By Uyghur Times Uyghur Edition (translated by Anne Kader)
Renowned Uyghur musician Shireli Eltikin has been in captivity since June 2021, Uyghur activist Abduvali Ayup tweeted. Eltikin is potentially facing long imprisonment as his court hearing is due next month. Urumqi police abducted Eltekin in June 2021 on the pretext that he had been in contact with a foreigner, Abduwali said.
Eltekin is a well-known, multi-faceted Uyghur musician with remarkable achievements in traditional Muqam ( a melody type used in the music of the Uyghurs). Eltekin was born in Kashgar in 1975 and studied Uyghur Muqam at the Art Institute in 1996. Since graduation, he played in a Muqam ensemble.
The detainment of Eltekin is part of the ongoing abductions of Uyghur elites by the Chinese authorities. Religious scholars, writers, artists, researchers, and others have disappeared without a trace. Some have received lengthy prison sentences and even been sentenced to death.
The news of Eltekin’s imprisonment comes on the eve of Michel Bachelet’s (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) visit to the Chinese occupied East Turkistan / Uighuristan, where she is to investigate China’s human rights violations against the Uyghurs.