Justice Abroad Instructed in Case of Retired Uyghur Forestry Worker Punished in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Because His Children Live in the USA
JUSTICE ABROAD
“Here When You Need Us”
Press Statement
Justice Abroad Instructed in Case of Retired Uyghur Forestry Worker Punished in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Because His Children Live in the USA
Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak has been instructed by the family of a 71-year-old retired Head of Xinjiang Forestry Department who has been arbitrarily detained because his son and daughter live with their families in the United States of America.
On 29 April 2017, Abdullah Mamat was about to embark with his wife on a pre-approved regular trip to the United States of America to visit their son and daughter and spend time with their families when he was seized by security police. His wife and other daughter, who are still in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, were interrogated for a lengthy period with them both being beaten during this interrogation and Mr Mamat’s wife being given medication aimed at making her answer questions put to her.
Following this, Mr Mamat was produced on a videocall to his wife where he was in an extremely poor physical state and was forced to speak to her in Chinese. An official who regularly visited Mr Mamat’s wife and daughter after the seizure of Mr Mamat’s stated to them that the fact that Mr Mamat’s other daughter and son lived in the United States of America was the reason why Mr Mamat had been arrested and detained.
Following this, Mr Mamat and his wife’s pensions were stopped, and his savings and the family’s land was confiscated. In September 2019, Mr Mamat was given a life sentence at a hearing where his lawyer was not allowed to speak and despite there being no evidence against him for any offence.
Mr Mamat’s family are particularly worried about his health condition given that he was in a poor state of health when he was seized, suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, and Chinese officials refused to take Mr Mamat’s medication to him when his wife tried to give it to them a number of times.
Under these instructions Justice Abroad will be advocating for the release of Mr Mamat who have done nothing wrong and who needs to be returned to his wife. Mr Mamat’s seizure and detention, which is unlawful under international law, follows the arbitrary detention of an estimated more than a million Turkic Muslims in the Region[1].
Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak will be leading on this case and will be pursuing all avenues including making applications to the United Nations bodies, calling on politicians to raise this case, and bringing Mr Mamat’s plight to the public’s attention through the international press and human rights organisations.
Mr Polak states the following ‘A common theme that we have seen in regard to those unlawfully seized in Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Region is that they have family members abroad. It is very troubling that the Chinese authorities are punishing people such as Mr Mamat for this reason. Mr Mamat has not committed any crimes and has spent his life doing valuable work. Now that he has reached retirement, he should be able to enjoy this time in his life with his wife and family and not be subject to mistreatment and detention in terrible conditions. We call on the Chinese authorities to release Mr Mamat immediately so he can return to his wife’.
On social media we will be using the hashtag #freemamatabdullah
Justice Abroad can be found on Twitter here, Facebook here, and LinkedIn here.
Media requests for interviews with Michael Polak or members of Mr Mamat’s family can be accommodated in any language requested and should be made by contacting Justice Abroad by email at contact@JusticeAbroad.co.uk or phone on +44 (0)203 488 2316.
Notes to Editors
Justice Abroad, www.justiceabroad.co.uk has been set up to help those trying to find their way through foreign justice systems with all the associated hurdles that presents, to represent those facing gross breaches of their human rights no matter where this takes place, and to advise and assist the victims of crimes as to how to achieve justice.
To help such individuals or families with these dilemmas and many more, three experts, Michael Polak, a barrister with an international practice focussed on the assistance of foreign nationals in trouble around the world, David Swindle , a former Detective Superintendent who has worked on hundreds of murders and complex high profile investigations in the UK and abroad during his 34 years in the police, and David Walters MVO, a former British Diplomat with over thirty years’ experience having served in over a dozen countries around the world, have pooled their extensive experience and contacts together to provide a comprehensive service. In providing this service the team consider all legal, political, and investigatory steps which might assist their clients attain justice.
[1] https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Joint-Letter-to-UN-Secretary-General-Antonio-Guterres-regarding-Xinjiang-1.pdf