Uyghur educational activist dies in custody of Chinese authorities

A Uyghur intellectual and education advocate who was detained the night before his/her daughter’s wedding five years ago has died in Chinese custody just two months later.

Radio Free Asia confirmed the victim’s identity as Ibrahim Davut, a former chemistry teacher at a high school in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Dawut was a strong supporter of the use of the Uyghur language in educational institutions throughout the region.

According to Radio Free Asia, he/she was a vocal critic of China’s bilingual education policy, which stated that some subjects would be taught in Mandarin while others would be taught in Uyghur.

In 2019, Chinese authorities arrested Daoud during a sweeping crackdown that mostly targeted Uyghur men. Although the exact charges against him/her were unclear, sources indicated that his/her arrest was due to “his/her influence on society in Kashgar”, according to a person who had recently relocated to Europe.

The source said that Dawood was under police surveillance since 2016 and was called for questioning on four or five occasions.

“On the night of July 28, 2019, the police took him/her away from his/her family and we don’t even know what happened and why they took him/her away,” sources said.

The source said that at the time of his/her arrest, Davut was around 50 years old and his/her daughter was going to get married the next day.

“We searched for him/her for about 5 to 10 days and learned that the police had detained around 500 to 600 people, including him/her,” the source said.

Radio Free Asia reported that Daoud translated Chinese textbooks into Uyghur for high school students in Kashgar and provided them with educational materials in their native language.

In addition, he/she opened bookstores in Kashgar and other places and sold textbooks written in the Uyghur language. he/she also started preparation courses for foreign language examinations and college entrance examinations.