Dilshat Oralbai
A Chinese-born Kazakh translator and musician, Oralbai was arrested upon his return to Xinjiang in May 2018 and taken to a concentration camp. In August 2019, his family received… More
Orkesh Abdurehim
A poet, author, and former high school teacher, Abdurehim was arrested in September 2022 on unknown charges and has been in detention ever since. His family has no updates… More
Ablet Abdureshid Berqi
Berqi, an author, teacher, and poet, has been writing since 1988. His work was published in numerous newspapers and magazines and his collection of poems, including "Girl's Season," essays… More
Truth-Telling And Its Dire Consequences: PEN America Hosts Conversation with Writers Targeted by Authoritarians Around the Globe
The difficult plight of writers living under authoritarian rule has been well-documented over decades, with some enduring impossibly harsh treatment for their truth-telling and resistance to repression. More
Nabijan Habibullah
Award-winning academic, researcher, and professor at Minzu and Xinjiang Universities, Habibullah is serving a 15-year sentence for unknown charges. His arrest and imprisonment are suspected to be tied to… More
Gheyratjan Osman
After being disappeared for more than a year, in May 2020 Gheyratjan Osman was confirmed to be imprisoned and serving a ten-year sentence for vague separatism charges. A scholar… More
Gulnisa Imin Gulhan
Gulnisa Imin is a Uyghur literature teacher and poet known for her writings about Uyghur culture. In March 2018, on the 345th night of her poetry project, "One Thousand… More
Gulmira Imin
Gulmira Imin, a poet and Uyghur-language website moderator from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 for “splittism, leaking state secrets, and organizing an… More
Ablikim Kalkun
In late 2019, Uyghur comedian and singer Kalkun was reportedly sentenced to 18 years in prison for performing songs deemed politically sensitive, despite the fact they were earlier approved… More
Qasim Sidiq
Qasim Sidiq was detained by authorities in March 2017, after which he disappeared. Nearly four years later his detention was confirmed. According to a Radio Free Asia source, Sidiq’s… More