Entry of 25205

Qaliolla Tursyn

哈力尤拉·吐尔逊

652522194905040055

Age
71

Gender
M

Ethnicity
Kazakh

Profession
law

Likely place of origin
Dorbiljin

Likely current location
Tacheng

Status
sentenced (2018, 20 y)

When problems started
Jan. 2018 - Mar. 2018

Detention reason (suspected | official)
challenging authority | ---

Health status
deceased

Lists

                 

Locality
(residence)

Agylyq Road Neighborhood, Dorbiljin Municipality, Dorbiljin County, Tacheng Prefecture
(塔城地区额敏县额敏镇阿格勒克路社区)

2020-12-14

Qaliolla Tursyn was an elderly legal consultant, who wrote a complaint to Beijing following the police murder of a Kazakh man. The letter was intercepted, with Qaliolla, his wife, and two sons all being detained. He later died in prison.

consult raw version see edited version

testifying party (* direct submission)

Testimony 1: Berikbol Muqatai, a Kazakhstan citizen since 2008. (brother-in-law)

Testimony 2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|16|20|24: Akikat Kaliolla, a musician from Dorbiljin County, now a Kazakhstan citizen. (son)

Testimony 11*|12*: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by Gene A. Bunin. (son)

Testimony 13: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by Agence France-Presse. (son)

Testimony 14: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by Global Voices. (son)

Testimony 15|21: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by Apple Daily. (son)

Testimony 17|23: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by Radio Free Asia Mandarin. (son)

Testimony 18: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by China Aid. (son)

Testimony 19: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by The Believer. (son)

Testimony 22: Akikat Kaliolla, as reported by National Public Radio. (son) Testimony 1: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 2: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 3: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 4: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 5: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 6: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 7: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 8: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 9: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 10: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 11: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 12: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 13: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 14: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 15: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 16: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 17: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 18: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 19: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 20: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 21: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 22: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 23: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 24: father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband direct third-party
Testimony 25: add father daughter brother sister son mother grandfather grandmother grandson granddaughter uncle aunt nephew niece brother-in-law sister-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law son-in-law daughter-in-law cousin friend colleague former student relative relation unclear from same town/region n/a husband wife the victim lawyer child friends, family, and students great-nephew great-niece former schoolmate cousin once removed friend of relative boyfriend girlfriend friend of friend aunt-in-law acquaintance judge cousin-in-law nephew-in-law niece-in-law uncle-in-law former neighbor stepbrother stepsister stepfather stepmother stepdaughter stepson neighbor of relative detained together former teacher relative of friend relative of teacher sibling grandchild cousin twice removed trial attendee ex-wife great-uncle great-aunt in-law grandmother-in-law grandfather-in-law great-grandmother great-grandfather half-brother half-sister ex-husband add add direct third-party

Update 

Name:    Description:    unverified verified    1 2 3 4 5    Add

about the victim

Qaliolla Tursyn was a legal consultant and a retired cadre from the Culture and Sports Department (文体局). Being literate in Chinese, he often helped people file legal complaints.

Address: 3 South Progress Road, Dorbiljin Municipality, Dorbiljin County, Xinjiang (新疆额敏县额敏镇前进南路3号).

Chinese passport: E23021968. Kaliolla Tursynuly (哈力尤拉·吐尔逊) worked as a legal consultant in Emin County, and is a retired cadre.

Address: Dorbiljin (Emin) County, Targabatai (Tacheng) Region, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, China

DOB: May 4, 1949. Chinese passport: E23021968.

current location

According to what Akikat has heard, he may have been in Wusu Prison at the time of his death [as he had been sentenced and this is generally where people from Tacheng with heavy sentences are sent]. [G. A. Bunin (Testimony 11): on May 22, 2019, Akikat reported his father having been transferred to Yining Prison some time back.]

Testimony 9: Akikat has heard that he is in Wusu prison.

Zhongxin LLC (乌苏众鑫农工贸有限责任公司) operates out of Wusu Prison (http://archive.is/RbYxM), suggesting the likelihood of the victim being subjected to forced labor.

chronology of detention(s)

First detained on March 15, 2018 and held in some sort of detention. Akikat reports that his father was allegedly taken to a hospital in handcuffs in April 2018 [before presumably being sent back to detention].

