6. Rahman Shanbay
Rahman Shanbay, female, born in 1987, is from Tekes County of Xinjiang.
(1) Activities outside China
After leaving China on 19 December 2018, she was interviewed by The Globe and Mail and other foreign media outlets. She claimed that she was interned in a room with 24 women, and was chained with handcuffs and shackles for one week because the application "WhatsApp" was installed on her cell phone.
(2) Reality check
First, Rahman Shanbay underwent investigation in accordance with the law. She was inquired by local police after being reported to have stored terrorist and extremist audios and videos on her cell phone and watched them frequently. Given the minor nature of her crime, her confession and remorse, she received only admonition as required by law.
Second, Rahman Shanbay was never interned. Her mother Danishban Musa said "my daughter indeed went to a police station and was subjected to inquiry because she was influenced by religious extremism and was suspected of committing a crime. However, she came back only three hours later, and since then she has stayed at home, helping me and my husband take care of the cattle."
◆The second category of those cases involve people who fabricated stories about their relatives.
Some anti-China individuals staying abroad fabricated lies about their relatives being arrested, persecuted or missing, in an attempt to garner sympathy from the international community and serve their schemes. Such unfounded claims are seriously misleading to the international community. Even their relatives in China have spoken out to debunk their lies.
1. Ferkat Jawdat
Ferkat Jawdat, male, born in 1992, is from Yining City of Xinjiang.
(1) Activities outside China
After going to the United States on 23 January 2011, Ferkat Jawdat organized "collective testimony" in several other countries, pieced together information of trainees at the so-called "concentration camps" and led the allegation campaign "Me Too Uyghur". He claimed that his mother was detained in a "concentration camp" for 12 months and imprisoned for three months. In March 2019, he was "received" by Mike Pompeo as one of the so-called "survivors of internment camps" and their family members.
(2) Reality check
Ferkat Jawdat and his father, brother and two sisters live in the United States. His mother Minawar Tursun leads a normal life in China. As Minawar Tursun said, she has video calls with her son almost every day.
2. Kuzzat Altay
Kuzzat Altay, whose real name is Kuzzat Mamat, is nephew of Rebiya Kadeer, former head of the World Uyghur Congress. Born in 1984, he is from Urumqi of Xinjiang and now lives in the United States. On 26 October 2019, Kuzzat Mamat became president of the Uyghur American Association.
(1) Activities outside China
At a press conference at the US Congress held by the Coalition to Advance Religious Freedom in China, an anti-China organization, as well as in interviews since February 2019, he claimed that his father Mamat Qadir was arrested and probably had died.
(2) Reality check
It has been verified that Kuzzat Altay's father Mamat Qadir lives a normal life in Urumqi.
3. Guljahra Qeyum
Guljahra Qeyum, female, born in 1973, is from Urumqi of Xinjiang. She is a journalist and news presenter of the Uyghur language department of Radio Free Asia and a member of the Uyghur American Association. On 8 May 2017, she was listed online as a wanted person by the public security authorities on suspicion of joining a terrorist organization.
(1) Activities outside China
In July 2018, Guljahra Qeyum attended a meeting of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China and said that her parents were detained in an internment camp. In March 2019, she was "received" by Mike Pompeo as one of the so-called "survivors of internment camps" and their family members.
(2) Reality check
Guljahra Qeyum's parents lead a normal life. Her 79-year-old father Abduqeyum Ghoja suffers from paralysis caused by cerebral infarction. Her mother Chimangul Zikir, aged 73, has several medical conditions including cardiac disease, hypertension and varicose veins in calves, and she needs to take care of her husband at home. They expressed no interest in traveling abroad due to poor health.
4. Yiminjan Sadul
Yiminjan Sadul, male, born in 1965, is former associate professor of the History Department of the Xinjiang Islamic Institute.
(1) False story by foreign media
Yiminjan Sadul's daughter Samre Yiminjan claimed that her father was arrested by the authorities in Xinjiang for publishing an Arabic grammar book in 2014, and that she learned in November 2019 that he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for the "crime of inciting and advocating extremist ideology". On 13 February 2020, a Washington Post journalist published an article entitled "Boston Uighur Woman Champions Her Father's Release", claiming that Samre Yiminjan's father Yiminjan Sadul was detained by Chinese officials and arrested over charges of extremism.
(2) Reality check
It has been verified that Yiminjan Sadul lives a free life.
5. Arpat Arkin
Arpat Arkin, male, born in 1997, is from Yining City of Xinjiang. On 29 October 2015, he travelled abroad and joined the World Uyghur Congress.
