Additional Name(s): Hamdullah Veli
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Saudi Arabia
Ethnic Group: Uyghur
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: November//2020
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Aimidoula Waili is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.
In November 2020, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested Waili, who is a Uyghur religious scholar, and his friend following an extradition request from the Chinese government. Waili entered Saudi Arabia in February 2020 from Turkey to go on pilgrimage.
On March 16, 2022, Waili was reportedly transferred to Riyadh, a move possibly indicating imminent deportation to China.
Waili had been previously arrested before in China and was reportedly tortured while imprisoned. He immigrated to Turkey following his release in 2016.
Related Cases: Nuermaimaiti Ruze, Buheliqiemu Abula
“Uyghur Teenage Girll and Mother Detained” Amnesty International
“Saudi Arabia: Detained Uyghur men at risk of torture must not be extradited to China” Amnesty International
USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel, Tweet, January 11, 2022
“Prominent Uyghur Scholar Arrested by Saudi Authorities on China’s Request” Pen America