Akikat mentions that his father was held in various detention facilities, including the camp in Turgun Village, before being transferred to Wusu Prison.

That Qaliolla had been sentenced Akikat only learned in late January 2019, when Akikat's wife was told by Chinese consular officials in Kazakhstan that the victim had been sentenced to 20 years in prison [in his interview to The Believer, Akikat says that they got an official letter stating that he had been sentenced in October 2018 - this may be a mistake].

Dorbiljin County authorities allegedly reported that Qaliolla died on December 5, 2020 (another source reports this as December 14), though Akikat does not believe this, thinking that his father had died long before.

Akikat alleges that his father was buried at Wusu Prison, instead of his body being returned to his family. Testimony 6: March 15, 2018.

Testimony 23: he was held in multiple facilities prior to being transferred to Wusu Prison in early 2019 (including the Turgun Camp). Dorbiljin authorities reportedly stated that the victim died on December 5, 2020 (though Akikat does not believe this and thinks he likely died long before that).

suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention

At the beginning of March 2018, local authorities in Dorbiljin County beat to death a 43-year-old ethnic Kazakh man named Zhumakeldi Ahai {2841}, after which Zhumakeldi's relatives begged for Akikat's father to write a formal complaint, which the latter did and sent to Beijing. However, the letter was intercepted and the victim arrested. Testimony 5: sentenced for "impeding state affairs"

According to Akikat, local authorities beat to death a 43-year-old ethnic Kazakh man named Zhumakeldi at the beginning of March 2018, after which Zhumakeldi's relatives begged for Akikat's father to write a complaint, which the latter did and sent to Beijing. However, the letter was intercepted and on March 15 the authorities detained the whole family.

last reported status

Reported to have died in custody. The alleged official claim was that he died of coronary heart disease.

(Even prior to his detention, Qaliolla Tursyn suffered from liver cirrhosis, heart disease, and rheumatic arthritis. He had difficulty walking, his teeth had all fallen out, and he had previously had surgery on his leg for a comminuted fracture. According to what Akikat heard, he has been tortured in detention, which is likely to have made these conditions worse.) G. A. Bunin (Testimony 12): Akikat Kaliolla told me on January 25, 2019 that he had just learned that day that his father had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Testimony 4: he has been suffering from liver cirrhosis and hypotension.

Testimony 6: Has long suffered from liver cirrhosis, heart disease, and rheumatic arthritis. He's also had surgery done on his leg before for a comminuted fracture. Akikat fears that he may have passed away or is critically ill, and that the sentence is an attempt to cover this up.

Testimony 8: While in detention, he only had steamed buns three times a day.

Akikat also says that his father was taken to the hospital in handcuffs in April 2018, before being taken away again following treatment. There has been no concrete news since.

[G. A. Bunin (Testimony 11): on May 22, 2019, Akikat announced having learned that his father was paralyzed from the waist down and had been transferred to the Yining Prison, probably last year.]

Testimony 9: He was shackled the entire time in detention, with his cellmates having to help him with everything (going to the toilet, eating, etc.) Because his teeth had all fallen out, the steamed bread he'd be fed would need to be broken up and put into hot water first. His condition has only worsened after being transfered to Wusu prison.

Testimony 10: Akikat has met two victims who were in the same detention center with his father and according to them they witnessed cruelty to him when they were inside the facility: he was beaten up in a dark room until he became unconscious at the age of 71 by the detention center staff. They asked him to confess. After Kazakhstan government presented a note to the Chinese side, they started healing him again.

Testimony 20: Akikat received a phone call after his meeting with Pompeo. A man watched him in the news and started looking for his contact number and called him. He said he knew some details about his father. According to him, his father was beaten up by the staff in the camp almost everyday as he always kept saying about the law. Last time when he was beaten, his forehead and nose were bleeding and he fainted. He was lying there without moving for an hour and then was taken with a stretcher. He has probably died. Because nobody saw him there after that.
Akikat has the record of this phone call with the witness. However, for some reasons this witness is temporarily not ready to disclose himself. Akikat has sent the record to some international organisations.

