Abdukadir was taken away from his home on 29 January 2018, according to his son interviewed by Amnesty International from his home in the USA. His mother called his sister, who was studying in Turkey, saying that Abdukadir had been detained. The day before, police officers had come to Abdukadir’s house and took away some of his belongings, including Uyghur-language books, writings and electronic devices. Abdukadir’s family believes he might have been sent to an internment camp.
Later, Abdukadir’s wife was also taken away from her home and held in an internment camp from January 2018 to March 2019 for being the wife of Abdukadir. Family members in China told Abdukadir’s children that their mother was asked to “study hard, work hard.”

After Abdukadir’s wife was released, she was told by the Xinjiang Normal University, where Abdukadir worked as a professor, that he was laid off without any official reasons. Abdukadir’s wife is able to keep regular contact with her children abroad, but she does not dare to share details about her “re-education” experience with them.