Seven years after her disappearance, Dr. Gulshan Abbas remains imprisoned in China. CFU urges the global community to demand her immediate release and stand against the Uyghur genocide.
Washington, D.C., September 10, 2025 – Today marks seven years since the enforced disappearance and imprisonment of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, sister of Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) Executive Director Rushan Abbas and Dr. Rishat Abbas, President of Uyghur Academy International. Her case highlights the Chinese government’s practice of kin punishment and transnational repression amid the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
Dr. Abbas was disappeared in September 2018, just days after her sister Rushan publicly spoke at a Hudson Institute panel on China’s persecution of Uyghurs. Her family remained unaware of her whereabouts until December 2020, when Chinese authorities revealed that she had been secretly sentenced to 20 years in prison on unsubstantiated “terrorism” charges. Now entering her seventh year of imprisonment, Dr. Abbas faces serious health concerns, including high blood pressure, while being denied medical care and contact with her family. Human rights advocates say her detention is a retaliatory measure targeting her siblings’ activism and a violation of international law.
Global calls for Dr. Abbas’s release have come from policymakers, faith leaders, students, and activists in more than 40 countries. In 2024, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor urged Beijing to disclose Dr. Abbas’s status and provide transparency on the treatment of other imprisoned individuals. The same year, the European Parliament passed a landmark resolution calling for the immediate release of unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs, 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 CFU. “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 blatant violation of international laws and humanitarian principles.”
CFU is calling on governments, human rights organizations, and the international community to demand the immediate release of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and all Uyghurs unjustly imprisoned under Beijing’s repression. Her case exemplifies the cruelty of China’s collective punishment and underscores the urgent need for accountability. Supporters are urged to share her story, amplify the call for justice using #FreeGulshanAbbas, and stand united against the ongoing Uyghur genocide.
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