Van Hollen Joins Risch, Coons, Colleagues in Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Ekpar Asat’s Detention

Today, U.S. Senator Chirs Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-Del.), co-chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, John Curtis (R-Utah), Dave McCormick (R-Penn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in releasing the statement below on the 10th anniversary of the Chinese government's arbitrary detention of Ekpar Asat.

"Ten years ago, the Chinese government arbitrarily detained Ekpar Asat, a Uyghur entrepreneur. Over the last decade, he has endured years of solitary confinement and remains imprisoned far from his loved ones, serving a 15-year sentence for having committed no crime. We condemn in the strongest terms Ekpar's arrest, arbitrary detention, and opaque sentencing without a fair trial and we call for his immediate and unconditional release.

"Tragically, Ekpar is only one example of the Chinese government's broader genocidal campaign against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang. Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained more than one million Uyghurs and imposed an authoritarian system of censorship and surveillance, forced labor, severe restrictions on religious freedom, forced sterilizations, and forced abortions. These are horrendous crimes. China's recent passage of a new "ethnic unity" law only signals its escalating persecution of religious and ethnic minorities. We call on the Chinese government to end its horrific violations of internationally recognized human rights and immediately release all political prisoners, including Mr. Asat."

Background
• International experts have assessed Ekpar was arrested in retribution for his participation in the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, his social media activities, and his Uyghur ethnicity.