At the end of 2021, two large prisoner lists were leaked to database staff. One of them – the “Konasheher Prisoners List” – contains over 10000 individuals from Konasheher County, the vast majority of them sentenced in 2017. The other list, covered here, is longer and more detailed, and contains information regarding over 18000 sentenced individuals. Of these, a few hundred were removed from documentation as they appear to have committed legitimate crimes, while 18192 have been added to the database as victims, on the grounds that the charges against them appear political and/or religious in nature.

As seen on the map below, which provides the village and neighborhood locations of the individuals’ addresses, the victims considered span almost all of Xinjiang. At the same time, some non-Uyghur areas – the majority in the north – are underrepresented, as a result of the source filtering out non-Uyghur individuals prior to sharing the list (the reasons for this are not completely clear).

Compared to the list from Konasheher, this document is older and is believed to date to August 10, 2015 (which is both the file creation date, according to the metadata, and the latest date mentioned in the document). As such, it does not cover the recent mass arrests of 2017 and after, focusing on earlier years.

Specifically:

• the majority of the individuals in the list (13108, or 70.89%) were detained and sentenced after the start of the “People’s War on Terror” on May 23, 2014, following the violent incident in Urumqi a day earlier;
• another significant portion of the individuals (4857, or 26.27%) were detained and sentenced after July 5, 2009 (but before May 23, 2014), with several hundred taken as a direct result of the July 5, 2009 incident in Urumqi;
• a small fraction (526, or 2.84%) were detained even earlier, with one sentence dating as far back as 2006.

Consequently, we have decided to call this the “2009-2015 Prisoners Lists”, as this is the period during which the vast majority of the individuals in the list (18444, or 99.75%) were sentenced. While not comprehensive (the total number of those sentenced in 2014 as based on official data, for example, is estimated to be around 30000), this list nevertheless covers a very significant portion of those sentenced in certain years.

Authentication

While little is known about the source and their motivations, the authenticity of the information in the list has been confirmed through a number of channels, allowing us to confidently state that the records may be treated as originating from the government and police, with little to no apparent tampering.

Specifically, we look at the following 3 approaches to crosschecking the data, where we compare the details in the list with those from other sources that were not, for the most part, yet published at the time the list was shared.

Crosschecking with the sensitive police tags sourced from the Urumqi police databases. One of the most useful available tools for crosschecking the validity of a detainee set is the long list of over 7 million sensitive ID numbers – around 600000 of them from Xinjiang – that came from the Urumqi police databases previously written about in The Intercept. A statistical analysis of these has been carried out (see: “Police Tags” section of the database’s primary-evidence report), and has shown that a number of the tags correlate very strongly with detention status.

Of the 18027 victims from the prisoners list who have valid ID numbers reported, 16825 (93.33%) also appear in the sensitive ID list, which is radically higher than what would be expected for a list of regular individuals, even for a biased sample where non-Han adult males – Xinjiang’s most targeted population – are given preference. In other words, if non-Han adult males were chosen randomly and assembled into a list, the percentage with sensitive tags would be no greater than around 10% (taking the extreme scenario where all 600000 sensitive Xinjiang IDs were adult males and dividing them by 5000000, as a lower estimate on Xinjiang’s non-Han adult male population, obtained heuristically by taking less than a third of the approximate non-Han population of 16000000). Using more precise approximations will not change this general neighborhood (10%) drastically, and so there is no real need for them. The drastic difference (approximately 10% vs. 90%) thus corroborates that the list is of sensitive, and targeted, individuals.

The breakdown by specific tag, excluding those with fewer than 100 individuals, is given in the following table. Previously established links to detention are given as well. That so many of the individuals have particularly sensitive tags, highly correlated with detention status, is consistent with their status as prisoners.

Tag	Victims in prisoners list	Estimated % of people with this tag in detention in 2017 or after
“intelligence domestic-security focus person” (情报国保重点人员)	13475	80-90
“stability-related inspection target” (涉稳核查对象)	4389	55-75
“person involved in an endangering-security case (Xinjiang-wide)” (全疆危安案件涉案人员)	3896	55-80
“person with a criminal record (national level, not Urumqi)” (刑事犯罪前科人员全国非乌鲁木齐)	2834	45-70
“relative of person involved in an endangering-security case (Xinjiang-wide)” (全疆危安案件人员亲属)	2087	15-25
“endangering-security released person (outside Urumqi)” (危安释放人员_外县)	1389	50-95
“stability-related focus person” (涉稳类重点人)	1334	70-90
“endangering-security person released from prison” (危安刑满释放人员)	788	25-90
“person detained in July 5 incident” (7.5监所羁押人员)	398	35-95
“person with an endangering-security record” (危安前科人员)	141	30-75

A particular tag that is useful for additional crosschecking is the one corresponding to July 5, with 398 victims from the prisoners list having this tag. Of these 398, at least 271 (non-comprehensive estimate) are also explicitly mentioned in the prisoners list as having been detained in connection to July 5, which further demonstrates very strong consistency between the police tags and the information in the prisoner list. This not only corroborates these specific individuals as being sensitive but also corroborates the specific reason for their detentions.

Finally, the specific facts of certain individuals having served prison sentences are also confirmed via the “endangering-security person released from prison” tag. Of the 788 victims from the prisoners list who have this tag, at least 723 (non-comprehensive estimate) were indeed reported in the list as scheduled for release prior to 2017 (the year that the police tags are believed to date to).

