U.S. Senators Jim Risch, Chris Coons, and several colleagues released a statement on April 9 marking the tenth anniversary of Ekpar Asat’s detention by the Chinese government. The senators called for Asat’s immediate and unconditional release, describing his imprisonment as arbitrary and without fair trial.
The senators said the case highlights broader concerns about human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. They noted that since 2017, over one million Uyghurs have been detained by Chinese authorities who have also imposed restrictions on religious freedom, forced labor, sterilizations, abortions, and widespread surveillance.
“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,” Risch said in the joint statement.
The senators further stated: “Tragically, Ekpar is only one example of the Chinese government’s broader genocidal campaign against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang... 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.”
International experts believe that Asat was arrested due to his participation in a U.S. State Department program as well as his social media activity and ethnicity.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is responsible for developing U.S. foreign policy through reviewing treaties and legislation according to its official website. The committee designates its Chairman to lead majority members while its Ranking Member heads minority members as detailed online. Since being established in 1816 as one of the original standing committees according to historical records, it has shaped key foreign policy moments such as supporting postwar measures like the Truman Doctrine (1947) or rejecting major treaties like Versailles (1919-1920), according to information available from its official history page.
