CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27th, 2026, 5:00PM EDT
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
https://campaignforuyghurs.org/
Campaign for Uyghurs Commemorates the Twelfth Anniversary of the Yarkand Massacre
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) solemnly commemorates the twelfth anniversary of the Yarkand Massacre, remembering the innocent victims of the July 28, 2014 brutal crackdown in Yarkand, East Turkistan, where Chinese security forces violently attacked peaceful Uyghur protesters and carried out widespread atrocities against them. Now, twelve years later, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conceals the truth about the massacre while expanding the policies of repression that fuel the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
Eyewitness accounts describe Chinese security forces opening fire and mercilessly shooting Uyghur women for nothing more than reciting the Qur’an and practicing basic fundamental exercise of religion. The violence then spread to three surrounding villages, where security forces carried out mass arrests, assaulted and brutally murdered Uyghurs. Chinese authorities imposed communication blackouts, restricted access to the region, and suppressed information about the victims. The families of those killed and disappeared were left in the dark and continue to seek justice.
The Yarkand Massacre demonstrates the multifaceted nature of the Chinese government’s repression of Uyghurs, combining the use of deadly force against unarmed people, propaganda, and discriminatory policies to suppress their fundamental rights. In the aftermath of the massacre, authorities relied on dehumanizing language to portray Uyghurs as inherently violent, labeling peaceful religious practices and expressions of identity as security threats. In the years that have followed, the CCP has relied on similar tactics, crafting its anti-Uyghur campaign through mass surveillance, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and the destruction of Uyghur religious and cultural practices and cracking down violently to any peaceful protest.
Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs, says: “The Yarkand Massacre remains a painful reminder of how the Chinese government has used dehumanizing rhetoric to portray Uyghurs as perpetual threats rather than as people deserving of basic rights. By labeling Uyghurs as criminals and extremists, the CCP has continued to justify violence and collective punishment. The same system that enabled the atrocities in Yarkand continues to destroy families today. My sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, has been unjustly imprisoned since 2018 in retaliation for my advocacy in the U.S., a personal reminder that the campaign of persecution and Beijing’s transnational repression have only expanded. Today, twelve years on, we remember the victims of Yarkand by continuing to demand justice for all Uyghurs suffering under the CCP’s system”.
The legacy of Yarkand remains starkly relevant as Uyghurs continue to face persecution, cultural genocide, forced labor, and transnational repression. Campaign for Uyghurs calls on the international community, NGOs and international organizations to hold Chinese officials accountable, strengthen efforts to prevent future injustices, and demand justice for victims of the massacre and the Uyghur genocide.