Crosschecking with other internal sources. In addition to the police tags, individual reports and dispatches from the Urumqi database, as well as a number of other internal documents obtained through different channels, provide details about specific individuals in the prisoners list that corroborate the information given in the list (at times with small discrepancies). The sources are summarized below, with a subsequent table providing the numbers of individuals who are reported as sentenced in both the prisoners list and the other internal source:

• Urumqi police reports, from the same source as the police tags above (see “Police Notes” and “Police Reports” in the primary-evidence report);
• the “QQ files”, a list of government documents, focusing largely on poverty alleviation, that were obtained by researcher Adrian Zenz in 2019 (see “Detention Rates” in the primary-evidence report) and that often mention the detention statuses of specific individuals (mostly for Hotan, Kashgar, and Aksu Prefectures);
• the “Aksu List”, previously written about by Human Rights Watch, which covers over 2000 camp detainees from Aksu Prefecture, with some of them sent to camp because of their previous prison sentence (some of which are mentioned in the prisoners list);
• the “Karakash List”, a government document from Qaraqash County that was leaked abroad in mid-2019 and written about by multiple media outlets in 2020 (see also “Karakash List” in the primary-evidence report), and which mentions the detentions of over 500 people, some of whom were sentenced prior to 2016.

Source	Individuals reported as sentenced in both the source and the prisoners list
Urumqi police reports	14
QQ files	70
Aksu List	3
Karakash List	4

Crosschecking with testimonies from friends and relatives abroad. A total of 42 individuals from the prisoners list have also been testified for by friends or relatives abroad. This was done independently of the list, and prior to the list being shared or made public, with many of the testimonies having been collected but not published at the time the list was shared. While there are some small discrepancies (usually regarding the exact arrest date and length of sentence), these are generally not very serious, with some testimonies matching the information in the list almost exactly.

In addition to crosschecking, the list may also be checked for consistency with public media reports, which range from major cases covered in mainstream international outlets, to less known cases covered in smaller international outlets (notably, Radio Free Asia), to cases mentioned in Chinese-language state media or blogs only. For the purpose of authentication, these are weaker than the crosschecking approaches above, as information about these cases would be available to anyone compiling or sharing the list. From a logic perspective, consistency with media reports may be seen as “necessary but not sufficient (to validate the list)”, but nevertheless helps legitimize the list.

Consistency with international mainstream media reports. While Ilham Tohti was put on trial and sentenced to life in 2014, parallel court proceedings were also held for 7 students – 6 Uyghur and 1 Yi – who had worked on Ilham Tohti’s website, with them given prison terms between 3 and 8 years. Specifically, lawyer Li Fangping reported that one student got 8 years, two got 7 years, one got 5 years, one got 3 and a half years, and one got 3 years. The prisoners list includes all six of the Uyghur students, clarifying which student got what sentence, and where they were sent to serve it. (Li Fangping listed only six sentences, suggesting that he left out Atikem Rozi’s and included Luo Yuwei’s.)

Perhat Halmurat 8 years Turpan Prison	Shohret Nijat 7 years Turpan Prison	Mutellip Imin 7 years XJ No. 1 Prison	Ekber Imin 5 years XJ No. 3 Prison	Atikem Rozi 4 years XJ Women’s Prison	Abduqeyyum Ablimit 3 years, 6 months Xinshoufan Prison

Another case that received international media coverage was that of Gheyret Niyaz, who was a columnist working for the Xinjiang Economic Daily and Xinjiang Legal News, and was sentenced to 15 years following the July 5, 2009 incident as a result of his speaking to foreign media about the incident. The information provided in media and by advocacy groups is largely consistent with what is in the prisoners list, which confirms the 15-year sentence and the fact that he was detained in early October 2009. While human rights groups have reported him to be held at Changji Prison, the prisoners list reports the Xinjiang No. 3 Prison instead. There is also a discrepancy in the time of sentence, as The Guardian reports it to have been handed down on July 23, 2010, while the prisoners list gives August 24 of the same year. The reported charge (“endangering state security”) is consistent across the reports and the prisoners list.

Consistency with reports and investigations from Radio Free Asia. For over a decade and a half, Radio Free Asia (RFA) has been the leader in reporting on specific events and incidents in Xinjiang, often contacting local sources to get information about concrete individuals. Nineteen of these individuals also appear in the prisoners list:

