Uyghurs Under Occupation

Occupation under Chinese Rule

East Turkistan was occupied by the communist China in 1949 and was named XUAR (East Turkistan) in 1955. Since then the communist China has been exercising colonial rule in East Turkistan. The Uyghurs have undergone unimaginable sufferings and has been subjugated to inhuman conditions under the repressive alien rule. Despite all the suffering and cultural genocide, the determination and the spirit of the people in East Turkistan remains ever strong. Despite all the risks involved, demonstrations, protest marches and other activities aimed at obtaining equality and justice for Uyghurs have never stopped.

DEATH IN CUSTODY – SCHOLAR ABDULEHED MEHSUM

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) condemns the death in custody of yet another Uyghur religious scholar, which was reported by relatives early this week. 88-year old Abdulnehed Mehsum died while being held in a political indoctrination camp in Hotan prefecture in November 2017, though the death was not reported until May 27, 2018. His death…

DEATH IN CUSTODY – SCHOLAR MUHAMMAD SALIH HAJIM

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has received confirmation from the relatives of Muhammad Salih Hajim of his death in custody. The prominent Quarnic scholar and Uyghur religious leader was 82 years old. On January 24, 2018, UHRP expressed concern about reports of his detention in Urumchi. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown, but he…

HORIGUL NASIR

UYGHUR WOMAN HANDED 10-YEAR PRISON TERM OVER HEADSCARF CLAIM By Shohret Hoshur – A Chinese court in the country’s northwestern Xinjiang (East Turkistan) region has jailed a young Uyghur woman for 10 years over claims by a friend that she had promoted the wearing of headscarves, a form of Islamic dress increasingly restricted by Chinese authorities, sources…

HEBIBULLA TOHTI

XINJIANG AUTHORITIES SENTENCE UYGHUR SCHOLAR TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON By Shohret Hoshur – Authorities in northwest China’s Xinjiang (East Turkistan) region have sentenced a prominent Uyghur theological scholar sponsored by the country’s state-sanctioned Islamic Association to 10 years in prison following his return from Egypt, according to local sources. A faculty member at Xinjiang (East Turkistan) Islamic…

ILHAM TOHTI

Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti celebrates his birthday on 25 October, shortly after he was awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for human rights. But who is he and why is he in prison in China? Ilham Tohti is a respected economist who has highlighted abuses against China’s Uighur minority. A renowned Uighur intellectual in China, Ilham…

ABDUSEMET QARIHAJI

Sentence: Imprisoned since 25 May 2016 for 20 years Abdusemet Qarihaji (Chinese: Abudusaimaiti Kere’aji), born in 1926 in Yurchi Township of Kelpin County, is a respected Uyghur religious cleric and teacher from Kelpin County who was arrested on May 10th 2016 and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by the Aksu Prefectural People’s Intermediate Court on May…

UYGHURS AND OTHER ETHNIC MINORITIES IN XUAR HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO ARBITRARY ARREST, EGREGIOUS RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGIOUS PRACTICE AND CULTURE, AND A DIGITIZED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM SO PERVASIVE THAT EVERY ASPECT OF DAILY LIFE IS MONITORED—THROUGH FACIAL RECOGNITION CAMERAS, MOBILE PHONE SCANS, DNA COLLECTION, AND AN AN EXTENSIVE AND INTRUSIVE POLICE PRESENCE.

In a letter dated April 3, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and U.S. Representative Chris Smith, the chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China