Mr. Asat is a tech entrepreneur and philanthropist from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region who is widely-acclaimed for his work in fostering greater understanding between different ethnic groups in China. In February 2016, he traveled to the United States after being invited to take part in the State Department-sponsored International Visitors Leadership Program, one of the few Uyghur entrepreneurs to receive this prestigious honor. Weeks after he returned to Xinjiang, he disappeared. It was not until nearly four years later, in January 2020, that Rayhan learned that her brother had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for “inciting ethnic hatred and ethnic discrimination,” a charge commonly used by the Chinese government in show trials against prominent Uyghurs. No further details were given, nor any court records to corroborate his trial or sentence.
Mr. Asat is only one of the millions of Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking minority ethnic group native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwest China, directly affected by systematic human rights violations at the hands of the Chinese government. The Uyghurs have long been persecuted and regarded as potential threats by the Chinese regime due to their distinct cultural and ethnic identity. It is estimated that over the past five years alone, at least one million Uyghurs, along with members of other Turkic groups, have been forcibly disappeared and detained in internment camps set up by the Chinese government in the Xinjiang region—although many NGOs and other experts have found credible evidence that that number may be far higher. According to the U.S. State Department and independent rights organizations, those detained in these camps are regularly subjected to political indoctrination, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, including forced sterilization, torture, forced labor, and prolonged detention without trial on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. There is mounting consensus that China’s suppression of the Uyghurs meets the U.N. definition of genocide. The use of Uyghur forced labor in the region to produce face masks, apparel, and other common goods also continues to taint the global supply chain.
The ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs and systematic use of Uyghur forced labor by the Chinese government is not only alarming, but is also something that is deeply personal to us as members of the Harvard community. Our alumna, Rayhan Asat (LLM ‘16), was the first Uyghur to graduate from Harvard Law School, and has spent countless hours fighting tirelessly for the release of her brother, Ekpar. Rayhan spoke for the first time of her family’s ordeal at a panel on the mass detention of Uyghurs hosted by HLS Advocates last year. She described the heartbreaking last conversation that she had with Ekpar prior to his disappearance, in which he promised to be in attendance at her law school graduation. Unfortunately, his seat remained empty at the ceremony the following month.
HLS Advocates and the undersigned student organizations from Harvard Law School, Harvard College, Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Medical School, join the many Harvard alumni, scholars, members of Congress, and media outlets that have commended Rayhan’s bravery and strength, and continue to work to draw attention to her calls for Ekpar’s release. We affirm our steadfast support of Rayhan, and call on the U.S. State Department to demand Mr. Asat’s immediate and unconditional release. We are also extremely disturbed and outraged by the ongoing mass atrocities being committed against the Uyghur community, and call on the European Union and the United Nations to ensure that they are given direct and meaningful access by the Chinese government to the Uyghur internment camps in the Xinjiang Region during any future visits. Finally, we also join the international coalition of human rights and advocacy organizations in urging major companies and nations to divest from the Xinjiang Region, where Chinese factories are utilizing Uyghur forced labor in the production of apparel and other goods, thereby tainting the global supply chain. These human rights violations cannot be allowed to continue unchecked.
Signed,
Harvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights
Harvard Human Rights & Business Students Association
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