Testimony 21: he died in custody on December 14, 2020 (with the alleged official claim being that he died of coronary heart disease). (Testimony 23: Akikat claims that the body was buried at Wusu Prison, and not returned to the family.)

how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation

Akikat has learned about his father's condition from numerous sources, some of which are firsthand but which he cannot disclose for fear of their safety being compromised [they have, however, been verified by shahit.biz staff]. Some information has been obtained from people having returned to Kazakhstan from Dorbiljin County.

The fact that Akikat's father was sentenced to 20 years was reported to Akikat's wife by the officials at the Chinese consulate in Almaty orally. There is still no written verdict.

In a mid-2020 call with Akikat, his mother told him that while she was in a holding cell - before being officially detained - she heard the authorities beat Qaliolla Tursyn until he screamed. Venera yelled at the authorities, telling them not to hit him, while one of Akikat's older brothers shouted "Stop! You're going to kill my father!"

Chinese authorities in Dorbiljin County have allegedly confirmed Qaliolla's death, but it isn't clear who exactly confirmed the news and how. Akikat Kaliolla's wife went to the Chinese consulate in Almaty and was told the news about the 20-year sentence by the officials there.

Testimony 22: in a mid-2020 call to Akikat Qaliolla, Venera Muqatai (166) told Akikat Qaliolla that when she was in a holding cell before being officially detained, she heard the authorities beat Qaliolla Tursyn (167) until he screamed. Venera Muqatai (166) yelled at the authorities, telling them not to hit Qaliolla Tursyn (167), while an older brother of Akikat Qaliolla shouted "stop, you're going to kill my father."

additional information

Because of the victim's complaint letter, his two sons were detained also and sent to camp. His wife was allegedly detained soon after for asking about their detention. All three were released at the end of December 2018.

It is possible that the victim was subjected to forced labor at Wusu Prison [if he was held there], as the Zhongxin LLC (乌苏众鑫农工贸有限责任公司) is based there and labor has been documented at the facility.

Media coverage of the story:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/kazakh-families-torn-apart-chinas-xinjiang-crackdown-032511957.html
https://globalvoices.org/2019/02/09/i-wont-stop-kazakh-man-seeks-justice-for-family-caught-in-chinas-xinjiang-crackdown/
https://uat-xinjiangcamps.appledaily.com/尋親者/阿黑哈提-哈力尤拉/全文
https://www.chinaaid.net/2018/07/blog-post_40.html
https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20201227/25QBOW4MMFB5VC7FO5I2NR4M7Y/
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/03/973198171/family-disappears-amid-chinas-detention-of-mostly-ethnic-uyghurs
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-10102019072505.html
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-01072021075222.html

Some court cases that the victim was involved in:
https://susong.tianyancha.com/38d4abf8fe0848f293e91a77ba4301ee
http://archive.is/DRaLf

Akikat's story in The Believer (https://believermag.com/weather-reports-voices-from-xinjiang/):

I’ll tell you a story that describes my father well. I met and fell in love with a girl from Kazakhstan. We planned to move there together and get married. I was living in China and we were both teaching at the music school in Ürümqi where we’d met. She was famous, actually, a famous traveling musician, at least in the world of traditional Kazakh music. I’d admired her long before we met. It was a dream to have such a girlfriend!

Before the wedding, when it came time to celebrate the qyz uzatu, the girl’s farewell, we were still living in China. My father is old—he’s seventy now—and in bad health, so in the end he couldn’t come to Kazakhstan for the wedding. But he attended the first wedding, as we call it, the girl’s farewell, and as a gift for my wife-to-be he brought two small books on China’s Main Law and Criminal Law. Now you should memorize the laws of China, he told her. You are married to a Chinese citizen. Both of you must know the laws of China and Kazakhstan. You see, he was so confident in the law, in the Chinese judicial system, but in the end he experienced the full and exact nature of that system—he got it exactly.

