Geneva [Switzerland], August 6 : Michele Taylor the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday joined the panel of human rights experts of the UNHRC demanding the status of Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas who was detained by China (PRC).
The panel joined by Taylor is a group of human rights experts independent from any govt or organization, serving in their capacity.
Reportedly, Abbas was detained after her sister had shared her critical views over Chinese authorities' treatment of the Uyghurs.
In a post on 'X,' Taylor mentioned " Joined UN experts in calling for the PRC to provide an update on imprisoned Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, who was detained "in apparent retaliation for her sister's criticism of the Chinese authorities' treatment of the Uyghurs".
https://x.com/USAmbHRC/status/1820388271077179722
The case gathered the attention of the UN in June this year when the same panel of experts from the UN had demanded the Chinese authorities to provide information on the status of imprisoned Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, believed to be serving a 20-year sentence since 2019 on terrorism-related charges.
In the statement released at that time Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders mentioned "Nearly six years after her detention, Dr Abbas' family members still do not have information on where she is being imprisoned, the evidence used to convict her, or most worryingly of all, her health condition. I appeal to the Chinese authorities to comply with its international human rights obligations and at least furnish Dr Abbas' family with this information."
That statement also claimed that Abbas has several health complications, and was detained in September 2018. However, no information was provided to her family regarding her arrest and the charges that were filed against her the trial which is being run against her or the prison in which she is being held until 2020.
The UN report claimed the official confirmation of the charges on which she was sentenced was only provided in December 2020 by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson who stated in response to a question at a press conference that Dr Abbas had been jailed for "crimes of participating in a terrorist organisation, aiding terrorist activities and assembling crowds to disrupt social order".
Accordingly, Abbas was not participating in any political or human rights activities but was detained six days after her sister Rushan Abbas a US-based Uyghur human rights defender had criticised the alleged persecution of the Uyghur population in China while speaking at a public event in Washington.
Additionally, the same UN report also noted that the 2022 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights's (OHCHR) Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region highlighted an alleged pattern of "intimidations, threats and reprisals" against family members of Uyghurs in exile who had engaged in advocacy in relation to XUAR.
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