Responsive Image

Ablikim Abdureyim

Released 31 May 2017

Sentenced to 9 years in prison and three years deprivation of political rights for “instigating and engaging in secessionist activities”

According to Chinese state media Xinhua, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ablikim Abdureyim, a son of Rebiya Kadeer, to 9 years in prison and three years deprivation of political rights on 17 April 2007, for “instigating and engaging in secessionist activities.”

According to the Uyghur American Association (UAA), the court reportedly tried Ablikim, who was not given the right to legal representation of his choice and his family was unable to attend the trial, on 22 January 2007. Abdiriyim’s family says that his “confession” was likely to have been made under torture. The verdict alleged he disseminated pro-secession articles, planned to incite anti-government protest, and wrote an essay misrepresenting human rights conditions in Xinjiang.

Authorities formally arrested Ablikim and his brothers Alim and Kahar on 14 June, and indicted Ablikim on 14 July for subversion of state power, and Alim and Kahar for tax evasion. The Tianshan District People’s Court imposed a 7-year prison sentence and fine on Alim and imposed a fine on Kahar on 27 November 2006, for tax evasion.

Their mother is Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent Uyghur activist, whose family has been targeted by the authorities since she was detained as a prisoner of conscience in 1999. This intensified after she was released on medical parole on 17 March 2005 and left China for the USA.
On 27 November 2006, the day after Rebiya Kadeer was elected president of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), a court sentenced her sons, which is considered an unacceptable persecution against Rebiya Kadeer’s family and a punishment for her human rights activism.

In 2007, the Uyghur American Association (UAA) reported that Ablikim has reportedly been subjected to maltreatment and has suffered from physical ailments throughout his imprisonment and detention. When Ablikim Abduriyim’s relatives visited him in prison on 13 December 2010, he told them he had been tortured. He said he was also transferred to solitary confinement on 3 November 2010 after refusing to sign a document denying that he had witnessed a controversial incident in the prison.

According to Dui Hua information based on official Chinese sources, Ablikim is serving his sentence at the Xinjiang Number 4 prison.

Sources:

Amnesty International (AI), China urged to release Uighur activist allegedly tortured in prison, 20 December 2010, available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/china-urged-release-uighur-activist-allegedly-tortured-prison-2010-12-20

Human Rights in China (HRIC), HRIC Condemns Rights Violations and Harsh Sentence in Ablikim Abdureyim’s Case, 19 April 2007, available at:  http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/press?revision_id=35969&item_id=35965

Radio Free Asia (RFA), Uyghur Dissidents Sons Detained, Beaten in Front of Own Children, 1 June 2006, available at: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur_kadeer-20060601.html

U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Entry for “Ablikim Abdureyim” in Political Prisoner Database (CECC Record Number: 2006-00084), available at: http://ppd.cecc.gov/QueryResultsDetail.aspx?PrisonerNum=5885

Uyghur American Association (UAA) Press release, Son of Rebiya Kadeer sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of “secessionism”, 17 April 2007, available at: http://www.uyghuramerican.org/articles/873/1/Son-of-Rebiya-Kadeer-sentenced-to-nine-years-in-prison-on-charges-of-quotsecessionismquot/index.html

Uyghur American Association (UAA) Press release, Rebiya Kadeer’s imprisoned son in urgent need of medical treatment, 11 December 2007, available at: http://www.uyghuramerican.org/articles/1308/1/Rebiya-Kadeers-imprisoned-son-in-urgent-need-of-medical-treatment/index.html

Uyghur American Association (UAA) Press release, Chinese embassy spokesman responds to concerns about the health of Rebiya Kadeer’s son in Voice of America news report, 17 December 2007, available at: http://www.uyghuramerican.org/articles/1317/1/Chinese-embassy-spokesman-responds-to-concerns-about-the-health-of-Rebiya-Kadeers-son-in-Voice-of-America-news-report/index.html

[Last updated: September 2011]