Ekbar (Akbarjan) Eset

Ekber Eset

Imprisoned since January 2016

Ekbar Eset is the founder of popular Uyghur website baghdax.com and director of the Baghdax Digital Design Company, a website that gained attention through articles that spoke about Uyghur rights abuses. Eset was interrogated and arrested with a number of his followers in January 2016 on unknown charges. [i]

Prior to his arrest, Eset published articles on the website relating to the protection of the Uyghur language between September 2012 and August 2013. Eset was subsequently confronted by Chinese police numerous times, but persisted in his advocacy, while the website gained international attention with its unique content. Eset reportedly met with Uyghur language advocate Abduweli Ayup on August 25, 2015, to discuss ways to improve the website.

Prior to his arrest, the American ambassador to China, Gary Locke, requested to meet with Ekber Eset when he visited Urumqi in 2012, but Chinese authorities rejected the request.

Until today, there is no information on Eset’s whereabouts.

Sources:

[i] Sulaiman, E. (13 June 2016,). Authorities Detain Uyghur Web Masters And Writers in China’s Xinjiang, Radio Free Asia. Retrieved from: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/authorities-detain-uyghuer-web-masters-and-writers-in-chinas-xinjiang-06132016153910.html

[Last updated: November 2019]