• In July 2010, RFA reported that Nijat Azat, a well-known webmaster, had been sentenced to 10 years for “endangering state security”. The prisoners list confirms the charge and sentence, though the term is given as 8 years.
• In late 2017, RFA reported that Alim Hesen, a religious figure from Peyziwat County, had been sentenced to 7 years in 2014 for delivering sermons calling for Uyghurs not to pick cotton for Han farmers, on the grounds that it was haram. The prisoners list essentially confirms all of these points, reporting Alim Hesen as being detained in 2014 and sentenced to 7 years in January 2015, with the notes column of the list mentioning that he delivered “illegal” sermons.
• In June 2012, RFA reported that Nijat Osman from Qaghiliq County was sentenced to 6 or 7 years for “gathering a crowd to disturb social order”. The prisoners list reports him as sentenced to 6 years, although the charge is given as “endangering state security” and the sentence is dated as August 2012 (not June).
• In August 2017, RFA reported that Haliq Mehmut, a veterinarian from Yarkand County, was arrested 2 days after the July 28, 2014 incident in Yarkand and sentenced to 8 years for removing a bullet from someone who had been shot during the incident, being sent to the No. 6 Prison in Urumqi (Xinshoufan Prison) to serve his sentence. The prisoners list confirms this with slight discrepancies, reporting the detention date as July 31 instead of July 30, and reporting the sentence as 7 years instead of 8.
• In March 2016, RFA reported on a case where an imam and eight farmers from Aykol Municipality in Aksu – including Tursun Mamut, Turdi Mamut, Turdi Abla, Ismayil Awut, Ehet Awut, and Eziz Emet – were arrested and sentenced to between 7 and 9 years in 2014 for engaging in group prayer in places other than government-sanctioned venues. The prisoners list gives all of these people as being from the same village in Aykol and being sentenced to 7 years in 2015, after being detained in 2014. Only the exact dates differ slightly from those reported by RFA.
• In April 2015, RFA reported that Qember Ember, a religious figure from Han’eriq Township/Municipality in Hotan, had been sentenced to 9 years in March 2015. The prisoners list matches this with a slight discrepancy, reporting the sentence to be 6 years.
• In June 2009, RFA reported on the trial of 12 men from Ili – including Ehmetjan Emet, Mewlanjan Ehmet, and Dolqun Erkin – who were allegedly detained as part of a crackdown prior to the Beijing Olympics and given various terms in 2009 for “separatism”, ranging from 3 years to life. The prisoners list is consistent in these details for 3 of the men, including the sentences as reported by RFA (15 years for Ehmetjan, 10 years for Mewlanjan, and 10 years for Dolqun).
• Both RFA and various Christian groups have reported on the detention and imprisonment of Alimjan Hemit, an Uyghur Christian who was sentenced in 2009 to 15 years for “leaking state secrets”. This is consistent with what is in the prisoners list, which gives the charge against him as “endangering state security” (the category that “leaking state secrets” belongs to).
• In January 2011, RFA reported on the detention of three naturalized Turkish citizens in Tajikistan, all three of whom were Uyghur and originally from Xinjiang. One of the three was Kamil Omer, who was later reported as being jailed in China (presumably following extradition). He also appears in the prisoners list, which gives his initial detention date as January 13, 2011 (days after he was reported as detained in Tajikistan).
• In January 2012, RFA reported on the sentences of a group of Uyghurs who had fled to Cambodia but were deported back. One of them, Memettursun Omer, appears in the prisoners list, with the date of detention reported just a day after the deportation date, and the 20-year sentence matching that which was reported by RFA.
• In June 2014, RFA reported about a police raid in Toqsu County’s Qaratash Village that took place on May 29, 2014, where police were searching for two alleged bomb-making suspects and raided the house that brothers Imin and Rahman Tomur were in, together with their associate/friend, Yasin Tomur (reported as “Yasin Osman” in the English version, and “Yasin Osman Tomur” in the Uyghur one). The suspects reacted by attacking and killing one of the police officers, which led to the police shooting and killing the two brothers and wounding Yasin. The prisoners list gives Yasin’s address as being in Qaratash Village, and his date of detention as May 29, 2014, matching precisely the details in the RFA report. According to the list, he was later sentenced to 10 years.
• In 2011, RFA reported on the detention and sentence of Tursunjan Hezim, a history teacher and curator of a popular website. The RFA report, citing a friend abroad and an anonymous source, wrote that he had been sentenced to 7 years in July 2010 by the intermediate court in Aksu, after being detained shortly after the July 5 incident. The prisoners list essentially confirms this, also reporting a 7-year sentence and a suggested detention date of August 2, 2009. Unlike the RFA report, it gives July 2010 as the time of formal arrest and August 2010 as the time of the sentencing, while noting the unit responsible for the arrest as the intermediate court in Urumqi (not Aksu).

Consistency with Chinese-language state-media reports and blogs. 24 of the individuals in the prisoners list have also been mentioned in various Chinese media, from national-level state-media stories to local blog posts to government/police announcements:

• Abdurehim Emer, from Aksu’s Aykol Municipality, was sentenced to 5 years in 2014 for “separatism”. In early 2019, cadres from northern Xinjiang visited his family as part of the “becoming family” program, with their blog report confirming the details of the sentence.
• Tehsin Mehmut was allegedly involved in a “terrorist gang” that had stored up a large number of explosives in 2009, being preemptively cracked down on and detained on August 30, 2009 by the Aksu City Public Security Bureau. This case was reported in state media and the individuals detained named, with the names, time, and circumstances all matching those given in the prisoners list.
• Memet’eli Hesen, a 38-year-old man from Yengi’osteng Township in Kashgar City, was sentenced to 6 years in December 2014 for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. In March 2015, Sina News reported that “Memet’imin” (pseudonym), also 38 and from Yengi’osteng, had recently been sentenced to 6 years, also for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” (as a result of growing a beard and not stopping despite local officials urging him to). Given the matching details, it is almost certain that this is the same person.
• Gulnisahan Mijit was the wife of the alleged April 30, 2014 Urumqi bomber Sedirdin Sawut. In late 2014, she was put on camera to denounce her husband while being held at the Shayar pre-trial detention center, saying that he had destroyed their family. The prisoners list also includes Gulnisahan Mijit from Shayar, who was sentenced to 10 years for “harboring and abetting criminals”, after being detained in late June 2014.
• Nur’ehmet Hesen was included in a 2013 list of 11 individuals wanted by the Xinjiang Public Security Department, on allegations of being part of a “violent terrorist gang” that was preparing explosives to attack local government and police organs. The prisoners list specifies that he was detained in October 2013, being sentenced to 10 years in prison a year later.
• Following the violent attack at the train station in Kunming on March 1, 2014, a notice for 8 fugitives related to the attack was posted. The prisoners list includes 4 of them, with all noted as being detained 1-2 days after the incident and sentenced to long prison terms in various Bingtuan prisons for “taking part in terrorist organizations”: Eli Imin (6 years), Yasin Hekim (10 years), Reshit Memet (10 years), and Barat Abdusemet (15 years).

