°®Âþµº

Daughter of Uyghur scholar urges China to release father for Eid al-Fitr

Daughter of Uyghur scholar urges China to release father for Eid al-Fitr
Tumaris Yalqun posted a video early on Tuesday urging China to release her father, Uyghur scholar Yalqun Rozi, for Eid al-Fitr.
2 min read
02 May, 2022
Rozi was arrested during the initial phases 'of the current cultural genocide campaign of China' against Uyghurs [Getty- archive]

The daughter of a detained scholar called on China to release her father for in an emotional plea shared on social media.Ìý

Tumaris Yalqun released a video on Twitter early on Tuesday urging for the "immediate" release of her father, who was unlawfullyÌýarrested and imprisoned six years ago by Ìý

Rozi was a literary critic and writer among the first wave of Uyghur intellectuals to be detained in 2016.

The People’s Republic has since orchestrated a systematic campaign to persecute the Uyghur community, involving mass arrests and imprisonment, and wipe out Uyghur culture under the guise of "education" centres.Ìý

Ìý"UyghursÌýare locked away in the dark chambers of concentration camps and jails," said Yalqun in a Twitter thread accompanying her video.Ìý

"[They are] unable to even gather around with their loved ones to celebrate this wonderful day. It’s heartbreaking to think that their only crime was being born an Uyghur."

Rozi was involved in compiling and editing Uyghur literature textbooks, according to the urging for his release.Ìý

For ten years, the books Rozi and his team worked on were reviewed and approved by the Xinjiang Education Ministry.Ìý

However, the scholar was suddenly arrested in 2016, "as a first step of the cultural genocide campaign on Uyghurs,"Ìýsaid the petition page.Ìý

In 2018, Rozi was sentenced to a 15-year prison term in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region.Ìý

World
Live Story

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Uyghur men and women have been subjected to mass internment at the hands of the Chinese state, according to

Dozens of detainees have shared stories of torture and other forms of ill-treatment with the rights group, including beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement and deprivation of food, water and sleep.Ìý

Ìý