World Uyghur Congress calls for end to persecution of families of Uyghur activists amid Chinese crackdown

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has issued a strong appeal to the Chinese government to stop the persecution of families of Uyghur activists, citing ongoing human rights abuses.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), WUC said, “WUC calls on the Chinese government to stop the persecution of family members of Uyghur activists. This is part of international repression. Former WUC president Dolkun Isa has faced those threats for more than 30 years because of his/her activism.

The WUC statement came after a post by the official Xinjiang Victims Database account, which shared a translated transcript from Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur News. The transcript included recorded calls to police and administrative offices in Aksu, Xinjiang, confirming the life imprisonment of Dolkun Isa’s brother Hashtar.

Reacting to the revelation, current WUC leader Dolkun Isa shared his/her sad experience. “My younger brother Hashtar went missing in 2016,” he/she said. I later learned about his/her punishment from RFA. My elder brother Yalkun was sentenced to a minimum sentence of 17 years. My mother died in a concentration camp in 2018. My father passed away in 2020. I have no knowledge of the circumstances. This is the only news I have heard from my family since 2017. his/her only crime was being Uyghur and being related to me. I need international support to save the rest of my family! “Family members of HRDs should not face such atrocities.”

Issa’s testimony paints a clear picture of the Chinese government’s strategy of targeting relatives of Uyghur activists, reflecting a pattern of mass punishment aimed at silencing human rights defenders. WUC’s call to action highlights the urgent need for international advocacy to address these injustices and protect Uyghur families who remain vulnerable to state repression.

The Uyghur community has faced numerous documented human rights violations in Xinjiang, which have been widely condemned by the international community. Central to these abuses is the detention of more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in “re-education camps,” where detainees face harsh conditions, forced labor, and continuous political indoctrination.

In Xinjiang, the Chinese government has reportedly built a pervasive surveillance state, employing facial recognition, biometric data collection, and community surveillance to control residents of the region. This heavy-handed surveillance creates an environment of fear and isolation, as community members are encouraged to report on each other. Additionally, cultural and religious repression is prevalent, with Uyghur religious practices banned, mosques destroyed, and Uyghur children often placed in state-run educational institutions to assimilate into Han Chinese culture.

The crisis extends to forced labour, with Uyghurs reportedly forced into harsh working conditions in many industries, some of which are tied to global supply chains. This systematic repression of Uyghurs by the Chinese state calls for urgent intervention, as WUC, along with other international bodies, continues to press for accountability and justice for Uyghur families facing persecution.