Rouzi had been working as an international construction contractor before he went missing in October 2017. His brother told Amnesty International that he believes Rouzi was detained because he was a wealthy Uyghur businessman who invested in a million-dollar project in Turkey. A Uyghur police officer from Korla reached out to Rouzi’s brother over WhatsApp and asked him to stop his activism about his family; otherwise, his life would be difficult and he would not be able to talk to his family. The officer also confirmed that Rouzi was “inside” and said it is possible that he could be released but did not know when. When Rouzi’s brother asked why Rouzi and his other brother, Maimaiti Hamdullah, were inside, the officer said that is what the government wants. Later, Rouzi’s brother learned from one of Rouzi’s employees that Rouzi had been taken from his house in Urumqi to an internment camp in Korla. Rouzi’s brother applied to the Chinese consulate in Istanbul many times to seek information about the whereabouts of his brother but received no response.