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Uyghur Who Is Deputy Head of the Linguistics Department at the Academy of Social Sciences of XinJiang Arrested for Book Translation He Did Five Years Ago

December 20, 2018

Gheyret Abdurahman

Gheyret Abdurahman, a 52-year old Deputy Head of the Linguistics Department at the Academy of Social Sciences of XinJiang was arrested along with other members of that Academy. His arrest is connected to his translation of Mo Yan’s novel The Red Sorghum Clan. Over a dozen staff of the publishing house which published the book were also detained. However, it appears that the real issue is Abdurahman’s ethnicity. CCS has written the President of China urging him to release Dr. Abdurahman.

December 20, 2018

Xi Jinping
President
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China

Your Excellency:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our concern over the treatment of Gheyret Abdurahman, a 52-year-old deputy head of the Linguistics Department at the Academy of Social Sciences of Xinjiang, who was arrested in March along with other members of that Academy.

Apparently, his arrest is connected to his translation, five years ago, of the Mo Yan novel The Red Sorghum Clan. Over a dozen staff members of Kashgar Publishing House, which published this translation, have also been detained.

It appears that Gheyret Abdurahman is being punished simply because of his ethnicity. It is alleged that many Uyghurs have been sent to “programs” that constitute a grave violation of human rights. In 2001, China ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which, in Article 15, obligates your government to “recognize the right of everyone … [t]o take part in cultural life”. In 2007, China was one of the 143 states that voted to adopt the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. By doing so, China recognized that indigenous peoples such as the Uyghurs have the right to “freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” (Article 3).

Your government appears to be ignoring these human rights that severely affect the Uyghur community. The disregard that your government has displayed towards the Uyghur community, including its most important scientists and scholars, is unacceptable.

As an emerging leader in the global academic and scientific world, it is critical that China be a leader in respect for human rights. The lack of respect for those rights when it comes to Uyghur scholars calls into question the legitimacy of China as a leader in academic and scientific endeavors on the world stage.

We urge you to release Gheyret Abdurahman immediately and unconditionally, and instead protect his right to pursue his important scholarly and cultural work. We thank you for your attention to this most serious matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc:
Ambassador Cui Tiankai,
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
3505 International Place NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 202 495 2266 I Fax: 202 495 2138
Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn

Filed Under: China Tagged With: Abdurahman, Gheyret, Gheyret Abdurahman, uyghur

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

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Honorary Board Members

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Myles Axton, Chief Editor, Genetics and Genomics Next

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

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James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Giorgio Parisi, Roma I University La Sapienza

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, New England Biolabs*

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Former Honorary Board Members

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deseased) Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser (deceased), Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy (deceased), University of Pittsburgh

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

Louis Nirenberg (deceased), New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Myriam Sarachick (deceased), City College of New York

Harold Scheraga (deceased), Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Steven Weinberg (deceased), University of Texas, Austin*

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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