• Rozimetjan Imin, Abduhelil Abdurehim, Memethesen Tohti, and Nurmemet Tursun were all part of a case where a large group was detained and sentenced for having an “illegal” scripture-study venue in Urumqi in 2011-2013, where they allegedly looked at “separatist” and “extremist” books and multimedia, in addition to engaging in “physical training” and learning “terrorist skills”. Abduhelil, Memethesen, and Nurmemet were sentenced for taking part in the activities, while Rozimetjan allegedly provided shelter to one of the group’s founders after the venue was discovered by police. The case was reported in the state-media outlet Legal Daily, with the provided sentence lengths, charges, and court handing down the sentence all matching those given in the prisoners list.
• The same Legal Daily article also mentions a case from Aksu, where Dilshat Abla was given a life sentence in 2014 for posting a “separatist” and “terrorist” poem on an Islamic forum and for gathering with 6 others to share and watch “terrorist and extremist” multimedia, while allegedly forming a “terrorist group” and engaging in “physical training”. While Dilshat is not in the prisoners list (which seems to exclude life sentences), the 6 others – Abdugheni Hemdulla, Abduqeyyum Rustem, Abdurehim Mollamet, Ehmet Qahar, Tahir Salih, and Shir’eli Mollaturdi – all are, all sentenced in the same case and with their sentence lengths matching the range (7 to 10 years) reported by Legal Daily. (Legal Daily only gives the names of Abdurehim, Ehmet, and Shir’eli in its report, which is more than enough to confirm that these are the same people.)
• The same article also describes a case from Kizilsu Prefecture where Tajimemet Emet, Nurgul Yusup, and Emirulla Tursun were sentenced for looking for ways to flee the country, allegedly to join a “terrorist group”. The prisoners list includes all three, sentenced in the same case and with lengths that match those reported by Legal Daily.
• Lastly, the Legal Daily article also reports the case of Ehmet Memet’imin from Guma County, who was sentenced to 13 years for “inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination” and “imparting criminal methods” in July 2014. The date of the sentencing, the term length, and criminal charge all match those given in the prisoners list.
• In October 2024, CGTN released a propaganda film about the July 5, 2009 incident, in which it put a number of alleged participants on camera. Among these was Zulpiqar Rozi, with the in-film caption describing him as a “July 5th conspirator”. Zulpiqar appears in the prisoners list and is noted to have been detained on July 7, 2009, with his case handled by the “July 5 special case” group, prior to being sentenced to 14 years and transferred to Turpan Prison.

Finally, in addition to Zulpiqar, the prisoners list also includes hundreds of other people who were detained as a result of the July 5, 2009 unrest. The names and approximate ages for 8 of them match people whose photos were published in the July 31, 2009 issue of the Urumqi Evening News and the majority of whom had already been detained by then (while others were still being searched for). These matches are highlighted in the scan of the original newspaper below (sourced from http://docs.uyghuramerican.org/to-strike-the-strongest-blow.pdf), with the potential entry numbers in the database provided. However, it remains difficult to confirm that these are indeed the same individuals without additional details being reported.

Statistical Summary

Because the list covers a very large number of individuals and includes various specifics about the times and circumstances of their detentions and sentences, it also plays an important statistical role, providing valuable insights about how frequently people were being arrested, how long they spent in pre-trial detention centers, how many years they were sentenced to, the reasons for detention and sentencing, and where they were sent to.

Note: Unless stated otherwise, the results reported below are based on the raw list as provided, prior to the removal of the few hundred individuals sentenced for what are likely legitimate crimes, as well as prior to the removal of duplicate entries. Because the number of duplicates is relatively low (around 10-20 at most), their inclusion is not expected to change the statistics significantly, if at all.

Detentions by month. The start dates of the sentences should in principle be the dates of the initial detentions, though exceptions and off-the-record interrogation periods do exist. Grouping these by month and plotting them over time makes it possible to see both the speed of the authorities’ reactions to major events/initiatives and the magnitude of these crackdowns.

Specifically, one initially sees a significant spike in detentions for the first few months following the July 5, 2009 incident, at around several hundred per month, before returning to “normal” levels. Afterwards, the levels remain relatively low but gradually increase, from 10-50 detentions per month in 2010-2011 to 100-200 per month by early 2014. The start of the “People’s War on Terror”, reported as May 23, 2014, shows a much more drastic and longer-lasting change, with detentions per month skyrocketing to over 2000, falling back down below the 1000 mark in October 2014, but consistently remaining in the hundreds thereafter until at least mid-2015 (or possibly longer, as data from these final months may be incomplete, given the document dating to approximately August 2015).

As a disclaimer, it is important to remind that the prisoners list is not a comprehensive record of all sentences and may not be representative, especially for 2011-2013 (for which official statistics report numbers comparable to those of 2014, but which is not reflected in the prisoners list). The list does, however, fix the minimum numbers of arrests and sentences of people on political/religious grounds over the various points in time.

Time spent in police custody. For 17884 of the individuals in the list who have both the start dates of the sentence and the time of transfer to prison given, it is possible to compute the difference between the two to get the approximate number of days that those individuals spent in police custody. For the most part, this implies time in pre-trial detention centers, which are notorious for their poor treatment of inmates and corrupt interrogation practices, with violence and torture frequent (see “Eyewitness Accounts”).

For the inmates considered, the average time in police custody was 241.5 days, with 14863 of the 17884 (83.11%) spending under a year in police custody prior to being transferred to a prison to serve their sentence.

