testifying party (submitted by third party)

This testimony has been imported from a report of disappearances collected by the World Uighur Congress.

victim's relation to testifier

-

about the victim

Tursunjan Tohti(吐尔逊江. 托合提) was disappeared at the age of 26. He was a hairdresser and barbershop/salon owner at Shanxi Alley (山西巷子), one of the hotspots during the July 5, 2009 riots in Urumqi. He was born in Kashgar. Tursunjan was arrested by a team of police officers led by an officer named Nurdun. According to witnesses, a police car came and parked in front of a store across the street from the barbershop, and a few of the police officers crossed the street and walked into the barbershop. They demanded for 5 of the barbershop employees to come outside and forced them to kneel on the ground. Subsequently, one of the police officers ordered for Tursunjan Tohti to be arrested for unclear reasons.

current location

Unknown.

chronology of detention(s)

Two police officers from the Karlighach Police Station named Nurdun and Ghoji came to the barbershop and arrested Tursunjan on July 31, 2009.

suspected and/or official reason(s) for detention

Participating in the “illegal demonstration” on July 5, 2009

last reported status

Nurdun, one of the police officers who arrested Tursunjan, told Qurbanjan that he had sent Tursunjan to the detention center. Tursunjan's father believes that his son has already been killed.

how testifier(s) learned of victim's situation

Through Tursunjan's neighbors and the police officers who took him.

additional information

https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/enforced-disappearances/

Media reports are based on testimonies by Qurbanjan Tohti (1) and Tohti Barat (2)
UHRP report: http://docs.uyghuramerican.org/to-strike-the-strongest-blow.pdf
Based on RFA story: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/missing-06252012170612.html

On the evening of July 5, Tursunjan Tohti had been at his barbershop on Shanxi alley, near the center of the violence. Around 5 pm, the police started shooting at the demonstrators and that caused many of them to run into the barbershop to hide. When the police broke into the shop, they shot Tursunjan in the leg, but like many Uyghurs, he dared not go to the hospital for fear of being suspected of a crime and arrested. He treated his wound at a friend's house nearby. The friend was later summoned by police officers and interrogated by police at the Karlighach station.

Mention by Ilham Tohti: https://web.archive.org/web/20130708193125/http://www.uighurbiz.net/archives/16385

supplementary materials

entry created on: 2019-05-27

entry last modified on: 2019-11-26

last update from testifier(s): 2016-09-12