(1) Activities outside China
In February 2019, Arpat Arkin tweeted that his mother had been put in a "concentration camp" since late 2017, and his father Arkin Tursun was arrested on March 2018 and sentenced to 7 or 11 years in prison. In March 2019, he was "received" by Mike Pompeo as one of the so-called "survivors of internment camps" and their family members.
(2) Reality check
Arpat Arkin's mother, younger sister and younger brother are all living a normal life. His father Arkin Tursun was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by the People's Court for inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination and for cover-up. Arkin Tursun confessed to all the charges and is now in good health and serving his time in prison.
6. Reyhan Asat
Reyhan Asat, female, born in 1981,is from Urumqi of Xinjiang.
(1) Activities outside China
On 9 May 2020, The New York Times published an article claiming that Reyhan Asat, a Uyghur in the United States, said in an interview that her younger brother Akbar Asat was arrested in Xinjiang when he returned to China for participating in the activity of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) held by the US State Department in 2016, and was then sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the Chinese government for inciting ethnic hatred. She called on the IVLP organizers to pay attention to this case and urge the Chinese government to release her brother Akbar Asat.
(2) Reality check
Reyhan Asat's younger brother Akbar Asat was sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting secession by the People's Court in accordance with the law. He confessed to the charge and is now serving his sentence and is in good health. He was sentenced for violating China's law. It has nothing to do with whether he had participated in relevant activities in the US.
7. Mamut Abdureyim
Mamut Abdureyim, male, born in 1978, is from Urumqi of Xinjiang, and is now living in Australia.
(1) False story by foreign media
Mamut Abdureyim said in a CNN interview that he had "lost contact" with his wife Arem Ablat and his children since April 2017, and that he couldn't go back to China for fear of his own safety.
(2) Reality check
Mamut Abdureyim has long indoctrinated his wife Arem Ablat with religious extremist and violent terrorist ideologies. After leaving China on 30 November 2012, she took part in religious extremist activities many times, and incited other people in China to travel abroad to prepare for terrorist activities.
On 6 December 2015, tasked by terrorist organizations, Arem Ablat returned to China, where she instigated and coaxed other people into leaving the country to join terrorist organizations abroad and launching terrorist activities. On 19 June 2020, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for instigating ethnic hatred by the People's Court in Kashgar. She is now serving her sentence.
Mamut Abdureyim's daughter now lives with his father Abdureyim Mamut and attends the No.1 Primary School of Kashgar. His son lives with his mother-in-law Patima Abdurusul and attends a kindergarten in Kashgar. Mamut Abdureyim has never returned to China to take care of his children and family since he left the country on 14 September 2012.
◆The third category of those cases involve the so-called "witnesses" whose experiences were in fact fabricated.
There are a large number of people whose identities have been fabricated, distorted and exploited in the so-called Xinjiang-related "databases". For instance, Tayir Asan, a doctor of the Gastroenterology Department of the People's Hospital in Kuqa of the Aksu Prefecture; Aysham Sadik, a retired teacher; Gulbahar Mamat, a kindergarten teacher in Zepu County, Kashgar Prefecture; Tayir Talip, a writer and retired editor of Kashgar Daily; Anwar Dawut, Omar Ali and Abdukeyum Dawut in Pishan County, Hotan Prefecture, and so on. All of them were allegedly "detained" according to the Western anti-China forces, when, in fact, all of them are living a normal life. Among them, Yilpan Yezmujan, a football player, is training at the Suning football club in Jiangsu Province; Isak Payzulla, an editor of Hami Daily, and the Zaram Talips, retired officials from the Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs in Hami, attended in person the fifth press briefing on Xinjiang-related issues on 2 March 2020 to debunk the rumors.
◆The fourth category of those cases involve people who have been prosecuted on criminal charges in accordance with the law.
In the so-called Xinjiang related "databases", there are some who were sentenced in accordance with the law for violating China's laws. They are by no means the "victims". For example, Sami Bary from Turpan was sentenced to life imprisonment for organizing, leading and joining terrorist organizations and for murder; Akbar Yimin from Urumqi was sentenced to 25 years in prison for organizing and leading organized crime of a gangland nature, forced transaction, robbery and unlawful detention; Ahat Wuji from Baicheng County in Aksu was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted murder and provocative and disturbing acts; Abdurehman Abdukerem from Zequ County in Kashgar was sentenced to four years in prison for child molestation. It is simply preposterous that the Western anti-China forces should "cry foul" for these criminals.
