Additional Name(s): Yiminjan Sedul, ئىمىنجان سەيدىن, 依明江·賽都力
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Uyghur
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Health Concerns: High blood pressure
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 15 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: May//2017
Date of Sentencing: February//2019
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Religious Scholarship
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Iminjan Seydin
Extra Bio Info:
Iminjan Seydin is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and religious scholarship.
In May 2017, authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Seydina, retired history professor and founder of the Imin Book Publishing Co., and sent him to an internment camp.
In February 2019, the Tianshan District People's Court in Urumqi municipality, XUAR, reportedly sentenced Seydin to 15 years in prison for “inciting extremism” reportedly in relation to his publishing of a book about Arabic grammar.
In May 2020, the China Daily published a "proof-of-life" video of Seydin, possibly indicating his release, but that has not been confirmed.
Seydin suffers from high blood pressure.
Publicly Available Information:
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Photo attributed to Xinjiang Victims Database
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"Iminjan Seydin" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
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"Iminjan Seydin" Xinjiang Victims Database
Additional Name(s): Mahmut Memet, Mehmud Muhemmet, مەخمۇت مەمەت, 马合木提·买买提
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Uyghur
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Religious Instruction & Teaching
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Mehmud Muhemmet
Extra Bio Info:
Mehmud Muhemmet was detained for his ethnoreligious identity and religious education.
In late 2017, authorities detained Muhemmet, a farmer from Turpan, reportedly for "illegally' receiving a religious education from his father in 1987." Muhemmet's detention came amid mass detentions of largely Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
In early 2019, Muhemmet was released from detention.
Publicly Available Information:
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Photo attributed to the Xinjiang Victims Database
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"Mehmut Memet" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
Nov 4, 2020
USCIRF Releases New Report about United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new factsheet about the human rights mechanism within the United Nations (UN) system related to religious freedom:
Promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief within the UN Human Rights System Factsheet - This factsheet provides an overview of the UN human rights mechanisms, with a particular focus on those most relevant to freedom of religion or belief. The factsheet describes the mandate and composition of the Human Rights Council and its subsidiaries, which include the Universal Periodic Review Working Group, the Special Procedures mandate holders, and factfinding missions. The UN treaty-based mechanisms, such as the Human Rights Committee established by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, are also explained. The factsheet includes examples of engagement with these mechanisms that has advanced religious freedom. Although these bodies have limitations, they nevertheless provide opportunities for advocacy by and collaboration among states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to promote freedom of religion or belief internationally.
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF highlighted key developments within the UN human rights system related to religious freedom conditions in countries including Burma, China, Eritrea, and Vietnam. USCIRF also recommended that the U.S. government urge Eritrea and Sudan to invite the UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion or belief, one of the Special Procedures mandate holders, to visit and assess religious freedom conditions.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].