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testifying party

Testimony 1: Anonymous, as reported by Amnesty International. (relative)

Testimony 2|3|4|5: Jaudat Abas, an ethnic Tatar from Xinjiang, now residing in Europe. (brother)

Testimony 6: Jaudat Abas, as reported by Living Otherwise. (brother) 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: 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

Shafkat Abas, a member of the Tatar ethnic minority, had studied traditional Uyghur medicine at the Xinjiang Uyghur Medicine College in Hotan for five years. Afterwards, he opened his own Uyghur medicine clinic. He would appear on a health show on the Urumqi radio station, and also gave lessons in traditional Uyghur medicine. In addition to his clinic, he also owned a small factory that produced herbal medicines.

He's married and has three children - a daughter and two twin sons (all underage).

Clinic's address: Apt. 1, Entrance No. 1, Building No. 1, 14 South Dawan Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (鲁木齐市天山区大湾南路14号米兰1号楼1单元1号).

Residential address (as of 2015): 1-1-301 Honghui Residential Complex, 709 Tuanjie Road, Tianshan District, Urumqi (乌鲁木齐市天山区团结路709号宏汇小区1-1-301号). Shafkat Abasi (夏夫哈提·阿巴斯), a member of the Tatar ethnic minority. He studied traditional Uighur medicine at Xinjiang Uighur Medicine College in Hotan for five years. He has is is own Uyghur medicine clinic in Urumqi's Dawan South Road (鲁木齐市天山区大湾南路14号米兰1号楼1单元1号)

He's married and has three kids (Testimony 6: a daughter and two twin sons, all underage).

Testimony 6: The victim appeared on a health show run by the Urumqi radio station, where he "advised listeners" [presumably on health issues]. The victim also "gave lessons on traditional Uyghur medicine".

Testimony 6: In addition to his clinic, the victim also had a small factory, where he produced herbal medicines.

current location

Possibly a prison in Changji. Possibly a prison in Changji

Testimony 6: his parents visited him in a prison in Urumqi, according to this article [however, Changji is extremely close to Urumqi, so this might just be confusion].

chronology of detention(s)

Detained on March 13, 2017.

At some point, he was allegedly sentenced to 10 years in prison. March 13, 2017

Testimony 6: in late 2019 / early 2020, the victim's family received news that he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention

There are a number of likely reasons.

One is that his brother had used his computer to access foreign websites while visiting (as police questioned him just a few days after the event).

Other potential reasons are that he had an elderly patient who was an imam, as well as his possessing a number of banned religious books. Accessing foreign websites from his computer (accessed by his brother, Jaudat), connection with an elderly patient who is an imam and possession of banned religious books.

Testimony 6: "A couple of days" after the testifier used the victim's computer to access foreign websites, the victim was questioned by police in relation to the foreign websites.

last reported status

Serving a 10-year sentence.

According to his parents, who were able to visit him in November 2019 in prison, he was pale and had lost a lot of weight. In prison, according to his family

Testimony 5: his parents were able to visit him for the first time at the end of 2019.

Testimony 6: In November 2019, the victim's family in Urumqi received a phone call from police and were told that the victim was being held in a prison in Urumqi and that they were allowed to visit. The victim's wife and parents visited the victim on 10 November 2019. This was the first time they had seen the victim in almost three years, and the visit lasted 15 minutes. The victim's family reported that the victim did not look well; the victim was pale and had lost a lot of weight.

how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation

In May 2017, his brother flew to Urumqi from Australia to find out more about Shafkat Abas’s detention. He went to a police station in Nanhu District in Urumqi to inquire about visiting him. When speaking to a vice police commissioner on May 8, he was told that visiting his brother was not possible, but that they would contact him if he left a copy of his passport and phone number.

However, there would be no word of Shafkat or his condition until the end of 2019, when his parents were able to visit him. In May 2017, his brother flew to Urumqi from Australia to find out more about Shafkat Abasi’s detention and went to a police station in Nanhu District in Urumqi to enquire about visiting him. Speaking to a vice police commissioner on 8 May, he was told that visiting his brother was not possible, however if he left a copy of his passport and phone number the police would get in contact. Over seven months later the brother has yet to receive further information from the police.

additional information

Police allegedly told Jaudat's parents that Shawkat might be released if Jaudat deleted his testimonies from YouTube and Twitter, but he does not believe them.

Shawkat's and Jaudat's brother, who had gone to China in May 2017 to get information about Shawkat, has since been denied visas to China.

Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/7678/2018/en/

Story covered in Living Otherwise: https://livingotherwise.com/2020/03/09/i-thought-it-would-be-convenient-to-use-my-brothers-computer-to-check-my-email/

Business listing of his clinic: http://archive.is/ZuKXM

Listing of another business [possibly the aforementioned herbal medicines factory]: http://archive.is/GmAKK

His clinic is listed as making a 300RMB donation to the Municipal Red Cross in 2019: https://www.sohu.com/a/296154934_410241

A list of exam results, in which someone from the victim's clinic is marked as having failed: http://archive.is/ujCXv

Case mentioned in: https://centralasiaprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kasikci-CAP-Paper-219-June-2019.pdf His business listing: https://www.atobo.com.cn/GongShang/950/4DF4583EDC294B41A04BDA813F6F9B26.html

Case mentioned in: https://centralasiaprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kasikci-CAP-Paper-219-June-2019.pdf

Amnesty International report (Testimony 1): https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa17/7678/2018/en/

Story in Living Otherwise (Testimony 6): https://livingotherwise.com/2020/03/09/i-thought-it-would-be-convenient-to-use-my-brothers-computer-to-check-my-email/

Testimony 6: According to the testifier, the police told the victim's parents that if the testifier deletes the testimonies he posted to Youtube and Twitter in relation to the victim, they "might" release the victim, but the testifier does not believe the police.

Testimony 6: The older brother of the testifier and the victim (who went to China in May 2017 to get information about the victim's detention) has since been denied visas to enter China again.

supplementary materials

entry created on: 2019-04-02

entry last modified on: 2020-12-26

last update from testifier(s): 2021-10-15