Reported Death of Uyghur Woman Detained Since Age 14

The girl in the picture looking straight into the camera with probing eyes is 15-year-old Rahile Omer. She was photographed in March 2018 among hundreds of other detainees at a political re-education camp in Konasheher county, Kashgar, Xinjiang. A 2022 BBC investigation identified her as the youngest among the hundreds whose headshots were leaked in the Xinjiang Police Files. Previous records show authorities detained her at age 14 shortly after her parents' detention in mid-2017.

On November 6, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that Rahile, at 23, had died in Peyazawat women's prison while serving an unjust 12-year sentence.

Human Rights Watch has not been able to independently verify this information, but the report should raise alarm about what is happening to the countless Uyghurs who remain behind bars as part of the Chinese government's crimes against humanity since 2016.

Authorities sentenced her in 2021, when she turned 18, reportedly for "disturbing social order," according to RFA. Chinese officials familiar with her situation told RFA that she was transferred to prison because she did not provide information about others and was caught praying at the dormitory during her "re-education." They said she possibly died of a heart problem.

Hundreds of Uyghurs in the diaspora are mourning Rahile. As a member of this community, I fear receiving similar heartbreaking news every day. My father, Memet Yaqup, is serving a 16-year prison sentence; my uncle, Emet Yaqup, is serving life. I do not know their exact locations or the charges against them, nor do I know if they are still alive.

The last time I got word about them was in 2024, when a source told me, "You should be thankful that your father and uncle are still alive, we have lost many lives over the years."

Global attention has led Beijing to strictly control information from Xinjiang. Authorities deny independent observers, including United Nations human rights experts, unfettered access to the region while organizing carefully choreographed official tours for select friendly diplomats, journalists, social media influencers, and members of the Uyghur diaspora to present a sense of normalcy to the outside world.

Rahile Omer punctuates this narrative, and governments should press Beijing to answer the question: What happened to her?