Extra Bio Info:

Gulmira Imin is imprisoned for her ethnoreligious identity and protesting against Uyghur treatment.

On July 14, 2009, Imin, web administrator for the Uighur-language website Salkin, was arrested in Aksu, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after authorities alleged she had organized protests on July 5, 2009, against Uyghur migrant worker deaths in Guangdong province. They also accused her of posting an announcement for the protests on Salkin and leaking state secrets by phone to her husband in Norway. Imin's family was not notified of her arrest and was unaware of her location until she appeared in a state media documentary wearing prison garb in October 2009.

On April 1, 2010, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Imin to life in prison for "splitting the state" (Art. 103 CCL), "leaking state secrets" (Art. 111 CCL), and "organizing an illegal demonstration (Art. 296 CCL). Imin reportedly said at trial that authorities tortured her in detention and coerced her into signing a document she had not read. She was also reportedly not allowed to meet with her lawyer until the trial.

According to reports in June 2021, authorities in XUAR reduced her life sentence to 19 years and eight months after she signed a written statement of remorse in 2017, which is believed to have been coerced.

Imin is serving her sentence in Xinjiang Women’s Prison (Xinjiang No. 2 Prison), Urumqi.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) advocates for Imin as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Extra Bio Info:

Hu Shigen was imprisoned in relation to his religious activity and religious leadership role. 

On July 10, 2015, Hu, a pro-democracy activist and underground church leader, disappeared in Beijing municipality while he was on his way to an underground church to give a sermon. The next day on July 11, public security officials criminally detained Hu.

On August 7, 2015, authorities placed Hu under "residential surveillance at a designated location" for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and "inciting subversion of state power." 

On January 8, 2016, authorities formally arrested Hu for "subverting state power" and held him at the Tianjin No. 1 PSB Detention Center in Xiqing district. 

On August 3, 2016, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Hu to seven years and six months in prison for "subversion of state power" (Art. 105 (1) CCL).  During the trial, prosecutors accused Hu of "leading a religious group that worked on advocacy campaigns around 'politically sensitive' cases." A photo of Hu's baptism was reportedly used as evidence against him as well. 

In October 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion on Hu's imprisonment, calling for his immediate release.

On March 26, 2023, Hu was released from prison after completing his sentence.

Hu's health has reportedly deteriorated while in prison as he suffers from various ailments, including heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, bronchitis, and fatty liver disease.

Hu was previously imprisoned for 16 years in relation to his democracy and labor advocacy.

Extra Bio Info:

Isaac Mogos was detained for his religious belief.

On September 17, 1994, authorities arrested Mogos for conscientiously objecting to performing compulsory military service.

On December 4, 2020, Mogos was released, following concerns about COVID-19 in prisons.