Uyghur Activist Reports Former Partners Sentenced in Xinjiang

07 Aug, 2024

Uyghur Activist Reports Former Partners Sentenced in Xinjiang

Tahir Imin, a U.S.-based Uyghur activist and former political prisoner from China, reports that six of his former business associates in Xinjiang have been sentenced for allegedly attempting to split the country. According to Imin, the sentences were handed down by the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court in early 2024, with one associate receiving 15 years and the others 12 years. Information from Xinjiang is tightly controlled, making it challenging to obtain details about these court proceedings.

Imin, who founded the Uyghur Times and is involved with the Uyghur Human Rights Project, believes that his associates' sentences are part of China's broader strategy of transnational repression against activists. He noted that his former associates, including a nephew of a top Xinjiang official, were charged under Article 103 of the Chinese Criminal Law, which deals with acts of splitting the state or undermining national unity.

Imin’s reports also highlight the extensive repression faced by his family, including the sentencing of 28 relatives and the forced separation from his wife and daughter. The former business associates were involved in a company founded in 2014 that Imin lost touch with after relocating to the U.S.