For 17091 of the prisoners in the list, we know the start date of the sentence, the time that the verdict was issued, and the time of transfer to prison, allowing to compute how much of the time in police custody was strictly pre-sentencing. For these individuals, the average time in police custody was 243.3 days, of which 176.6 (72.59%) were spent there before sentencing, with an average of 66.7 days between the sentence and the person being transferred to prison. The data thus suggest that the time before the sentence is significantly longer than the time after, as would probably be expected (i.e., while the transfer was usually not immediate, people were not left to linger in pre-trial detention centers for very long after receiving their verdict).

Lengths of prison terms. The average prison sentence for the 18436 individuals for whom this is reported in the list was 8.2 years, with the vast majority (14785, 80.2%) receiving terms of 5 years or longer. Although there are cases of people receiving shorter sentences on the particularly sensitive “endangering state security” charges (e.g., “separatism”), the average term is nevertheless comparable to the terms given in the post-2017 incarcerations (an average of 9.24 years has been documented for those sentenced in Konasheher County in 2017).

Criminal charges. 13591 of the individuals in the list have their “crime” (罪名) specified, with “case types” (涉案类别) and “reason for punishment” (处置原因) also specified for most. For simplicity, only the 13591 with specified crimes are considered in the analysis that follows, as the three reasons can be different and presumably refer to different parts of the criminal litigation process. In presenting the breakdown of different charges, those charges with fewer than 100 cases are lumped together into the “other” section. It is important to note that “endangering state security” (Articles 102-113 of the Criminal Law), “disrupting the order of social administration” (Articles 277-367), and “disrupting public order” (Articles 277-304) are all classes of charges, but are nevertheless specified for some individuals without specifying the exact charge.

Approximately half of the individuals considered, 6672, were sentenced for “endangering state security” (1915 of them for “separatism” specifically). “Inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination”, “gathering a crowd to disturb social order”, and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – traditionally noted as “catch-all” charges that have been applied to many documented victims – are prevalent here also, and cover over a third of the cases.

In some cases, police also specify the individual’s actual deeds in the “notes” column of the original sheet. This makes it possible to see what actions specifically were deemed problematic, and to link them to the official charges. The specific individual comparisons are given in the “charges vs. actions” section of the primary-evidence report, with only a simple version being presented here.

“disrupting public order”

• religious sermons (sharing, delivering)
• “illegal”, “reactionary”, “terrorist” digital content (sharing)
• studying/teaching religion
• praying
• hosting religious activities
• spreading “rumors” online
• getting married via a nikah ceremony

“disrupting the order of social administration”

• religious study/teaching
• religious activities
• digging underground tunnel to use for religious study

“endangering state security”

• “reactionary”, “terrorist”, “separatist”, or “extremist” digital content (possessing, sharing)
• religious sermons (attending, hosting, watching, delivering)
• studying/teaching religion
• doing “combat training”
• burning national flag
• possessing/sharing religious literature/content
• “Hijrat” (preparing, participating, funding)
• posting about religious restrictions on WeChat
• having digital religious content
• “reactionary” group (participating, forming)
• possessing “incendiary” multimedia
• trying to flee abroad
• wearing a face veil
• using sensitive words online
• taking part in December 2013 incident in Konasheher
• membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir
• running a sensitive website
• buying fireworks to use as “explosives”
• forging a marriage certificate
• violating the birth quota
• owning/making knives
• printing sensitive literature
• buying/wearing jilbaab
• spreading “rumors” online
• spreading images of East Turkistan flag online
• attending an Uyghur conference in Kazakhstan
• performing nikah
• “attending classes for making explosives”
• obstructing a police officer
• hiding “firearms and ammunition”
• taking an additional wife
• wife wearing religious clothes
• sending wife to religious classes
• praying
• going to mountains for “terrorist training”

“gathering a crowd to disturb social order”

• insulting police
• providing venue for religious study
• religious sermons (listening, watching, attending, delivering, sharing, hosting)
• studying/teaching religion
• training/preparing for “Holy War”
• buying/sewing/wearing jilbaab
• religious, “reactionary”, “terrorist”, “illegal”, “incendiary” digital content (watching, sharing, posting, storing)
• getting married through a nikah ceremony
• “Hijrat” (planning, discussing)
• praying
• going to Beijing to petition
• organizing religious activities
• listening to video/audio of Rebiya Kadeer
• keeping religious/”illegal” books
• using religious means to divorce wife
• not getting a proper marriage certificate
• growing a large beard
• having “religious extremist” thinking
• preparing to make a long knife
• wearing a veil
• previously serving as a religious figure

“harboring and abetting criminals”

• religious sermons (attending, hosting, listening, sharing)
• funding “Hijrat” activities
• sending money abroad
• preparing to break someone out of detention
• storing/hiding multimedia cards
• photocopying religious materials

“imparting criminal methods”

• exchanging multimedia about “explosive devices”
• “terrorist”, “reactionary”, “illegal”, “extremist”, religious digital content (sharing, watching)
• keeping/sharing “reactionary” books
• religious sermons (listening, sharing)
• discussing “Hijrat”/”jihad”

“inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination”

• religious, “illegal”, “reactionary”, “terrorist”, “separatist”, “extremist” digital content (sharing, storing)
• sharing speeches
• religious activities (attending)
• religious sermons (storing, attending, listening, sharing)
• spreading “rumors” about sensitive events online
• interfering with “education” delivered by neighborhood cadres
• wearing jilbaab
• encouraging women to wear jilbaab
• teaching religion
• “Hijrat” (discussing, supporting)
• sharing videos about “making explosives”
• helping deliver gasoline
• communicating via chat with “violent terrorist forces” abroad
• having an East Turkistan flag on phone
• expressing alleged plans to carry out violent attack in a private chat

“obstructing public service”

• wearing jilbaab
• wearing a veil
• growing a large beard
• not attending village activities
• arguing with village cadres
• “inciting” women in family to wear jilbaab

