Authorities in the Uyghur-majority region of Xinjiang in China have convicted seven brothers from a family for jail terms ranging from nine to 17 years for their charitable work, “supporting Uyghurs,” says a rights group.
Norway-based non-profit Uyghur Hjelp said that the Obulqasim brothers were detained and imprisoned amid mass arrests of Uyghurs in 2017, and were convicted and jailed in 2019, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Aug. 19.
Abduweli Ayup, the founder of Uyghur Hjelp, said the seven brothers were part of “one of the richest families in Kashgar,” and he gathered information on the details of their jail sentences through sources in China.
The brothers Sabir (62), Pazil (56), Memmettursun (54), Yusupjan (51), Mametsidiq (49), Abduhelil (47), and Abdusalam (45) were businesspeople active in construction materials, electrical appliances, and other products.
Pazil and Yusupjan were accused of “supporting Uyghurs” through charitable work, RFA reported citing an unnamed security guard from Kashgar Prison’s employee residence building.
The others were convicted for either traveling abroad or displaying “ethnic hatred and discrimination,” against Han Chinese, the unnamed guard added.
They were sentenced in May 2019 for prison terms of 17, 13, 11, or nine years, RFA reported citing the unnamed security guard.
Five of the brothers, including Abduhelil and Pazil, are serving their sentences at Kashgar Prison, also known as Yerken Peylu Prison. The other two are in jail in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, the unnamed security guard said.
Abduhelil, a filmmaker and entrepreneur, was first arrested in October 2017, was released in December 2019, and rearrested in September 2023 for “inciting separatism” for promoting Uyghur culture in his films. He is serving a 15-year sentence in Kashgar Prison, RFA reported in July.
The unnamed security guard also pointed out that he had heard news of the brothers “collecting money for people,” RFA reported.
“Starting from 2000, they had been a key family to be under watch,” the unnamed security guard said.
Reportedly, the brothers are among the estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims detained under flimsy pretexts during mass detentions that began more than seven years ago in 2017.
Chinese authorities had rounded up businesspeople, clerics, intellectuals, and those who had traveled abroad years before or who taught the Quran to youngsters.
China has clamped down harshly on Uyghurs, penalizing those who communicated with Uyghurs outside of Xinjiang or offered financial support, claiming that it was fighting separatism and terrorism.
The Chinese authorities had long prohibited Uyghurs from traveling abroad. They were permitted to travel abroad and obtain passports for a brief period in 2010 after facing international pressure.
However, the authorities later detained those who obtained passports or merely applied for it in camps and prisons citing their actions as “suspicious,” RFA reported.
Ayup claimed that the brothers had helped other Uyghurs get jobs in Kashgar, performed charity work to benefit orphans and the poor, and contributed to children’s education.
Pazil and Yusupjan were detained for their charity work and for their connections with Uyghur expatriates during their business operations in the cargo shipping business, Ayup said, citing sources familiar with the case.
Allegedly, their financial assistance to expatriate Uyghurs in need while doing business abroad was later labeled as “supporting” Uyghurs, said another source with knowledge of the situation, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution by authorities.
There were “no prior announcements or notifications about their detention,” and the family members were informed of their prison sentences later, RFA reported citing the unnamed security guard.
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