Lina K 28/01/2025 Lina K 28/01/2025

Uyghur historian sentenced again - this time to life in prison

Uyghur historian Tursunjan Hezim, the founder of a website which archived a vast collection of books and materials on Uyghur history before it was shut down by Beijing, was sentenced to life in prison in 2022.

Lina K 23/12/2024 Lina K 23/12/2024

Uyghur intellectual died while in custody of Chinese authorities

Ibrahim Dawut had been an advocate for Uyghur language education, but died two months after his arrest.

Lina K 19/09/2024 Lina K 19/09/2024

Uyghur scholar’s prison guard gets 7 years for revealing ‘secrets’

The Uyghur prison guard was sentenced to seven years in jail for divulging information about the condition of prominent Uyghur political prisoner Ilham Tohti.

Lina K 18/09/2024 Lina K 18/09/2024

World leaders must act to end decade of injustice for jailed Uyghur academic

The international community must take concrete steps to help secure the release of Ilham Tohti, Amnesty said ahead of the 10-year-anniversary of his conviction on baseless charges of “separatism”.

Lina K 18/09/2024 Lina K 18/09/2024

Urgent Appeal for the Immediate Release of Ilham Tohti

Ilham Tohti, a renowned Uyghur intellectual, has spent a decade unjustly imprisoned for his peaceful advocacy. His calls for understanding and dialogue between Uyghurs and Han Chinese were met with a life sentence on baseless charges of “separatism”.

Lina K 22/08/2024 Lina K 22/08/2024

Uyghur entrepreneur serving 18 years for charitable contributions

Elijan Ismail was sentenced for “inciting separatism” because the recipients of his donations included families of political prisoners.

Lina K 20/08/2024 Lina K 20/08/2024

Uyghur Race as the Enemy: China’s Legalized Authoritarian Oppression & Mass Imprisonment

This report explores how China’s systematic, large-scale imprisonment of Uyghurs not only amounts to a crime against humanity, but also dangerous lawfare at mass scale.

Lina K 08/08/2024 Lina K 08/08/2024

Former Uyghur official confirmed serving jail sentence for ‘two-faced’ actions

Having appealed to Chinese soldiers not to shoot two Uyghur officials during a violent incident in Xinjiang a decade ago, Ahat Sayit was arrested in 2017 and later sentenced to 20 years.

Lina K 23/03/2024 Lina K 23/03/2024

Uyghur publisher jailed for books on Uyghur independence, identity

Believed detained for publishing books about Uyghur cultural identity, Erkin Emet was sentenced to prison in 2018; his whereabouts and the length of his sentence is unknown.

Lina K 26/02/2024 Lina K 26/02/2024

Uyghur imam, 96, dies in prison

Sentenced to nine years in prison in 2017, the religious leader died in prison, and authorities did not turn his body over to his family, his granddaughter told Radio Free Asia.

Lina K 11/12/2023 Lina K 11/12/2023

Jailed Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Citing his role as “the true symbol of the Uyghur people's fight for freedom” under Chinese rule in Xinjiang, more than 180 high-level officials and experts have nominated Ilham Tohti to receive the prize.

Lina K 21/11/2023 Lina K 21/11/2023

Uyghur educator, poet confirmed to have died in prison in Xinjiang

The body of a Uyghur educator, researcher and poet who died in prison in Xinjiang in late August was taken by authorities directly to a cemetery for burial instead of first being returned to his family.

Lina K 30/08/2023 Lina K 30/08/2023

Remembering enforced disappearance victims in Asia

What do a prize-winning rural development expert from Laos, two Tibetan sisters, a Uyghur anthropologist and a Burmese monk have in common? They are all victims of enforced disappearance, with their whereabouts unknown.

Lina K 20/05/2023 Lina K 20/05/2023

New details about Uyghur law school student’s suicide come to light

Police files reveal the 22-year-old was distraught over the detention of her father, a Chinese Communist party cadre and member of the village’s People’s Congress, for “threatening national security.”

Lina K 03/03/2023 Lina K 03/03/2023

Uyghur teacher confirmed detained in Xinjiang for work on literature textbooks

A middle-school teacher is serving a 19-year prison sentence, likely for his participation in the writing of Uyghur textbooks two decades ago, despite them being approved by Chinese authorities.

Lina K 09/02/2023 Lina K 09/02/2023

The Complicity of Heritage: Cultural Heritage and Genocide in the Uyghur Region

This report highlights how China’s actions constitute what UNESCO calls “strategic cultural cleansing”, through systematic destruction of cultural heritage and targeting people on the basis of their ethnic affiliation.

Lina K 29/12/2022 Lina K 29/12/2022

Renowned Uyghur poet dies following prison release in Xinjiang

A renowned Uyghur writer and poet in poor health when released from prison died on Dec. 18 because he could not obtain food or medical treatment amid a strict coronavirus lockdown, according to local information.

Lina K 21/12/2022 Lina K 21/12/2022

Uyghur nutritionist confirmed detained in China’s Xinjiang

Authorities in China’s far-western Xinjiang region have detained a well-known Uyghur nutritionist for messages he posted on social media, according to police reports.

Lina K 20/12/2022 Lina K 20/12/2022

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions Publishes Opinion on Uyghur Writer

On December 20th, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (WGAD) announced its opinion on renowned Uyghur writer Yalqun Rozi, who was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 2016.

Lina K 01/09/2022 Lina K 01/09/2022

The Backstreets - A Novel From Xinjiang

The Backstreets is an astonishing novel by a preeminent contemporary Uyghur author. A translator’s introduction situates the novel in the political atmosphere that led to the disappearance of both the author and his work by the Chinese state.

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