Published by Uyghur PEN on 11th February 2021

Omerjan Hasan, a well-known Uyghur writer, journalist, and webmaster. He was arrested in April 2016 by Aksu Police. Since then, his situation is unknown.[1]

He born in February 1965 (ethnicity Uyghur, male, Chinese citizen; name in Chinese: Wumei’erjiang Aishan -吾买尔江.艾山, in Uyghur: Omerjan Hasan). He was formerly employed as a translator and vice director of the Forestry section of the Aksu Prefecture Forestry Department. The Radio Free Asia first reported about his arrest in July 2016.[2] Since his arrest, his family and friends had not been informed of his whereabouts, and there was no announcement of official charges against him. 

According to the Radio Free Asia Cantonese news report and interview on 1st June 2016, an official announcement was published on the Aksu Prefectural Communist Party Disciplinary Committee website. The announcement said: “Omerjan Hasan had been expelled from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because he had published articles which promoted an incorrect impression of the history of Xinjiang, endangering national and ethnic unity, and damaging the image of the CCP.” 

Soon after this news was published on the Aksu government website, it spread to international news media, and the announcement was quickly removed. Subsequently the Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service conducted a telephone interview in Aksu covering Omerjan Hasan’s arrest. [3]

Omerjan Hasan wrote and published many books and articles which aimed to promote equal civil and political rights for Uyghurs in China. He was well known to the Uyghur community by his pen name “Bozqir” (aka: Omerjan Hasan Bozqir). He also had a good reputation in the wider Chinese-speaking sphere for his Chinese language articles. He was owner and webmaster of a Uyghur language website and discussion forum named “bozqir” (http://bbs.bozqir.com.cn/forum.php). 

His website was blocked soon after his arrest.[4] He was accused of publishing “incorrect articles” about the history of Xinjiang, and damaging national unity. 

The Uyghur PEN Centre urges all PEN International members, Civil Societies, Human Rights Organizations, and Governments to pay attention to Omerjan Hasan’s situation, and demand from the Chinese government about his immediate release. We call on you take action to save hundreds of unknown Uyghur writers’ and poets’ lives who are now suffering inside the Chinese internment camps in East Turkistan (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region).

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Brief biography of Omerjan Hasan:

Omerjan Hasan Bozqir was born on February 1965 in Bay County of Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. He studied Chinese language at Kashgar Teachers’ College from 1983 to 1985. From 1985 to 1989 he studied journalism at Xinjiang University in Urumchi. From 1989 to 2003, he worked for Aksu Prefectural Radio-Television Department and Aksu TV station as a translator, editor, and manager of the TV production translation section. He worked for the Xinjiang branch of “China Nationality Unity” magazine as assistant editor from 2003 to 2004. From October 2004 to December 2005, he worked as translator for Aksu Prefectural Government Administration. From January 2006 he worked as a translator and vice director for the Forestry section of Aksu Prefecture Forestry Department. He is the owner and webmaster of a Uyghur language website “Bozqir” (http://bozqir.com.cn). He was formally arrested around April 2016 by the Aksu Police force, currently his whereabouts unknown.  

[1] First published by Uyghur PEN Centre on 1st October 2016. Updated on10th February 2021. 

[2] Radio Free Asia Cantonese Service
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/uyghurs-06012016103537.html

Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service:
http://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/uyghur-torbet-sahibliri-07122016154233.html
http://www.rfa.org/uyghur/xewerler/kishilik-hoquq/uyghur-torbet-sahibliri-07132016150449.html

[3] 阿克苏地区纪委监察局网站 http://www.aksjwjcj.gov.cn
中国在新疆清除不忠干部 http://www.chinarumor.com/show.jsp?id=80260

[4] Omerjan Hasan Bozqir’s website http://bozqir.com.cn was blocked soon after his arrest. Here is the archived version of his website from worldwide web archive: 
https://web.archive.org/web/20160408055655/http://bbs.bozqir.com.cn/forum.php/


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Read the article in PDF format:
https://www.uyghurpen.org/Free_Omerjan.pdf

 
 

 

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