Rehmutulla Semet

Additional Name(s): 热合木提拉·赛买提

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Uyghur

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity

Nature of Charges: Leaking State Secrets Public Disorder Separatism

Rehmutulla Semet

Extra Bio Info:

Rehmutulla Semet is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity.

In 2018, authorities arrested Semet, the owner of the Tengge Tagh Hotel and a real estate company, and other Uyghur businessmen amid mass detentions of largely Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

There are conflicting reports on Semet's charges and sentencing. One source indicated that Semet was sentenced to 19 years in prison for leaking state secrets and "disturbing society," whereas Radio Free Asia reported that Semet was sentenced to 20 years in prison for “engaging in separatist activities” in April 2021.

Sources:

Photo attributed to Xinjiang Victims Database
"Rehmutulla Semet" Xinjiang Victims Database
2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: China—Xinjiang U.S. Department of State
"Uyghur Billionaire Jailed For 20 Years Over Charitable Donations" Radio Free Asia (RFA)