Rebiya Kadeer's Sons Receive Prison Sentence, Fines, for Alleged Economic Crimes

The Tianshan District People's Court in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), imposed a prison sentence and fines on one son of exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer and levied fines on another son on November 27, according to a November 27 Xinhua report (via People's Daily) and a November 27 press release from the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). The court sentenced Alim Abdurehim (Abdureyim) to seven years in prison and fined him 500,000 yuan (US$62,500) for evading taxes in the amount of 208,430 yuan (US$26,000). The court imposed a 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) fine on Qahar (Kahar) Abdurehim for evading taxes worth almost 2.5 million yuan (US$312,500). The tax evasion charges stem from the brothers' involvement in two businesses previously run by Kadeer. The court levied a 15.3 million yuan (US$1.9 million) fine on the business for which Alim served as legal representative, and a 7.44 million yuan (US$931,000) fine on the business Qahar operated on Alim's behalf. The court tried the pair on October 27 in a four-hour closed trial, according to an October 29 Agence France-Presse article (via The China Post) and the UHRP press release. The brothers had legal counsel, but their lawyers reportedly did not dispute the state's charges, according to UHRP.

Authorities initially held Alim in custody in April and informed him that he was under suspicion for evading taxes. Authorities held Alim in custody again on May 29 (initially reported as May 30), along with his brother Ablikim and sister Roshengul, and later placed Alim and Ablikim in criminal detention and Roshengul under house arrest. On June 13, authorities took Qahar into custody and charged him with tax evasion, Alim with tax evasion and splittism, and Ablikim with subversion of state power. Alim confessed to the charges against him on or around July 1, after being tortured, according to a July 6 UHRP press release. According to the November 27 UHRP press release, authorities formally indicted Qahar and Alim with tax evasion and Ablikim with subversion of state power on July 14. The Xinhua report did not include any information on Ablikim's case, but UHRP reported that sources saw Ablikim on November 26 being carried on a stretcher out of the Tianshan district detention center. UHRP reported that authorities released Roshengul from house arrest after the trial.

The cases against Alim, Qahar, and Ablikim reflect a pattern of harassment and abuse against Kadeer's family in the XUAR that started after Kadeer's release from prison in March 2005 and subsequent relocation to the United States. Kadeer has since advocated on behalf of the Uighur community, most recently in her capacity as the president of two overseas Uighur organizations, the Uyghur American Association and the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). Kadeer, who reported that Chinese authorities threatened repercussions against her family members and business interests if she discussed Uighur human rights issues in exile, described the cases against her sons as a "vendetta" against her, according to the November 27 UHRP report. Sources had informed her that authorities would offer leniency to her children if she refrained from participating in the November 26 WUC election, according to UHRP.

For more information on conditions in the XUAR, see "Rights Violations in Xinjiang" in section III(a), "China's Minorities and Government Implementation of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law," in the CECC 2005 Annual Report, and "Religious Freedom for China's Muslims" in section V(d), "Freedom of Religion," in the CECC 2006 Annual Report.