Uyghur Sisters Jailed For ‘Illegal’ Religious Activities in Xinjiang Women’ s Prison

Melikizat and Patigul Memet are among five female family members sentenced in 2013.

By Shohret Hoshur

Two Muslim Uyghur sisters serving lengthy prison sentences for participating in religious gatherings in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region are being held in a women’s prison in the town of Sanji (in Chinese, Changji), detention center officials said.

The siblings, Melikizat and Patigul Memet, are from a family of five women in Korla (in Chinese, Kuerle), all imprisoned for religious activities in 2013, according to a verdict issued in April 2019 and recently seen by RFA. The Korla Municipal Court gave Melikizat and Patigul jail sentences of 20 and seven years, respectively.

The women’s mother, 78-year-old Helchem Pazil, sister Zahire Memet, and sister-in-law Bostan Ibrahim, were convicted of “disturbing public order and inciting ethnic hatred” for “hearing and providing a venue for illegal religious preaching,” RFA reported earlier, citing the document. At the time, it was not clear from the verdict where the women were serving their sentences.

After making additional inquiries about the women, Sanji Women’s Prison staffers told RFA that Melikizat and Patigul were serving their sentences there.

Melikizat, a 37-year-old housewife, was convicted of “incitement to ethnic discrimination,” “collectively bringing social disorder,” and “taking others under her wing,” by providing a venue for religious preaching and taking part in it, according to the verdict.

Patigul, a 52-year-old who worked at a veterinary hospital in Korla’s Tekichi village, was convicted of “collectively bringing social disorder” by attending the religion services. She received a lighter punishment for giving an “early and full confession” and for showing “grave remorse.”

During follow-up calls to local official to try to find out where the women were being held, RFA contacted the police station in Tekichi village, though officers would not provide information about Patigul.

Likewise, the municipal prosecutor’s office in Korla declined RFA’s request to speak with Pezilet Memtimin, the prosecutor in the case.

But during a subsequent call to the office, a staffer said that at least a handful of female Uyghur prisoners from Korla were serving sentences in Sanji Women’s Prison.

When RFA contact the prison, an official asked for the national identification numbers of the five women, then confirmed that Melikizat and Patigul Memet were serving their sentences there.

Translated by the Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Copyright © 1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. https://www.rfa.org

Chinese Rights Lawyer Lu Siwei Sentenced to 11 Months in Prison

Prominent Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei, who was arrested and deported from Laos in 2023, was sentenced behind closed doors in China to 11 months in prison on Friday, his wife told Radio Free Asia.

Read More

After Inhaling Deodorant Spray in TikTok Challenge,Eight Years Old Brazilian Girl Dies

After her participation in the so-called “deodorant challenge,” which has been making the rounds on TikTok, an eight-year-old girl in Brazil died on April 13.Police said, Sarah Raíssa Pereira de Castro was hospitalized in the Federal District on April 10,when she inhaled the gas from a spray deodorant while participating in the challenge.

Read More

Regular Exercise Keeps Your Pet Healthy

Maintaining your pet’s weight is one advantage of regular exercise for pets. helping your dog in relaxing and improving their sleeping pattern. Regular exercise also maintains your dog’s mobility and wellness.It also reduces digestive issues and constipation and establishing a relationship with your pet and winning their confidence.Ir decreases undesired behaviors such as jumping up, gnawing, barking, and predatory behavior.

Read More

How to Report Child Abuse in India

Under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) takes complaints about any violation of children’s rights using the online Complaint Management System, Ebaalnidan.

Read More

Sri Lankan Police Pull Plug on Vietnamese Monk’s Tour Until He Changes Visa

Sri Lankan police on Thursday blocked Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Minh Tue from continuing his barefoot journey around the South Asian island until he changes his visa, a witness told Radio Free Asia.

Read More

North Korean Troops May Enter Ukraine Doon,Kyiv Warns

North Korean forces deployed in Russia’s Kursk region may soon be sent into annexed regions of Ukraine that remain fiercely contested by Russian and Ukrainian forces, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Read More

First Time Parents At Nearly 100 Years of Age

The first-time parents are two Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo,United States,that are about 100 years old and highly endangered.

Read More

Home Made Food for Pets

Choosing a range of fresh ingredients and avoiding the artificial additives, preservatives, and fillers frequently found in conventional pet diets, homemade dog food allows one to choose nutrition of guaranteed quality.

Read More