Dr. Rune Steenberg, a Danish anthropologist who has criticized China’s policies toward Uyghurs and Kazakhs, was denied entry to Kazakhstan.
On April 12, 2025, Steenberg was stopped at the Qordai-Dostyk land border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, according to Global Voices. Steenberg, who is well known for his in-depth research in the field of Uyghur studies, had previously visited Kazakhstan multiple times.
Kazakh border officials did not provide any legal justification for the denial, Global Voices reported. “I asked about the reasons. They said there was no information. I think it has to do with my research on Uyghur,” Steenberg said.
Steenberg has worked on Uyghur communities for many years. He currently leads a European Union-funded project on the ethnography of the Uyghur Autonomous Region and is a visiting researcher at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek. His research focuses particularly on China’s repressive policies against Uyghurs and Kazakhs.
Steenberg’s experience is similar to that of other individuals advocating for Uyghur rights. For example, researcher and writer Gene Bunin was also denied entry to Kazakhstan in 2021.
Observers note that Kazakhstan’s close political and economic ties with China — the country’s largest trading partner and investor — may be influencing such decisions.
Kazakh authorities have remained silent about the mass, unlawful detention of Uyghurs and Kazakhs in China. Even during his visit to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in October 2023, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev did not raise the issue of the Kazakh population’s rights.
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