Before he retired, my father had worked for the Ministry of Culture. He was an educated man living in a place where the literacy rate was still low, and Chinese script in particular was not widely known. This was in Tacheng, which Kazakhs call Tarbagatai. In retirement, he spent his days helping people fill out papers in Chinese. Mostly, they were writing complaints. He wasn’t a lawyer but he knew the laws very well, so he helped people file complaints and petitions with local authorities. That’s just how he was.

With us, he was strict but loving. Education was everything to him. After I was born, he never spent a night outside the home. He was at my side while I studied; my brothers too. He sent the three of us to the Chinese-language school. You have to study, he would tell us. You have to learn calligraphy. He taught us both Kazakh and Chinese script. He devoted himself entirely to raising us. When I first showed an interest in music, he bought the family a piano. If he didn’t have the money, he borrowed it. We never heard a word about money in the house. We were always provided for. As I got older, my father bought me music-studio equipment—nothing big or fancy, but it was still an expense. We weren’t rich. Somehow he got the money.

I left home when I was nineteen and drifted, as musicians do: Ürümqi, Beijing, Shanghai. In 2014, I met my wife, and we came to Kazakhstan looking for jobs. My father had never traveled anywhere, but when I told him we were moving, he accepted it. You know your own mind, he told me. It’s your life. As I said, he didn’t attend my wedding, but when my child was born, in 2016, he came, even though he was already in bad health. He had no teeth, and his legs were fractured everywhere. He suffered from cirrhosis, heart disease, arthritis. He could barely walk. Even now, I don’t know his feelings. Did they want to move to Kazakhstan? Stay in China? Should I have suggested it? I know they were afraid. If they died in Kazakhstan, would their relatives be able to attend the funeral? I regret that I never asked my father if he wanted to move here, but people in our town weren’t used to speaking openly about Kazakhstan. It’s considered almost treasonous in China to discuss it—to talk about leaving. I only ever talked with my two brothers. I urged them to come here. As for my elder sister, she’s married to a party official. Her husband doesn’t want to move.

In March 2018, I had just become a Kazakh citizen. Every day, I’d send my mother a picture of our daughter on WeChat. That was how we kept in touch. Gradually, her messages became less frequent. Of course I’d heard that Xinjiang was getting difficult. I suspected this was the reason for her silences. That month, she removed me from her WeChat contact list altogether. I asked my brother why. I called him on video chat. He was visibly upset but couldn’t cry. It’s difficult here, he said. Not like before.

I was afraid local authorities might not treat my father well. He was a thorn in their side, helping neighbors write complaints. Before I hung up, I told my brother to let me know if anything happened.

The complaint that finally did him in was about a murder. A man named Zhumakeldi Akai was beaten to death by security guards at a reeducation camp. They took his body to his home to be buried. He had awful wounds. His wife came to my father. She wanted to make a complaint. They killed him, she said. She begged him to help. So my father wrote a letter to Beijing, but the letter never left the prefecture. The local authorities confiscated it. They paid my father a visit. So, they said, you want to blame us for this death before our superiors?

This information came to me through different channels. I’ll tell you exactly how, but I don’t want you to write it down. I don’t want the authorities to close these channels, and I don’t want the people helping me to get in trouble. In short, my family members were all detained right after my father wrote this complaint about the murdered neighbor. Someone—I don’t want to say who—told me soon after it happened.

But even before I was told, the night before their arrest, I had a bad dream. My heart was aching. I saw security guards following me, trying to catch me, and in the dream I had a thought: What is going on at my house? When I woke up, I knew something had happened.

As soon as I got the news, I called my sister in Ürümqi. Even with her husband’s status, she didn’t know anything. But she called our aunt and confirmed they were detained. I began to gather information from different sources. I called everyone I knew. In some cases, I don’t want to say their names. They’re still back there. These days, everyone knows about the weather code, so no one uses it. If I said that it was getting warmer, those listening would know what I was talking about. I have a different code. I don’t want to say what it is. But I have a code I use.

Eventually I got the whole picture from different people, some of whom had been detained with them, others who lived nearby or who heard secondhand. First, they detained my father and my two brothers. They did it without any warrant. They just disappeared. My mother went to complain to the local district authorities. She asked them for an explanation. The officials were happy she’d come. Ah, good, you’ve brought yourself in, they said, and detained her too.

