A Uyghur historian based in Japan, Tunyaz was arrested in 1998 after analyzing primary sources in Xinjiang for his book The Inside Story of the Silk Road. Imprisoned for 11 years for stealing state secrets, he was released in 2009. He was later subjected to chaperoned house arrest and received the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in 2002 for his courage. In May 2015, he died of a heart attack.