Tekin has been sentenced to a 17-year prison term for his historical and scholarly work on Uyghur linguistics and the origins of place names.
https://uyghurtimes.com/uyghur-historian-17-years-prison/
February 4, 2026
President Xi Jinping
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China
Dear President Xi:
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 are writing to express our concern for Ghojaniyaz Yollugh Tekin. He is a historian and scholar of Uyghur linguistics. Tekin is a former educator in the Aksu Education Institute and a prominent figure in the research area of Uyghur heritage.
Tekin is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence for his research and writings that are seen as contrary to the government’s viewpoints on history in China. He has been in detention since 2017 at a time when other scholars on Uyghur and Turkic peoples of the region were also imprisoned.
Tekin’s prison sentence is tied to his research and writings as a Uyghur historian. We are aware of other Uyghur scholars and intellectuals that have also been imprisoned due to their research on Uyghur culture and language. Such imprisonment of scholars diminish the reputation of China as a place welcoming of high-quality research and academic freedom. Indeed, there are needs for research into subjects on Uyghur history and linguistics as Tekin is involved in.
The Committee requests that the prison sentence of Ghojaniyaz Yollugh Tekin be dropped and that he is released from prison to allow him to return to his important historical and scientific work.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
CC:
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