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Memet Turghun Abdulla

Disappeared since May 2010 and believed to be in detention for distributing “separatist ideas.”

According to a public security official cited by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Memet Turghun Abdulla, a Uyghur man from Yengisar county, Kashgar district, disappeared from his home sometime around May 2010 and is believed to be in detention.

Yengisar county state security officials had originally detained Memet Turghun Abdulla in August 2009 for writing an online article titles ”Everyone Needs Equality” about Han Chinese in Guangdong province killing Uyghur factory workers in June 2009, an event which prompted demonstrations in Urumqi on 5 July 2009. He was subsequently confined to his house by authorities.

The RFA source said it is unknown who detained him in May, and local police denied knowledge about his disappearance. However, a recent internal Party bulletin said he had been detained for distributing “separatist ideas.”

Further details about his case, including his current location, are not known.

Sources:

U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Entry for “Memet Turghun Abdulla” in Political Prisoner Database (CECC Record Number:  2010-00227), available at: http://ppd.cecc.gov/QueryResultsDetail.aspx?PrisonerNum=7937

UNHCR, China: Uyghur held, boss vows crackdown, 10 May 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c05091ec.html

Uyghur American Association (UAA) Press Release, Internet reopened in East Turkestan, but Uyghur webmasters and bloggers remain behind bars, 14 May 2010, available at: http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=2343

[last updated: October 2019]