During Ramadan, Uyghurs used to assemble after sunset to break the daytime fast with an ‘Iftar’ meal. It used to be a joyful event: Delicious foods had been prepared throughout the day, and families would sit together for a meal after the evening prayers. A few years ago, the communist regime abolished this tradition in the Uyghurs’ homeland. These days, in fear of retribution, it takes courage and innovation to observe the tradition.

Newly Leaked List Includes 7 Prisoners Who Studied Under Ilham Tohti

By Human Rights Watch

(New York) – The Chinese government should immediately release all remaining imprisoned students of the Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, Human Rights Watch said today. A government list of prisoners leaked in December 2021 indicates that six of the seven students on the list were sentenced in December 2014 to between three-and-a-half and eight years in prison. Although they would have completed their sentences, it is unclear whether they have been released.

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Uyghur Policy Act, a bill to increase U.S. support for the Uyghur diaspora in the United States and other countries, as well as to advocate for improving the conditions of Uyghurs suffering human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). U.S. Representatives Young Kim (R-CA) and Ami Bera (D-CA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.