All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
Prominent Uyghur journalist said to be serving 15 years for ‘political crimes’
A prominent Uyghur journalist who went missing in November 2017 is serving 15 years in prison in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region for “political crimes,” his son and authorities in the region told RFA.
Chinese officials restrict number of Uyghurs observing Ramadan
Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are restricting the number of Muslims allowed to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, drawing heavy criticism from rights groups that see the government directive as the latest effort to diminish Uyghur culture in the region.
Uyghur volleyball coach gets 8 years in jail for ‘befriending bearded men’
A national-level Uyghur volleyball coach is serving an eight-year prison sentence for “befriending bearded men,” under a deepening crackdown on Islamic practices and culture, a Uyghur living in exile and a local police officer told RFA. Alimjan Mehmut’s name is also on a list of Uyghur torchbearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games who have been imprisoned in recent years, caught in a wider crackdown on the ethnic minority group.
Hundreds of Uyghurs said to be detained in camp in Xinjiang’s Manas county
Nearly 800 Uyghurs are being held in a detention camp in Manas county in northwestern China’s Xinjiang, said an official from the area who previously worked at the facility. The official also said that the Uyghur inmates had been arrested for committing “serious crimes,” such as praying, and that inside the facility they learned “the national language” of Mandarin Chinese.
China moves to close down Uyghur cultural, language organizations
The Chinese government’s move to shut down more than 150 Uyghur cultural research and language organizations is another indication of the cultural eradication of the mostly Muslim community, those once involved in the organizations and Uyghur artists said.
UN head reiterates call for China to allow ‘credible’ Xinjiang visit
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday again called on China to allow outside officials to visit Xinjiang to observe how the government is treating Uyghur Muslims there.
Turkey closes Uyghur school in Istanbul after China complains
Authorities in Istanbul closed a Uyghur elementary school there allegedly at the request of the Chinese government officials who worried students were receiving anti-China instruction, the principal and the parents of students said.
Another Uyghur torchbearer at 2008 Beijing Olympics said to be detained
A Uyghur who served as a torchbearer in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and was a medical doctor is serving an 18-year jail sentence, caught in a wider crackdown on the ethnic minority group, Uyghurs living in exile and officials in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region said.
Uyghur woman sentenced to 14 years for teaching Islam, hiding Qurans
Uyghur woman sentenced to 14 years for teaching Islam, hiding Qurans.
Tibetan monks, local residents forced to watch destruction of sacred statue
Authorities in China’s Sichuan province last month forced Tibetan monks and other local residents to watch the demolition of a large and venerated Buddha statue following official complaints that the statue had been built too high, Tibetan sources said.
Uyghur forced laborer died at factory in China’s Xinjiang, officials say
A Uyghur woman who had been interned in a detention camp in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region died of a stomach ailment in September 2020 while performing forced labor at a sock factory adjacent to the internment facility, RFA has learned.
Activists Call For Release of Uyghur Scholar on 7th Anniversary of His Jailing
Human rights activists on Thursday called on China to release jailed Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti, sentenced seven years ago to life in prison for “separatism,” for his advocacy work in Xinjiang.
US tech products enable Chinese surveillance in Xinjiang, researchers find
U.S. technology companies are still supplying China’s surveillance state, including in the Xinjiang region, according to researchers.
US Targets China Polysilicon Makers Over Uyghur Forced Labor in Xinjiang
The United States took new measures on Thursday to address China’s use of Uyghurs as forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), halting imports from a major Chinese producer of polysilicon for the solar panel industry and blacklisting other firms operating in the region. The targeting of polysilicon makers followers similar moves since last year against hair products, electronics, tomatoes, and cotton made in Xinjiang with suspected forced labor.
Uyghur Businessman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison For Ties to Turkey
The Uyghur founder of a grocery store chain with more than 500 food stores and 200 product lines throughout China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) was sentenced in May to more than 17 years in prison for his alleged “suspicious” relations with Turkey, following a three-year investigation, sources outside and inside the region told RFA.
Thousands of ‘Terrorism Suspects’ on ‘Shanghai List’ Include Uyghur Children, Elderly
A recently leaked Chinese government document provides new insight into how China characterizes extremist threats. More than three quarters of the names on the list of some 10,000 “suspected terrorists” are ethnic Uyghurs, while the document includes hundreds of minors and the elderly, providing rare insight into how Beijing characterizes threats it has used to lock up more than a million people.
Dismaying Uyghurs, Legislatures of Australia and Turkey Reject Motions on China Genocide Label
Lawmakers in Australia rejected a motion on Monday to recognize human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as genocide, disappointing hopes by Uyghurs and other XUAR natives that the country would follow similar designations by the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands. The decision followed a similar move by Turkish lawmakers last week in Ankara.
Trapped in the System: Experiences of Uyghur Detention in Post-2015 Xinjiang
This report presents the results of in-depth interviews conducted with eight individuals with recent direct experience inside detention facilities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
‘It Went on For Four Hours, Just to Film a Single Video’: Uyghur Former Camp Instructor
Qelbinur Sidik, 51, is one of the few people to relate their experiences working at a facility in the vast network of internment camps in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). A well-respected instructor, Sidik was forced to teach the language at a men’s camp between March and September 2017, as well as at a women’s camp between September and October of that year. Sidik, who now lives in the Netherlands, estimates that the two camps held around 3,000 and 10,000 detainees, respectively.
Interview: ‘To Fight for Truth is a Great Calling’
On March 4, Sayragul Sauytbay was one of a dozen recepients of the Annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award. Originally from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Sayragul is a former medical doctor who was separated from her family, tortured, imprisoned, and faced execution for speaking out about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) repression of Muslim minorities. In this Q&A, Sayragul gives her thoughts on her award and the message it sends to Chinese authorities and about the reasons behind China’s persecution of Muslim minorities forced into the camps.