Testimony 1|2: Anonymous, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur.
Testimony 3: Local police, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 4: Local government employee, as reported by Radio Free Asia Uyghur. (from same town/region)
Testimony 1:
Testimony 2:
Testimony 3:
Testimony 4:
Testimony 5:
Abdusalam Abduweli is a Uyghur man who was 38 years old as of 4 January 2021. He is from Ghulja, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
[RFA was able to obtain a copy of Abdusalam Abduweli's Chinese identification card; it is not shown in the article, but according to the card, Abdusalam Abduweli resided in the No. 19 apartment complex on Baht Road, Ghulja.]
The father of Abdusalam Abduweli is a long-time blacksmith and iron worker from Ghulja. Abdusalam Abduweli learnt the trade from his father, but focused his own business activities on building iron fences. From approximately 2010, Abdusalam Abduweli did business between China and Kazakhstan for a number of years until his arrest.
Abdusalam Abduweli owns an iron company. Testimony 1: Abdusalam Abduweli "has shops for his business" [presumably meaning that Abdusalam Abduweli's iron company made sales through multiple shopfronts].
current location
Testimony 3: the victim is being held on the third floor of one of the buildings at the Yéngiyer concentration camp.
chronology of detention(s)
Testimony 2: Abdusalam Abduweli went missing in 2017 after returning from Kazakhstan to his home in Ghulja, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
Testimony 1: Abdusalam Abduweli was arrested by Chinese authorities on 26 December 2018. Abdusalam Abduweli was sent to a concentration camp after his arrest.
Testimony 1: Abdusalam Abduweli first began to encounter trouble with the Chinese authorities in 2017, when the police called him and his cousin, Akbar Yusup, back to Ghulja from Kazakhstan; both of them agreed, as they believed that they had done nothing wrong. In April 2017, Abdusalam Abduweli (the victim) and Akbar Yusup (cousin of victim) traveled from Kazakhstan back to China through the border checkpoint in Khorgas County. The police took them as soon as they crossed the border; black hoods were placed over their heads at the checkpoint and they were both taken away for a week of interrogations. After that week of interrogations had ended, both Abdusalam Abduweli (the victim) and Akbar Yusup (cousin of victim) were released.
Testimony 3: approximately 6 months ago, both Abdusalam Abduweli and Ekber Yusup had been moved to the Yéngiyer concentration camp in Ghulja, where they "eat, do activities and learn Chinese." Abdusalam Abduweli (the victim) and Akbar Yusup (cousin of victim) are both being held on the third floor of one of the buildings at the concentration camp.
Testimony 4: Abdusalam Abduweli (the victim) and Akbar Yusup (cousin of victim) had been "moved between three places", namely the Yengiyer, Boz, and Yamachang camps. They were both held at the Boz concentration camp for a period of approximately 6 or 7 months. At the concentration camp in Yéngiyer, both of them "learned culinary skills" including cooking and baking.
suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention
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last reported status
The victim is currently being held on the third floor of one of the buildings at the Yéngiyer concentration camp.
how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation
Testimony 1: not stated.
Testimony 2: This is a relative of the victim in Kazakhstan, who presumably lost all contact with the victim after he returned to China from Kazakhstan through the Khorgos border checkpoint in April 2017.
Testimony 3: The anonymous police officer reportedly worked on the victim's cases and presumably has access to official information relating to the victim.
Testimony 4: Unclear, but as a government employee, they presumably had access to official information relating to the victim.