cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/43302230
UN experts* today expressed serious concern over the increasing criminalisation of Uyghur and other minority cultural expression in China, citing the case of artist Yaxia’er Xiaohelaiti and the enforced disappearance of scholar Rahile Dawut.
“These cases reflect deeply troubling patterns where cultural identity, artistic creativity, and academic work are treated as threats to national security,” the experts said. “The right to freely express and participate in cultural life, without discrimination or fear, is a cornerstone of human rights.”
Yaxia'er Xiaohelaiti, a 26-year-old Uyghur songwriter performing under the name Uigga, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2024 after being convicted of “promoting extremism” and “possessing extremist materials.” The charges reportedly stemmed from his artistic work in the Uyghur language and from owning books regarded as central to the community’s cultural history. Prosecutors alleged that his lyrics undermined the State, while civil society actors maintain that his music simply gave voice to his cultural roots.
[...]
The case of Rahile Dawut, a renowned woman ethnographer and cultural scholar, exemplifies the risks faced by those engaged in cultural and academic work. She was forcibly disappeared in 2017 while traveling to Beijing and has not been seen since. Reports suggest that she was secretly tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged separatism, yet her fate and whereabouts remain unacknowledged by authorities.
“Enforced disappearance is an extremely serious violation of several human rights, and a continuing offence until authorities provide verifiable information on the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person,” the experts said. They warned that when committed systematically within a specific context, they amount to crimes against humanity.
[...]