testifying party

Testimony 1|2: Bauyrzhan Erzhan, born in 1984, is now a Kazakhstan citizen. (son)

Testimony 3: Bauyrzhan Erzhan, as reported by The Believer. (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: 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

Bekzada Muqash is a retired Chinese citizen who had been living in Kazakhstan since 2010. She went to China on September 5, 2017, as she was required to visit China at least once a year. She worked as a teacher for 30 years. She's had 6 operations, including gall bladder operation (in 2009), tumor removal (2012), and uterus operation. She's been suffering severe insomnia and asthma lately.

Address: Kurti township, Emin county, Tacheng region.

current location

[Presumably in Tacheng.]

chronology of detention(s)

Documents confiscated in September 2017, and has been unable to return since.

suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention

---

last reported status

had her passport confiscated

Testimony 3: since December [2018, presumably], she has been suffering from psychological problems and insomnia, because she has lost hope of getting her passport back and returning to Kazakhstan. It crushed her. She hadn’t slept in a month, they said, and in January 2019 she was sent to a mental hospital in Urumchi for a week and returned to her family after that, but she has become too much of a burden for the family to take care of her.

how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation

not stated

Testimony 3: a Chinese delegation from China came to the consulate [presumably the Chinese consulate in Kazakhstan] and the son met with them in January 2019. On the status of the victim they said that she probably did not want to return and that it was her choice.

additional information

Testimony 2: Testifier mentions having appealed to the Chinese consulate for almost a year and having visited it several times with no result, which has prompted him to go to the Atajurt office.

Bauyrzhan's interview to The Believer (Testimony 3) (https://believermag.com/weather-reports-voices-from-xinjiang/):

My mother worked as a physics teacher in China her whole life. She retired and came here to help us with childcare when my wife went back to work. She kept visiting China once a year, though, for her pension. She went dutifully every year. On her most recent visit, authorities took her passport. Months went by. Whenever she checked on its status, they told her that her documents were with higher authorities. There’s nothing we can do, they said.

In December, I heard from relatives in Ürümqi that my mother was losing her mind. She’d lost her final hope of going back to Kazakhstan. It crushed her. She hadn’t slept in a month, they said. Even in Kazakhstan, her health had not been good. She’d had surgeries on her gallbladder, on her uterus. I wanted to find out how she was doing, but it was hard always communicating through her relatives. We could never speak for long. How is she? That’s all I could ask. Your mother was complaining again, they would reply. Probably I will not see my children again, she said. Probably I will die like this.

This January, she was committed into a mental hospital in Ürümqi. She was there for a week. My relatives visited and let me talk on the phone with her. I didn’t know what to say. I just told her to take care of her health. Now she’s back with family, but they’ve lost patience with her. She’d practically become an invalid. Let your father’s relatives take care of her, they told me. We have to work. We can’t look after her anymore.

Three times a delegation from China came to the consulate here, and each time I met with them. The first was in October of 2018. The second was in November. They couldn’t tell me anything concrete about my mother. I went for the third time this January. This time, they told me that probably she doesn’t want to come back. It’s her choice, they said.

I’ve heard they’re letting some Chinese Kazakhs come visit. Family members back in China are the guarantors—they’ll face problems if their relative doesn’t return to China. Sentenced to a camp, probably. I’ve met a few of these visiting Chinese Kazakhs. One is the father-in-law of my cousin’s sister. He’s been here for two or three weeks. I took him aside to ask why he was planning to return: Why don’t you apply for citizenship here? He said, If I don’t go back, my relatives will have problems. So I’ll go back. They can reach you even from a distance. This father-in-law is eighty years old and can’t always control himself. His relatives keep him in the house. Even in Kazakhstan, they won’t let him go out in the street. They’re afraid he talks too much.

supplementary materials

entry created on: 2019-03-13

entry last modified on: 2021-01-17

last update from testifier(s): 2019-05-01