After several months, my mother and brothers were released from the camps, but my father was taken somewhere else. He vanished. In the absence of any news, my wife compiled four invitation letters—the letters you write to bring family members into Kazakhstan—and sent them to the local council in my father’s village, if only to get some information about his fate. This January, we finally got a response: a letter stating that in October 2018 my father had been convicted to twenty years in prison.

Now I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. We didn’t get any information about the trial or any crimes he had committed. Not even my mother was aware of his sentence. All I know is that he’s no longer in the local prison where he was being held. I expect he was transferred to a place for people with long prison sentences. But he can’t eat, as I’ve said. Even in the local prison, they served him only stale bread and hot water. People who shared a cell with him there told me they would wet the bread in the water and feed it to him. He was handcuffed; he has no teeth. Without their help, he would have starved to death. [Despairingly] I don’t know—probably he already died.

I’ll tell you something else. My father was tortured. I can’t tell you where I got this information. It came from a prisoner who was released, and who managed to escape to Kazakhstan. There are many people like this. Most of them are simply in hiding. They don’t reveal what’s happening, because they’re afraid. This particular informant lives in Kazakhstan but won’t do an interview himself because his daughters are still in Xinjiang. I communicate mostly with people like this, often people I know personally from back in China. I know I can trust them. I don’t want to spread rumors or exaggerations. First, we should find the facts, what the reality is.

Now my brothers and mother are home, but a camera is installed in their house, watching what they are doing. I know they suffered in the camps. I am ready to die for them, and for my father too. I’m not sleeping. I cry. Men aren’t supposed to cry, but I cry. Twenty years? It’s a death sentence. And why? If there was an error in the last complaint he helped write—show me the error! My father was arguing that this man’s death was against Chinese law, which was not written by me or my father or any Kazakh. It was written by the government. It should not be subverted. Law is not like physics or mathematics—it’s not confusing. What it says is clear. We can understand it. It should be followed. My father did not break the law. He was following the law. It’s the authorities who are violating it. And now my family is back in China, but my father is nowhere. This family's story has also been featured in the AFP story (Testimony 13): https://www.yahoo.com/news/kazakh-families-torn-apart-chinas-xinjiang-crackdown-032511957.html

Global Voices has also covered Akikat's story (Testimony 14): https://globalvoices.org/2019/02/09/i-wont-stop-kazakh-man-seeks-justice-for-family-caught-in-chinas-xinjiang-crackdown/

Coverage by the Apple Daily (Testimony 15+21):
https://uat-xinjiangcamps.appledaily.com/%E5%B0%8B%E8%A6%AA%E8%80%85/%E9%98%BF%E9%BB%91%E5%93%88%E6%8F%90-%E5%93%88%E5%8A%9B%E5%B0%A4%E6%8B%89/%E5%85%A8%E6%96%87
https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20201227/25QBOW4MMFB5VC7FO5I2NR4M7Y/

RFA coverage:
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-10102019072505.html (Testimony 17)
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-01072021075222.html (Testimony 23)

Testimony 17: Akikat claims that the two refugees from China, Murager Alim and Qaster Musahan, were in the same facility as his father.

China Aid coverage (Testimony 18): https://www.chinaaid.net/2018/07/blog-post_40.html

Coverage by The Believer (Testimony 19): https://believermag.com/weather-reports-voices-from-xinjiang/

National Public Radio coverage (Testimony 22): https://www.npr.org/2021/03/03/973198171/family-disappears-amid-chinas-detention-of-mostly-ethnic-uyghurs

miscellaneous media evidence

relatives

      

Qaliolla Tursyn

Venera Muqatai

Parasat Qaliolla

Muqyiat Qaliolla

places of detention

Wusu Prison

Turgun Village Camp

supplementary materials

2016 court case

judgment enforcement record

limit consumption order

Chinese ID

entry created on: 2018-10-23

entry last modified on: 2021-06-02

last update from testifier(s): 2020-12-14