between 1991 and 1992, he pursued further studies in the Teacher Training program at the Faculty of Languages and Literature at Xinjiang University, ultimately earning the title of Associate Professor in 1999.
In September 2003, he participated the “New Course Standards” seminar at Wuhan Central China Normal University. In 2005, he continued his academic pursuits at Shanghai East China Normal University. From September 2007 to July 2008, he worked at the Institute of Philology at Xinjiang Normal University. From October 2003 to July 2008, he held the position of Deputy Director of the Language and Literature Faculty at Hotan Teachers College. In July, he was reassigned to the Faculty of Primary Education at Hotan Teachers College as an assistant manager.
Starting in 1981, he has made significant contributions by publishing over 500 poems, short stories, narratives, parables, and scientific articles in various newspapers and magazines within the Uyghur region. Poems such as “Under the Umbrella,” “Guma Monuments,” and “Nowruz Lyrics” have garnered accolades from the Central People’s Radio Station, the Xinjiang “Hantangri Literature Award,” and the Hotan Provincial Administrative Office. In 2003, an anthology of poems titled “Night Lyrics” was published by Xinjiang People’s Publishing House – 新疆人民出版社. In 2015, Xinjiang University Publishing House – 新疆大学出版社 released a textbook titled “Middle School Language and Literature Teaching Method”
His literary endeavors and select works have been featured in publications such as “Tarim,” “Xinjiang Youth,” and “Yengi Qashteshi (New Jade)” His name and concise biography are documented in eight dictionaries, including “Dictionary of China’s Contemporary Young Celebrities” and “Dictionary of Authoritative Figures in China’s Contemporary Literature and Art”
He was an esteemed member of the “Chinese Minority Writers’ Academic Association,” “Xinjiang Writers Association,” and the Hotan Provincial Writers’ Association as well.
Some of his poems in Uyghur: read, alternative link
