Press Release – For immediate release
23 April 2018
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) condemns arbitrary detention of prominent Uyghur writer and scholar, Abdulqadir Jalaleddin by Chinese police.

Jalaleddin was reportedly arrested on January 29, 2018, when Chinese police raided his home, placed a black hood over his head, and took him away. The Chinese government has provided no justification for his arrest and he has not been publicly charged with any crime, despite his continued detention.

The arbitrary detention of Professor Jalaleddin sadly stands as one of many in a long list of Uyghur writers, scholars, academics and journalists detained by the Chinese authorities. China’s worrying record of arresting leaders within the Uyghur community stretches back decades in a clear effort at tempering unity in East Turkestan.

On the same day Jalaleddin was detained, it was reported that Muhammad Salih Hajim, a prominent Uyghur scholar and religious leader who first translated the Quran into the Uyghur language, had died in a ‘re-education’ camp. Hajim had reportedly been arrested 40 days prior for religious practice and was sent to the camp. The WUC was informed that he was subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment during his detention, which may have contributed his death.

The WUC also remains very concerned for the hundreds of Uyghur political prisoners currently serving lengthily prison sentences and the estimated one million Uyghurs being held in ‘re-education’ camps across the region.

The massive number of Uyghurs detained, the routine abuse and human rights violations and the increasing number of deaths indicates that China will continue to push it repressive policies to the limit as long as the international community remains silent.

We therefore urge the international community to push back against these efforts and raise cases like that of Abdulqadir Jalaleddin to ensure that there is accountability for continued human rights violations.