Imprisoned Souls: Uyghur Prisoner Poems Expose China’s Oppression

By Amine Sedef

On November 9, 2025, the book “Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghur Prisoners in China” was published by Hertfordshire Press in England. This poetry collection brings together poems and brief biographies of 25 Uyghur poets who have been imprisoned, sentenced to long-term imprisonment, or forcibly disappeared as part of the large-scale genocide policies initiated by the Chinese government in East Turkistan since 2017. Among these poets, 21 are male and four are female.

The compiler and translator of the collection, Aziz Isa Elkun, a UK-based Uyghur intellectual, wrote on his personal social media account:

“No civilized society punishes poets for writing poetry. Yet, the Chinese state, in its aim to turn East Turkistan (Uyghuristan)—the ancestral homeland of the Uyghurs—into a permanent colony, flagrantly violates all domestic and international laws. It seeks to erase Uyghur language, culture, and national identity, while carrying out various forms of ethnic persecution. Thousands of Uyghur intellectuals and countless members of the Uyghur community are suffering in Chinese prisons as a result. These Uyghurs, wrongly labeled as ‘Chinese citizens,’ must be immediately released from China’s cold dungeons. This book amplifies the voices of poets whose voices have been silenced and whose freedom has been taken away.”

The collection includes poems by Gulnisa Imin Gulhan, Nurmuhammet Yasin Orkishi, Ablet Abdureshit Barqi, Perhat Tursun, Abdurehim Abdulla, Abduqadir Jalalidin, Adil Tuniyaz, Vahitjan Osman, among others. It also features contributions from Zohre Niyaz Sayrami, Qasim Sidiq, Rahim Yasin Qaynam, Abliz Osman, Sirajidin Rehman, Ruqiya Abdulla, Aziz Rahman, Mukhtar Supurgi, Shahip Abdusalam Nurbeg, Ahmet Kibir, Metsaydi Metqasim, Qasimjan Osman Ghazi, Eisajan Turdi Achchiq, Abdurashit Ali, and Tursunay Sultan.

Mehmutjan Yasin, President of the World Uyghur Writers Association, congratulated the publication and said:

“Publishing this collection in English is an immensely positive development for Uyghur literature. For the past 75 years under the Chinese Communist Party, Uyghur writers and poets have been systematically denied creative freedom. Many were martyred, and countless others imprisoned, spending years in labor and correction centers. The few works that survived were published only after passing through extremely strict censorship. Today, many of these poets continue to suffer in prisons and detention camps. Translating their poems into English and presenting them to the world not only introduces Uyghur literature globally but also raises awareness about the fate of Uyghur poets, while demonstrating that the Uyghur literary heritage endures despite severe restrictions.”

The book also gained new attention during its signing and promotional event on December 16, 2025, at the Yunus Emre Institute in London. Speakers at the event included Turgunjan Alawudun, President of the World Uyghur Congress; Ross Holder, Asia-Pacific Lead for PEN International; Jennifer Langer, Founding Director of Exiled Writers Ink; Prof. Dr. Rachel Harris from SOAS, University of London; and Heerret Schroder, a member of Austrian PEN.

In his speech, Turgunjan Alawudun addressed China’s policies of oppression and genocide targeting Uyghur education and intellectuals, detailing the persecution Uyghurs face and providing an assessment of the current situation.

Ross Holder emphasized that the poets’ works reflect deep pain and suffering alongside pride in their identity. Highlighting Gulnisa Imin’s poems, he noted that they convey both a resilient spirit of resistance and the fear of being separated from her children, constituting a moving and urgent call for the international community to defend Uyghur freedom.

Jennifer Langer stated that many poets in the book have disappeared into China’s mass detention camps and prisons, and their fates remain unknown. She stressed that despair, pain, longing, and love are powerfully expressed in their poetry.

Prof. Dr. Rachel Harris highlighted the importance of protecting and promoting Uyghur poetry and culture on the international stage.

Heerret Schroder noted that she nominated Perhat Tursun for the honorary presidency of the Austrian Writers’ Association and is translating one of his novels into German. She emphasized that imprisoning Uyghur poets, silencing their voices, and banning their works is ultimately an attempt to destroy the Uyghur language and culture.

Among the poets featured, Abduqadir Jalalidin was arrested in a major sweep in 2018; his children, now living in Japan, confirmed his detention. His poem “I Have No Fire”, written in prison, has been widely circulated abroad and adapted into a Uyghur song.

Similarly, Gulnisa Imin Gulhan, who regularly shared her long poem “A Thousand Nights” on social media, was arrested in 2018 after posting the 345th night and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

This collection, combining both artistic excellence and a testimony to resilience under persecution, amplifies the voices of Uyghur poets silenced by repression, offering the international community a window into their courage, suffering, and enduring cultural identity.

This article was originally published in Uyghur Post and has been edited, translated and republished in Uyghur Times.

Amine Sedef is the Uyghur Post correspondent based in Istanbul, Turkey. She writes about the diaspora, Uyghur women, and cultural topics. From 2020 to 2022, Amine earned a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies in the Sociology Department at Istanbul University. She has published three poetry collections, including “The Story of Silence”, “Layla’s Three Poems”, and “Chimanqush” (Flower-Bird). Additionally, she translated the children’s storybook “The Phoenix” (Ənqa Quşu) by Azerbaijani writer Eloja Atalı into Turkish, and it was published in Turkey.