Jacques Rogge
President
International Olympic Committee
Chateau de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel. No.: (41.21) 621 61 11
Fax No.: (41.21) 621 62 16

Dear President Rogge:

I am writing to ask you to please use use your influence as President of the International Olympic Committee to put pressure on the Chinese government to: immediately release from police custody Ablikim Abdiriyim (male, aged 32), Alim Abdiriyim (male, aged  30), and Kahar Abiriyim (male, aged 42), three of the adult children of famous Uyghur businesswoman, human rights activist, and former prisoner of conscience, Rebiya Kadeer; as well as to immediately  release from house arrest Rebiya Kadeer's daughter, Rushangul Abdiriyim (female, aged 36) and other members of Rebiya Kadeer's family.

It appears that the only reasons these individuals were detained in the first place were: to prevent them from meeting with a United States Congressional Team affiliated with the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which was visiting the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region at the invitation of the Chinese authorities; and to retaliate against Rebiya Kadeer for her speaking out against the Chinese government?s egregious violations of the Uyghurs? human rights.

Many members of the international community tried to warn the International Olympic Committee back in 2001 that the horrible human rights situation in China would make it an improper place to have an event like the Olympics which celebrates peace and the human spirit.   The baseless detention of members of this high-profile family will become a great embarrassment to the International Olympic Committee if it?s not rectified soon.

Ablikim Abdiriyim and Alim Abdiriyim were detained in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, along with their sister, Rushangul Abdiriyim and several of Rebiya Kadeer?s grandchildren on or about the evening of May 29, 2006.  They were forcibly taken to a camp site called Nansan outside Urumqi where Ablikim Abdiriyim and Alim Abdiriyim were severely beaten by police officers in front of Rushangul and Rebiya Kadeer's grandchildren who range in age from four years old to fifteen years old.  After the two men had been brutally beaten by police, one of the police officers gave Rushangul a mobile phone to call her mother, Rebiya Kadeer, in the United States to tell Ms. Kadeer what had just happened to her sons.  As soon as Rushangul told her mother what had happened, the police officer took the mobile phone away from her.  Ablikim lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital for medical attention.

Kahar Abdiriyim was detained in Aksu and transported from Aksu to Urumqi handcuffed and chained on a mini-bus by Xinjiang police.  Fabricated charges have been brought against the three brothers and they are reportedly being held in the Tianshan District Police Station in Urumqi.  Alim Abdiriyim has been tortured while in police custody. Rushangul Abdiriyim (Rebiya Kadeer's daughter) and Mamat Kadeer (Rebiya Kadeer's younger brother), as well as many other members of Rebiya Kadeer's family, are being  held under house arrest.  There are police present in every household of the Kadeer family.  Rebiya Kadeer's grandchildren are not even allowed to leave the house to go to school.

To provide some background on Rebiya Kadeer (mother/grandmother/sister to the individuals discussed above), Ms. Kadeer came to the United States last year upon being released on medical parole by the Chinese government after being a prisoner of conscience in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) for more than five and a half years.  The United States government had lobbied for Ms. Kadeer's release.  Since coming to the United States, Ms. Kadeer has spoken out against the Chinese government's horrific violations of her people's human rights.

Most recently, over Memorial Day weekend, she was elected President of the Uyghur American Association (UAA), which is an eight-year old organization based in Washington, DC that works to protect the human rights of the Uyghur people and receives funding from the National Endowment for Democracy for its Uyghur Human Rights Project.

The Chinese government has been retaliating against Ms. Kadeer for her peaceful, lawful political activities in the United States by targeting her family members in Xinjiang, including detaining them on several occasions and subjecting them to severe police harassment.  In fact, Ms. Kadeer has stated that prior to her release, she was warned that if she engaged with Uyghurs or spoke publicly about ?sensitive issues? after her release, her children as well as her business in Xinjiang would be finished.
The Xinjiang authorities have been carrying out this threat.

I am very concerned that these individuals may be subjected to further torture and ill treatment. Please ask the Chinese government to immediately release Rebiya Kadeer's family members from police custody and from house arrest.  As stated above, the detention of these adults and children, the torture of brothers Ablikim Abdiriyim and Alim Abdiriyim, and the baseless charging of Ablikim, Alim, and Kahar Abdiriyim are a continuation of the Chinese government's severe harassment of Rebiya Kadeer's family members.

Sincerely,