CFU PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2025, 10:45 AM EST
Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org
+1 650-703-4523
https://campaignforuyghurs.org/
Seven Years of Injustice: CFU Demands Freedom for Dr. Gulshan Abbas
Washington, D.C. – Today, September 10, 2025, Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) observes seven years since the enforced disappearance and unjust imprisonment of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, sister of CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas and Dr. Rishat Abbas, President of Uyghur Academy International. Her case stands as a stark reminder of the Chinese regime’s use of kin punishment and transnational repression amidst the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
Dr. Gulshan Abbas’s disappearance came just days after her sister, Rushan Abbas, spoke publicly at a Hudson Institute panel about the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs in September 2018. Her family had no knowledge of her whereabouts until December 2020, when authorities admitted that Dr. Abbas had been secretly sentenced to 20 years in prison on baseless charges of “terrorism.” Now entering her seventh year of unjust imprisonment, concerns grow about her health conditions, as she suffers from serious medical conditions, including high blood pressure. Denied access to proper medical care and contact with her family, Gulshan’s imprisonment is both an act of retaliation against her siblings’ advocacy and a violation of international law.
To date, policymakers, faith leaders, students, and activists in more than 40 countries have demanded the release of Dr. Gulshan Abbas. In 2024, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor urged Beijing to provide information on Dr. Abbas’s status and pressed for transparency on the treatment of other imprisoned individuals. In the same year, the European Parliament passed a landmark resolution on the unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs, calling for their immediate release, specifically naming Dr. Gulshan Abbas.
“My sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, has now spent seven years in a Chinese prison for no reason other than being related to me and my advocacy for Uyghur rights,” said Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs. “Gulshan is a retired doctor, a mother, and a gentle soul who dedicated her life to caring for others. Instead of living peacefully with her children and grandchildren, she has been unjustly imprisoned and denied medical care, in a blatant violation of international laws and humanitarian principles.
CFU calls on governments, human rights organizations, and the international community to demand the immediate release of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and every Uyghur unjustly imprisoned under Beijing’s repression. Her case embodies the cruelty of China’s collective punishment and the urgent need for accountability. We urge supporters to share her story, amplify the call for justice with #FreeGulshanAbbas, and stand united against the ongoing genocide of the Uyghur people.
