Zahide Halpaji
杂依旦母 · 咳依伯吉
Assumed Location
Prison
Suspected Reasons for Arrest or Detention
Travelling abroad
Official Reason for Arrest or Detention
Unknown
Last Contact
2018
Last time Zahide saw his daughter living in Turkey was in March/April 2017 when she went with her husband, Tursun Barat, to meet her newborn grandchild in Turkey. According to Zahide’s daughter interviewed by Amnesty International, her parents were taken away in 2018. She lost contact with them in October 2017 and in April 2018 she was told by a trusted source in Xinjiang that both Tursun and Zahide were detained and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Initially, they were in a prison in the city but later they were taken to a prison in the mountains near Ghulja. The Chinese authorities have not shared any official documents with the family or given any details about their cases. However, Zahide’s daughter thinks that their detention is due to their travels abroad, including to Mecca for Hajj.
Personal Details
Zahide has some liver disease, and she needs insulins for her diabetes. A relative in Xinjiang was actually able to see her when she was hospitalized for a week. She had very short hair and was chained. Zahide’s daughter cried “right now, I don’t even know if they are alive or not. Maybe if they passed away, somebody would tell me, but I don’t know.”
Zahide used to play a lot with her grandchildren, nine in total. She also loved to help people, including strangers.
Date of Birth
8 December 1952
Ethnicity
Uyghur
Hometown
Ghulja (Yining)
Profession
Retired accountant
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