“organizing, leading, or taking part in terrorist groups”

• preparing for or trying to go abroad for “Hijrat”
• discussing “terrorist activities”
• studying/teaching religion
• “pledging loyalty” to someone
• religious sermons (listening)
• “preparing weapons”
• preparing to “carry out terrorist acts”
• “making explosive devices”
• taking part in December 2013 incident in Konasheher County
• listening to religious content
• making 7 “nail rolls” and 5 slingshots for “Holy War”
• watching “terrorist” videos

“picking quarrels and provoking trouble”

• “forcing” wife to wear jilbaab/veil
• wearing jilbaab
• studying religion
• growing a large beard
• forging a marriage certificate
• saying that people shouldn’t sing and dance after marriage
• not allowing father to smoke
• religious sermons (delivering, listening, sharing)
• discouraging others from doing business with people who don’t pray
• having “haram–halal thinking”
• saying that people shouldn’t eat at government cadres’ homes
• “reactionary” multimedia (sharing)
• saying that people shouldn’t eat nezir meals
• smashing bulletin board glass at local mosque
• getting married without obtaining marriage certificate
• not interacting with Party members and cadres
• telling husband not to live with people who don’t pray
• arguing with cadres
• not attending village activities
• storing images “insulting the police”

“separatism”

• religious sermons (listening, attending, delivering)
• training/preparing for “Holy War”
• “Hijrat” (preparing, funding, studying, propagating, participating)
• “terrorist”, “reactionary”, “illegal”, “separatist”, “incendiary”, “extremist”, religious digital content (sharing, watching, listening, storing)
• religious activities (attending, organizing)
• selling matches to “terrorists”
• making photocopies of “extremist” books
• studying/teaching religion
• storing “illegal”, “reactionary” publications
• selling pirated discs
• fleeing abroad
• growing a beard
• making relative wear jilbaab
• propagating Hizb ut-Tahrir ideology
• violating the birth quota
• burning/stealing national flag
• handing out leaflets with call to action
• posting “rumors” online
• planning to destroy loudspeakers
• “making 7 knives and a separatist flag”
• posting “incendiary” poetry/songs in WeChat groups
• talking with sister abroad and sending her money
• downloading photos of Osama bin Laden

“using superstition to undermine law enforcement”

• uploading “illegal” images to Qzone
• living with a woman despite not having a marriage certificate
• requiring wife to wear jilbaab/veil
• violating the birth quota
• getting married multiple times through nikah ceremonies
• officiating a nikah marriage
• religious sermons (listening)
• having a beard
• trying to leave the country for “Hijrat”
• studying religion
• not letting children attend school

Prisons of destination. 17782 of the individuals in the prisoners list have the prisons where they were transferred to clearly specified, with the breakdown given in the following chart.

About a fifth were sent to various Bingtuan prisons, with the list only specifying the Bingtuan division number in most cases (and not the specific prison). Another significant portion, about a seventh, were sent to the various men’s prisons in Urumqi’s East Station area (the Xinjiang No. 1 Prison, Xinjiang No. 3 Prison, Xinjiang No. 4 Prison, Xinjiang No. 5 Prison, and Xinshoufan Prison). The vast majority of the women in the list were sent to the women’s prison in the same area (Xinjiang Women’s Prison), with a small fraction sent to the then-new women’s prison in Kashgar.

Over half of the prisoners were split between twelve major prisons elsewhere in Xinjiang (Kashgar Prison, Wusu Prison, Aksu Prison, Shayar Prison, Maralbeshi Prison, Kunes Prison, Changji Prison, Bayingolin Prison, Keriye Prison, Turpan Prison, Hotan Prison, and the Korla Maximum-Security Prison). 258 individuals (1.5%) were sent to various juvenile correctional facilities, with the vast majority of these sent to the one in Urumqi. A small number (52) were sent to various drug-rehabilitation centers (formerly “education-through-labor” facilities, or 劳教所). 8 individuals were sentenced but sent home (possibly for health reasons), with three prisons (Buryltogai Prison, Kucha Prison, and Buya Prison) receiving fewer than 10 individuals each, with the latter two since closed and succeeded by other facilities.

Two individuals, Abliz Abla and Tahir Rozi, were reported in the list as having died while still in custody. (Working with additional sources has shown that at least 12 of the people in the prisoners list have died in detention.)

Relation to the 2017- Incarcerations

While this list predates the mass incarcerations that started in 2017, it nevertheless remains relevant with regard to the more recent events. Not only are the nature of the charges and the severity of the prison terms similar to those documented in 2017 and after, but most of the victims from this list were either still in prison post 2017, in view of the long terms, or extremely likely to be re-detained as a result of their previous sentences. Specifically, 16945 of the 18491 individuals (91.64%) in the list had scheduled release dates after January 1, 2017, meaning that the vast majority were still incarcerated when the mass incarcerations started.

