Ziba Murat, daughter of Gulshan Abbas, holds portrait of her mother as she continues her advocacy for her mother’s freedom.
Ziba Murat
This week, Gulshan Abbas will sit in a prison cell in China – as she has done for the last eight years – serving time for crimes she did not commit. She is likely unaware that President Trump and Xi Jinping are on the precipice of meeting amidst ongoing diplomacy between the U.S. and China. Or that her freedom, among many other issues, will be a topic of discussion and negotiation as the two leaders meet.
Abbas is a Uyghur Muslim doctor. She’s also a mother, sister, and grandmother. She is behind bars because her American citizen sister spoke out about the ongoing genocide facing Uyghurs at a public event at Hudson Institute in 2018. Within six days, Abbas was detained and later sentenced to 20 years in prison on false charges of “participating in a terrorist organization” as well as “aiding terrorist activities” and “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order.”
Her detention was a blatant retaliatory move on the part of the CCP against an American citizen. It has a name. It’s called transnational repression. And it has severe implications for freedom of speech and religious freedom in America.
According to the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, he is confident that the President will discuss political prisoners like Gulshan Abbas with Xi directly.
Abbas is one of many political prisoners detained across China. But her case is incredibly unique. For one thing, it’s one of the clearest cut cases of transnational repression against American citizens. That alone should make her case a priority.
For another, her case bears striking resemblances to the case of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, a Chinese Christian pastor who was released by the Chinese government and returned to his American citizen daughter and two sons on the 250th anniversary of America’s independence earlier this year.
Like Pastor Jin, Gulshan is not a U.S. citizen, but she has 24 American citizen family members who long to be reunited. Like Pastor Jin, Dr. Abbas’ innocence is unimpeachable. She committed no crimes. And, like Pastor Jin, Dr. Abbas is aging (64-years-old, to be exact) and has several health issues including high blood pressure, severe osteoporosis that often leaves her immobilized, and an eye condition that requires regular medical attention lest she should go blind. The Chinese government could simply release her on humanitarian grounds.
When the Chinese government agreed to release Pastor Jin, they did a new thing. It had been more than twenty years since a political prisoner was released from China. They can continue that positive trend by freeing Gulshan Abbas, and other high priority political prisoners. Dr. Abbas has already served nearly half of her sentence, and this gesture of goodwill from the Chinese government would likely be met with more favorable terms on the trade and tech diplomatic fronts.
Dr. Abbas is not forgotten. She remains a high priority for the U.S. government. Even just this week, Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) of the Select Committee for the CCP introduced a resolution marking the eighth anniversary of Dr. Abbas detention and calling for immediate release. This follows a bipartisan, bicameral resolution, passed by Congress when Trump visited Beijing in May, calling for the release of high priority political prisoners, among them was Pastor Jin who is now released, as well as Dr. Abbas.
In many ways, the case of Dr. Abbas is a test of U.S. resolve amidst negotiations with China. The President has a shot at a victory for the U.S. Dr. Abbas’ return would signify that the U.S. stands on the side of free speech and religious freedom.
When the two leaders meet, the President should raise Abbas’ case by name. But the President shouldn’t just say her name, he should request her unequivocal release and safe return to her family in the U.S. President Trump – please bring renewed joy to an American family who is suffering in the absence of their beloved family member. Please bring Gulshan Abbas home.
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