Bozqir | Imprisoned in China | April 01, 2016

Job:Editor, Internet Reporter, Publisher/Owner
Medium:Internet
Beats Covered:Culture, Human Rights, Politics
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:Yes
Charge:Anti-state
Length of Sentence:Not Sentenced
Reported Health Problems:No

Police arrested Uighur journalist, writer, and webmaster Omerjan Hasan, also known as Bozqir, sometime in March or April 2016, according to the World Uyghur Congress and Radio Free Asia. According to news reports, the Aksu Commission for Discipline Inspection launched an investigation into Hasan and accused him of violating political discipline by publishing an unofficial history of Xinjiang province, spreading harmful information, defaming the Communist Party and government, and sabotaging national unity, ethnic unity, and social stability in May 2016.

Hasan worked as a translator, editor, and communications department deputy director for Aksu Television and the Aksu Bureau of Radio and Television from 1989 to 2003. In 2003, he started working for the China Nationality Unity magazine as its Xinjiang region assistant editor. Hasan has published numerous essays and short stories, according to a blog post detailing Hasan's résumé. Hasan was also the administrator of the popular Uighur-language website and discussion forum "Bozqir." The website was shut down after his arrest, according to the World Uyghur Congress.

On May 31, 2016, the Chinese Communist Party revoked Hasan's membership and accused him of publishing articles that harmed the party and the government's policies, according to news reports.

The Aksu Public Security Bureau told CPJ that they did not have any information regarding Hasan's whereabouts. An officer who answered CPJ's call to Baicheng County police station for information immediately hung up the phone at the mention of CPJ.

CPJ was unable to determine Hasan's state of health, where he was being held as of late 2017, or whether he had been formally charged, convicted, or sentenced. Hasan did not appear on CPJ's 2016 prison census because CPJ was unaware of his arrest.

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