In over 160 cases, it has been possible to follow up and see, through other sources, what happened to those prisoners after 2015, and especially following their scheduled releases. In almost all cases, we see that these people were detained again, sometimes immediately after, often being sent to camp or simply being given new prison terms:

Victim	Scheduled year of release	Later fate (usually after release)
Atikem Rozi	2018	shown in a prison uniform in the 2021 propaganda film “War in the Shadows”
Turadin Rehim	2017	immediately transferred to camp, before being sentenced again
Abduweli Kerim	2016	sent to camp in 2017 and then sentenced again
Memtimin Rusul	2019	released from prison, with a possible delay
Memet’abla Mettursun	2016	again in custody as of 2018
Semet Ayup	2017	sentenced as of October 2018
Osman Abdurahman	2016	taken to camp in 2017-2018
Sidiq Memet	2018	still sentenced past release date
Hezreti’eli Kerim	2017	sent to camp after release
Hebibulla Abdukerim	2016	sent to camp in April 2017
Obul Ehmet	2016	sent to camp in April 2017
Ehmet Mehmut	2016	sent to camp in 2017-2018
Mehmut Memet	2016	in detention as of early 2019
Tursunniyaz Abdulla	2015	detained again as of 2019
Memettursun Yasin	2018	sent to camp days after release
Gulnisa Memet’imin	2016	detained again as of 2019
Quddus Rozi	2015	detained again as of 2019
Bujennet Tursun	2018	detained again as of 2019
Abdurahman Qadir	2018	sent to camp days after release
Emet Pasar	2018	detained again as of 2019
Husen Tursun	2015	sent to camp in February 2017
Abduqadirjan Abdurehim	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Alimjan Rozi	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Enwer Hoshur	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Eli Abdughopur	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Turghun Tursun	2017	not reported as in detention as of October 2018
Abdurehim Abla	2017	sentenced as of 2018
Ehmetjan Qasim	2017	sent to camp after release
Shir’eli Osman	2016	re-detained and sent to camp in 2017
Abdu’eli Hesen	2016	reported as in custody in 2019
Alimjan Obulhesen	2016	detained again in September 2017
Hezret’omer Ehet	2015	sentenced again in 2017
Yusup Rozi	2016	taken to camp
Ibrahim Tursun	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Eziz Tohti	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Omer Urayim	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Yasin Turdi	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Abdurahman Abdurehim	2017	detained again on the same day as release and sentenced
Rejep Imin	2017	targeted for arrest by Urumqi police months after release
Qudretjan Ablikim	2018	re-arrested and sentenced again
Sa’adetgul Hashim	2015	in custody as of 2018
Ablimit Abdurehim	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Metqurban Mettursun	2016	re-arrested
Musajan Mamut	2017	given another sentence the same year
Atikem Tursun	2015	sentenced again in 2017
Dawut Eli	2015	sentenced again in 2017
Memettursun Mengsur	2016	reported as sentenced in May 2018
Hesen Yusup	2016	re-detained and sent to camp
Ismayil Tohti	2016	sent to camp in February 2017
Tehsin Mehmut	2016	reported as being in custody as of May 2018
Mamutjan Reshit	2015	sentenced again in 2017
Ekber Elim	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Memet’eli Obul	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Aynezer Mehmet	2016	re-detained and sent to camp in April 2017
Turghun Tursun	2015	sentenced again in 2017
Memetjan Obulqasim	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Ayturem Siyit	2017	immediately sent to camp after release
Peridem Dawut	2015	re-detained and given another sentence
Enwer Omerjan	2016	detained again in October 2017 and sent to camp
Osman Yaqup	2017	sent to camp after release
Omer Islam	2017	sentenced again that same year
Memet’eli Turaq	2017	sentenced again that same year
Ayjamal Sadir	2015	sent to camp in April 2017
Metrehim Memet	2016	re-detained soon after release and given another sentence
Hisamidin Ibrahim	2016	re-detained and sent to camp later
Tursun Rozi	2016	sentenced again in 2017
Turghun Toghash	2016	reported as in camp as of 2018
Altungul Memet	2016	in custody as of 2017
Memettursun Ablet	2017	sentenced again that same year
Omer Sabir	2015	re-detained and taken to camp in 2017-2018
Omer Abdureyim	2017	sent to camp less than a month after release
Ablikim Memet	2017	re-detained and taken to camp
Aynur Ghujiehmet	2017	re-detained and taken to camp
Merhaba Abdurusul	2017	sent to camp a week after release
Muhemmetsidiq Dawut	2018	sent directly to camp after release
Eli Abdulla	2020	sentenced again that year
Rahman Tohti	2019	sentenced again in 2021
Hesen Sabit	2021	sentenced again in 2020 (possibly while in prison)
Ablet Yunus	2017	given another sentence that same year
Abdurehim Qadir	2017	given another sentence that same year
Hashim Memet	2016	given another sentence in 2017
Emet Mamut	2017	given another sentence that same year
Emetjan Bekri	2016	given another sentence in 2017
Qadir Tursun	2017	given another sentence that same year
Qeyser Jume	2018	given another sentence in 2017 (likely while in prison)
Memet Abliz	2017	given another sentence that same year
Tursun Tahir	2017	given another sentence that same year
Turghun Eziz	2017	given another sentence that same year
Obulyasin Ababekri	2017	given another sentence that same year
Omerjan Tursun	2017	given another sentence that same year
Huseyin Eysa	2017	given another sentence that same year
Yusupjan Behti	2017	given another sentence that same year
Musajan Qadir	2017	detained as of late 2018
Bawudun Memet	2019	not released as scheduled
Tohti Emet	2015	given another sentence in 2017
Turnisaqiz Imin	2017	sentence extended in prison
Nurbiyem Memet’imin	2017	sentence extended in 2017, while in prison
Sherwanigul Mollam	2017	sentence extended while in prison
Gulmire Tohti	2017	sentence extended while in prison
Hesenjan Hamut	2017	given another sentence that same year
Turghunjan Abdurehim	2020	given a new sentence in 2017 (presumably while in prison)
Obulqari Tohti	2021	given a new sentence in 2017 (presumably while in prison)
Kerim Obul	2017	given another sentence that same year
Yasin Jume	2016	re-detained in 2017 and sentenced
Memet’imin Rozi	2016	detained again in April 2017
Zunun Memet	2016	later detained and sentenced again
Mehmutjan Kerim	2016	detained again in January 2017
Abdurahman Memet’imin	2017	sent to camp after release
Imin Memet	2016	re-detained and sent to camp
Sidiqjan Tursun	2017	re-detained and sent to camp
Ablet Memet	2017	targeted by police as of late 2017
Hezti’omer Yasin	2015	re-detained and sent to camp
Ablikim Tursun	2016	detained again in May 2017 and sentenced
Erkin Sawut	2017	again reported as sentenced as of 2018
Semet Ayup	2018	reported as being in custody in May 2018
Bekri Osman	2018	still reported as in prison as of May 2018
Semer Emer	2017	again reported as in prison as of May 2018
Ghulam Ehet	2015	again reported as in prison as of May 2018
Turdi Hesen	2018	again reported as sentenced as of May 2018
Rozi Tohtiqurban	2015	in custody again as of May 2018
Barat Qasim	2015	sentenced again as of May 2018
Abdighopur Abdurahman	2017	again in prison as of May 2018
Memettohti Qadir	2017	in camp as of May 2018
Razaq Husun	2017	in custody as of May 2018
Nur’ehmet Emer	2018	in prison as of May 2018, past release date
Talipjan Turaq	2017	given another sentence afterwards
Rozi Imin	2017	again in prison as of January 2018
Abdugheni Tursun	2017	again in prison as of January 2018
Abdulla Turghun	2017	taken to camp
Memethaji Memet’imin	2017	sent to camp just a few days after release
Abdusalam Abdukerim	2017	sent to camp in 2018
Memet Memet’imin	2017	sent to camp after release
Alim Eziz	2017	taken to camp
Memet’eli Jamaldin	2017	sent to camp after release
Shirmemet Esqer	2017	sent to camp after release
Yarmemet Esqer	2017	sent to camp after release
Bumeryem Memet	2017	sent to camp after release
Qeyser Qurban	2017	sent to camp after release
Ruqiyem Eli	2017	still in prison as of January 2018
Hamut Ghulam	2015	located to the No. 1 Pre-Trial Detention Center in Urumqi in May-June 2017 (suggesting detention there)
Yasinjan Taha	2016	taken into custody again in August 2017
Obulqasim Eliqari	2020	taken back into custody on new charges in July 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Turghanjan Emet	2021	taken back into custody on new charges in May 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Abdurusul Bawudun	2016	taken into custody again in February 2017, then sent to camp a month later
Peyzullam Abbas	2016	taken into custody again in February 2017
Musajan Hashim	2016	taken into custody again in February 2017
Memetkerim Memet’imin	2016	taken into custody again in March 2017
Sulaymanjan Hidayet	2016	taken into custody again in March 2017
Abdusalam Wali	2015	taken into custody again in April 2017
Abduweli Seyt’ahun	2015	taken into custody again in April 2017
Tahir Tash	2020	taken back into custody on new charges in September 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Enwer Hesenjan	2015	taken into custody again in February 2017
Enwer Hoshur	2021	taken back into custody on new charges in September 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Memet’eli Abdurahman	2017	taken into custody again less than 2 months after release
Memetjan Basit	2017	taken into custody again less than 2 months after release
Turghanjan Bawudun	2017	taken into custody again 3 weeks after release
Tursungul Qadir	2016	given another sentence in 2017
Mijit Qari	2016	taken into custody again in April 2017
Qurbanjan Abdukerim	2018	taken back into custody on new charges in August 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Alimjan Siyit	2016	given another sentence in 2017
Ablikim Turup	2019	taken back into custody on new charges in September 2017, while still serving his original (extended) sentence
Qurbanjan Ehet	2019	taken back into custody on new charges in July 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Abdulla Elahun	2019	taken back into custody on new charges in August 2017, while still serving his original sentence
Tursunjan Hezim	2016	detained again in 2017
Emet Abdu	2017	taken into custody again in October 2017

