World Uyghur Congress Demands Release of Honored Anthropologist
The World Uyghur Congress urged Germany to press China for the release of anthropologist Rahile Dawut after she received the Award for Courage.
The Axel Springer Freedom Foundation presented the Award for Courage to Rahile Dawut, a Uyghur anthropologist, during the Freedom and Security Women Summit at the German Bundestag in Berlin. Rushan Abbas, Executive Committee Chairwoman of the World Uyghur Congress, accepted the honor on behalf of Dawut, who has been imprisoned since December 2017.
Dawut is recognized for her decades of research documenting Uyghur cultural life, including Sufi poetry and sacred sites, and for founding a research center at Xinjiang University. While her current location remains unknown, the Dui Hua Foundation reported in September 2023 that she was sentenced to life imprisonment on state security charges.
The World Uyghur Congress welcomed the award and called on the Government of China to immediately and unconditionally release Dawut, disclose her location, and allow her to communicate with her family. The organization further urged the Federal Government of Germany to raise Dawut's case during bilateral discussions with Beijing and demanded that China grant independent human rights monitors unrestricted access to East Turkistan.
The Government of China denies allegations of systematic abuse in the Xinjiang Region, maintaining that its policies are necessary to combat terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
