A testimony from our “100 Camp Testimonies” Book
I live in Stockholm, Sweden. I would like to testify for my family members and relatives.
Ershidin Osman, my elder brother and a father of four, was born in October 1970, who has a bachelor’s degree in landscape management from Xinjiang Agricultural University. He worked at the Civil Administration Department in Kelpin County, Aksu Prefecture. He was detained in late 2017 or early 2018, and was later sentenced to prison, but I could not obtain any information about the length of his prison term.
Ilmigusun (surname unknown), my sister-in-law (Ershidin Osman’s wife), was born in 1985, who is also from Kelpin County. I heard that she was also detained and sentenced to prison. The reason for her and my brother Ershidin’s imprisonment I believe was that they had a third child, which was illegal according to China’s family planning policy. There is no one around to take care his four children, and my mother is a sickly and elderly woman of 71 years old (born in 1951). Ilmigusun’s mother Anarhan is also 71 years old (born in 1951), who was taken to an internment camp. So, my brother Ershidin’s children basically have no caretakers.
Havahan Osman, my younger sister and a mother of four, was born in 1985, who is a talented tailor. I learned that she was also sentenced to prison, the length of which is unknown. They arbitrarily detained her because her husband traveled abroad. As mentioned earlier, my mother is a sickly 70-year-old woman, while my sister’s mother-in-law is also an elderly woman who had undergone surgery. Her husband does not have any other relatives. So, there is no one around to look after her four children.
Ibrahim Osman, my younger brother, was born in 1990, who was a businessman in Ürümchi, with a university degree. He was detained in Ürümchi in late 2017. He has two children, the younger of whom was born after he was detained. I have not been able to obtain any information about his whereabouts and whether he was transferred to a prison.
Abdurehim, my nephew (my elder sister’s son), was born in 1990, who has a bachelor’s degree from a university in inner China. He was taken to an internment camp in 2017. His elder brother Abdüshkür is also incarcerated in an internment camp. I do not know whether he was sentenced to prison since I have not been able to contact any of my relatives. I believe that he was interned for practicing Islam, i.e., he prayed five times a day.
I have not been able to contact my family members and relatives since 2017. I learned that as many as 100 relatives had been detained, none of whom committed any crime. The Chinese regime has persecuted them because they are Uyghur. My family was a rather big household in Kelpin County, and the house is locked and sealed off by the local authority. Most of my relatives have been incarcerated on arbitrary grounds.
I would like to ask the Chinese regime to answer following questions: What crime(s) did my relatives commit? Why are they incarcerated? Why can’t I contact any of them?The regime said that those who were taken to internment camps were offered vocational training, but all my relatives had jobs and careers; none of them needed any government help. Many of them have higher education. I really want to know on what grounds they were detained. On account of their arbitrary incarceration, their young children are left uncared for. I have lived in Sweden for more than 20 years, and my family members were never allowed to visit me. It is incomprehensible that I cannot get in touch with my family members and relatives in this day and age.
