Press Release – For immediate release
11 February 2019
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
0049 (0) 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is deeply concerned about the welfare of prominent Uyghur musician and poet Abdurehim Heyit, after it was reported that he had passed away in Chinese custody on February 9^th, in a statement released by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Chinese government subsequently rejected this conclusion, releasing an unverified video purportedly of Mr. Heyit, where he states that he is “[I]n good health and [has] never been abused.” He goes on to say, “I’m in the process of being investigated for allegedly violating the national laws,” but provides no further details in the short clip.

Abdurehim Heyit is a prominent Uyghur musician, poet and a renown dutar player. He was arrested by Chinese authorities in March 2017 on unclear charges and taken to an unknown location. The arrest came as a particular shock, as he was a government-approved musician and not known for political activism.

The arrest of Mr. Heyit, along with many other prominent Uyghur scholars, businessmen, athletes and artists has illustrated China’s intent to culturally assimilate the Uyghur population, targeting cultural icons and Uyghur leaders. For the sake of his family and the wider Uyghur community, for whom Mr. Heyit’s life and work are so important, we urge the Chinese government to bring clarity to the situation and allow foreign officials to meet or speak directly to Mr. Heyit to verify his current state.

The inability to contact family members and China’s refusal to provide a public record of those in detention, on what charges, and their current status has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, particularly among Uyghurs abroad.

Ayhan Memet, the mother of WUC President, Dolkun Isa, died in a political indoctrination camp in May 2018, where she had been held for over one year. Mr. Isa was unable to contact his family since April 2017, was unaware that his mother was being held in one of the facilities, and only learned of her passing nearly a month later in June 2018. He still has no information about the condition or whereabouts of the rest of his family.

“To learn of my mother’s death was a heartbreaking moment for me. I still have not received information about the rest of my family. I don’t even know if my 90 year-old father is alive or dead, or my two brothers,” Isa said. He continued, “the Chinese government needs to immediately allow access to East Turkistan so we know what’s going on there.”

Numerous mysterious deaths have occurred in custody over the last two years. So far, there have been 36 reported deaths in the camps, including Muhammad Salih Hajim, a notable Uyghur religious scholar who had first translated the Quran into Uyghur. He died in custody of unknown causes, 40 days after he and other members of his family were detained, whose fate is still unknown. Given evidence and testimony of camp survivors, the number of those who have died is likely much higher.

The WUC therefore calls on the Chinese government to reopen the lines of communication between Uyghurs living in East Turkistan and the diaspora and to end its strategy of censorship, disinformation and reprisals. The international community must demand that China reveal the names, whereabouts and current status of all those held in arbitrary detention in order to ensure transparency and accountability.

The confusion over Mr. Heyit’s fate underlines the urgent need for an independent UN-led fact-finding mission into the systematic human rights violations taking place in East Turkistan at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council in March, supported by civil society.