For areas where complete or near-complete detention information for the more recent years is available, it is also possible to see how the victims’ detentions were correlated with detentions of their relatives and the situations of their children, some of whom were left without parents as a result.

Area	Prisoners	Prisoners with detained relatives	Prisoners with orphaned kids
Lengger Village, Azatbagh Municipality	2	0	1
Gor’echiq Village, Azatbagh Municipality	1	0	1
Dong’osteng Village, Azatbagh Municipality	2	2	1
Qumbolume Village, Azatbagh Municipality	1	1	1
Azatbagh Village, Azatbagh Municipality	1	1	0
Qaraqum Village, Ishqul Township	5	2	2
Arslanbagh Township	49	24	5
Konasheher County	628	370	99
Tekes County	12	10	2
Total	701	410 (58.49%)	112 (15.98%)

Collating the data for the relevant areas, we see that over half of the prisoners had direct relatives (spouses, siblings, parents, or children) who were also detained, in most cases in 2017 or after, thereby showing that the sentences were not simply individual incidents with no relation to the remainder of the family. For many families, the prison sentence was a precursor, prior to more people from the family being taken in the mass detentions of 2017-2018.

In approximately a sixth of the cases, underage children of the prisoner would also be left without parents for a certain period of time. In a small fraction of cases, this was because the prisoner was the only known parent in the household. However, in the majority of cases, this was the result of the prisoner’s spouse also being detained (often in 2017 or later).

These numbers were compiled in early 2024, working with areas where near-complete detention data were available. However, even these data are not perfect and often are limited to specific time periods (for example, some data sheets may cover all detentions up to late 2017, but miss any that took place in 2018 or later). Consequently, the actual numbers are higher, though likely not by much. More precise estimates will become available as more data are obtained and processed.

---