Learn RFA protection of this story in Uyghur
Chinese language authorities in Xinjiang’s regional capital Urumqi on July 4 arrested two Uyghur sisters and their mom for sending items to their eldest sister in Turkey, and a 3rd sister was arrested every week later, the eldest informed Radio Free Asia.
Guzelnur Kamil mentioned her household had been delivery strange family items, together with clothes, footwear, hats, every day requirements, seasonings, and packaged meals objects to help her enterprise in Turkey.
“They have been merely miscellaneous on a regular basis objects,” she informed RFA.
“My mom mentioned, ‘Even when we can not ship you money, allow us to ship you items so you are able to do enterprise, my youngster, and supply in your youngsters,’” she mentioned.
Guzelnur, who moved to Turkey in 2016, mentioned the shipments have been assembled by her sister, Guljennet Kamil, who from 2018-2020 was detained in an internment camp.
Guljennet additionally suffers from partial paralysis following an accident and was helped by her sister with a share of the income from her enterprise. Nevertheless, in accordance with Guzelnur, the police used this communication as a pretext to focus on the household.
Investigation
Guzelnur mentioned the police interrogation of her household started on July 1, and defined that her mom, Bahargul Tohti, alongside together with her sisters Guljennet and Gulzeper Hekim, have been interrogated a number of occasions.
Police used Guljennet’s delivery of products to Turkey as a pretext, alleging suspicion of “supporting terrorists,” she mentioned, including that her mom and sisters have been ordered to steer police to the precise outlets the place they bought the products and the logistics corporations they used to ship them.
“On the 4th, they spoke very politely, asking my mom to return to the police station at 9:00 AM,” she mentioned. “After taking her in, additionally they introduced in my sisters. They took their blood samples and photographed them from the entrance, again, and sides. After that, they only took them away with out saying a phrase.”
Turkey is one in every of 26 international locations that China considers “delicate,” together with primarily Muslim-majority nations comparable to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kazakhstan in accordance with Human Rights Watch. Below China’s “Strike Laborious Marketing campaign,” those that have been to those international locations, have households, or in any other case talk with folks there, have been questioned, detained, and even imprisoned.
Guzelnur mentioned her household in Urumqi has not despatched her any items for greater than a 12 months. As a substitute, she has been importing merchandise from Central Asian international locations. The shipments from her household had already ceased lengthy earlier than her household was arrested by police.
“Now we have documentation for the whole lot—from the place it was shipped, and even who acquired the products,” Guzelnur mentioned.
“We supplied these information, and my mom and sisters supplied the whole lot to the police. But the police nonetheless informed them, ‘We’ll examine you; there are additionally issues occurring over there in Turkey.’ What issues could possibly be occurring right here? Now we have nothing occurring right here. We will even current clear information from right here.”
In keeping with Guzelnur, her mom and sisters have been taken to the Nanjiao Police Station in Urumqi.
“One is an orphan lady, one is my mom, and one is my disabled sister… What am I presupposed to do now?!” she informed RFA, referring to her adopted sister Gulzeper.
RFA confirmed that Guljennet was moved from the police station and is at the moment being held on the Tianshan District Detention Middle.
Ethnic unity legislation
The arrests got here simply days after China’s new ethnic unity legislation went into impact. On July 10, Norway-based Uyghur activist Abduweli Ayup posted on X, “Three Uyghurs detained in Urumqi. The Nationwide Safety police didn’t inform the explanations, they put them in detention on July 4th. They’re the primary goal we discovered after China enacted the ethnic unity promotion legislation.”
Critics of China’s ethnic unity legislation warn that the legislation brings accelerated compelled assimilation and cultural erasure of Uyghurs and Tibetans. It additionally raises fears of Beijing’s rising transnational repression and its skill to stifle dissident voices abroad.
Guzelnur informed RFA that her third sister, Gulmire Kamil, who remained at residence after her mom and two sisters have been arrested on July 4, was arrested by police every week later.
Gulmire beforehand served 10 years in jail for her reference to the July 5, 2009 unrest in Urumqi.
Translated by Tahir Izgil. Edited by Charlie Dharapak and Eugene Whong.
