The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has learned from a credible source details of a Uyghur man currently being tortured in a detention center in Yili Prefecture, and who has so far been denied food for three days. The source was extremely concerned for the man’s life.

On Friday June 2, Tudahun Hoshun, a 31-year old trader from Ghulja City it Yili Prefecture, was suspended from a ceiling by his hands and beaten on his torso. According to UHRP’s source, Mr Hoshun has remained suspended for three days now without food. This treatment is understood to be punishment because Mr Hoshun did not learn by heart all 45 articles of the detention center’s regulations in Chinese – as all detainees are required to do. Mr Hoshun, however, does not speak Chinese.

“We’re extremely concerned about Tudahun,” said Alim Seytoff, Director of UHRP. “We regularly receive quite vague reports of people being tortured and abused in East Turkistan, but this time we’re confident of the source. We hope by going public with this information we can at least ensure the abuse stops and perhaps a doctor can examine Tudahun.”

Tudahun Hoshun was detained by police on March 22, 2006 on suspicion of “conspiracy to split the state” and is being held at the Kosheriq Detention Center in Soydun [Chinese: Shuiding] County, Yili Prefecture in East Turkistan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

It is not yet publicly known why Mr Hoshun was detained on suspicion of “splittism” – an extremely serious offence under Chinese law, punishable in some cases by death. The Chinese authorities in East Turkistan generally perceive any form of Uyghur political opposition to Chinese rule as “splittist” and punish it accordingly. For instance, Nurmuhemet Yasin, a writer from Kashgar in the far west of East Turkistan, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2005 having written a short story comparing the plight of Uyghurs in East Turkistan to that of caged birds.

The Chinese authorities admit that torture in detention facilities of every kind remains a “problem” throughout the entire PRC. Dr Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture concluded after a recent trip to the PRC – which included East Turkistan – that torture remained “widespread”. However, the Chinese government later dismissed Dr Nowak’s conclusions.

During his mission to China, Dr Nowak had intended to visit Yili Prefecture – the last destination on his itinerary before returning to Beijing. However, the nature and volume of the work he encountered on the first stages of his mission through China, Tibet and East Turkistan meant he had to cancel the visit to Yili.

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The Uyghur American Association (UAA) works to promote the preservation and flourishing of a rich, humanistic and diverse Uyghur culture, and to support the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to determine their own political future.

The UAA has undertaken the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other indigenous groups in East Turkistan, on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community’s democratic aspirations.