The three websites were among the most popular Uighur language news and community forums operating in Xinjiang prior to the 5 July 2009 riots.
Attempts to silence Uyghurs
”The Chinese governments’ attempts to control all online activity in Xinjiang is not going to silence those with genuine grievances,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director for Amnesty International. “These three Uighur web managers must be 
released.”
Dilmurat was repeatedly warned by Xinjiang (map of the region on the left) authorities against speaking to the media about his brother Dilshat’s case.
He had earlier complied with their demands out of fear that his brother could be convicted. “But today, I’m not worried because my brother has been sentenced already,” Dilmurat told Amnesty International from the United Kingdom.
“This government charge against my brother and the other Uighur websites was for endangering state security, but they didn’t do anything” said Dilmurat, who had worked with his brother Dilshat in managing the Diyarim website.
No accusations before
“My brother was supportive of the Chinese government always. We ran the website from 2002 to 2009 – for seven years, we didn’t have any problems with the Chinese government.”
Dilmurat says that the secret nature of the Urumqi trials were a result of government fear of protest, because “the Chinese government has not any evidence to sentence these people.”
He suspects that web managers came under pressure from authorities due to articles that anonymous people posted on their websites prior to the 5 July, 2009 riots in Urumqi. The riots led to 197 deaths according to official figures, and more than 1,400 detentions.
Amnesty International’s investigation of the riots suggests that the Chinese government used excessive force in dealing with the riots and in their aftermath, arbitrarily detained Uighurs, and mistreated detainees. Amnesty International’s findings were published in June 2010 as ‘Justice, Justice’ – The July 2009 protests in Xinjiang, the People´s Republic of China.
Websites closed after riots
From 3 July 2009, Dilmurat’s brother notified Chinese security officials five to six times to notify them that articles calling for a peaceful demonstration had been posted anonymously on the Diyaram website, and that he had deleted them.
A demonstration notice was posted again at 3:30 am on Sunday 5 July, on the Diyarim, Salkin and Shabnam websites, and the web managers were not able to remove them until later in the day.
Following the riots, the three websites were all closed down by government censors.
Amnesty International is calling for the release of the Uyghur language web managers and for the release of o
ther arbitrarily detained Uyghurs.
Not the only case
Prominent Uyghur journalist Hairat Niyaz (picture on the right) was recently sentenced to 15 years imprisonment through a secret trial in Urumqi, for little more than giving interviews to Hong Kong media.
Uyghur writer Gulmira Imin, who had contributed to the Salkin website, was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2010 for ‘splittism, leaking state secrets and organising an illegal demonstration.’ During her trial she alleged torture and ill-treatment in detention.
the People´s Republic of China cracked down on the Internet as it restored order in the region hit by the disorder of last summer. Access to the Chinese Internet was cut for six months from July 2009 then gradually re-established between January and May this year. Reporters Without Borders in October 2009 carried out an investigation into access to websites relating to the Uyghur community that found more than 85% of the 91 websites surveyed were blocked, censored or otherwise inaccessible.
At least 30 journalists and 76 netizens are currently behind bars in the People´s Republic of China, according to Reporters Without Borders.
HRH Bergen, based on Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders articles.
Related links:
China sentences Uyghur journalist and website editor to 15 years in prison
