China: Uyghur rapper pays the price for writing a song that “promotes extremism”
Beijing: According to Radio Free Asia, which cited the Chinese rights advocacy group Weiquanwan, a young Uyghur rapper and singer-songwriter who was arrested 20 months ago in China and is serving a three-year sentence for writing lyrics that were deemed to “promote extremism” has not been seen since his arrest on August 9, 2023, in Chengdu, Sichuan province, where he was a university student. Yashar Shohret, 26, was previously involved in the 2022 “White Paper” protests.
Weiquanwang, a rights advocacy organization, recently reported that Shohret was sentenced to three years in jail on June 20, 2024, for “illegally possessing items promoting extremism” and “promoting extremism.” During a second hearing, the court maintained the sentence despite his appeal, confirming his imprisonment until August 8, 2026. in the moment, Shohret is being detained in Xinjiang’s Wusu Prison.
Shohret is originally from Bole city, which is part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The region is home to 12 million Uyghurs, who are subject to widespread monitoring and persecution by Beijing.
The Chinese government has changed its strategy, with high-profile arrests now giving way to more covert detentions and the suppression of public information, making it harder to follow such cases, according to overseas Uyghur youth activist Aman, who prefers a pseudonym for safety reasons, RFA reported.
Since China continues to pursue members of the ethnic minority for alleged dissent, especially with regard to their cultural and religious traditions, Shohret’s case is representative of the larger crackdown on Uyghur culture and expression.
China’s systematic persecution of Uyghurs includes forced labor, intense monitoring, and mass imprisonment in so-called “re-education” camps. Uyghurs face arbitrary arrest, cultural erasure, and religious persecution.
Alongside attempts to eradicate their language and customs, there have been reports of torture, forced sterilizations, and family separations. Beijing’s actions, which violate fundamental human rights and have drawn considerable international criticism, are intended to absorb and dominate the Uyghur people.
