Ablimit and his family must reunite in Belgium
Ablimit and his family must reunite in Belgium
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Ablimit TURSUN is a Uyghur who lives and works in Belgium as a political refugee since 2018.
In May 2019, his wife (Huriyet) and four children went to Beijing to hand in the last documents to complete their application for a family reunification visa. They had traveled a long way from Ürümchi to go for a medical check-up required by the Belgian embassy in Beijing, a procedure that cannot be done in their region. While in Beijing, the police went to their hotel room every night for endless questioning and every single step they took to get the required documents were exposing them as Uyghurs who were trying to leave China.
They went to the Belgian embassy, hoping to be reunited with their husband and father soon. But when they were told that they would have to wait at least 3 more months for the application to be processed, they panicked and refused to leave the embassy.
The Belgian embassy did not only refuse to help but also let the Chinese police drag them out from the embassy. On May 31, after a long day of police interview, they were sent back to Ürümchi by the Xinjiang police. Ablimit was unable to contact them for 18 days.
The family is currently at home. Although the police returned her phone, policemen continue to visit them everyday. Huriyet cannot answer most questions from her husband and remains very vague about their condition.
On June 17, the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced they would send a Belgian diplomat to Xinjiang to visit the family. So far Huriyet hasn't been able to meet anyone. Belgium is asking for one last document to complete the visa application, but the Chinese authorities refused to deliver it. The Xinjiang police also refused to give them passports.
Our support committee asks the Belgium Ministry to do everything possible to deliver visas to the family and help them leave China.
Learn more about Ablimit's family:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/06/14/belgiums-beijing-embassy-calls-chinese-cops-on-uighur-family/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/18/world/asia/china-xinjiang-uighurs-belgium.html
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/family-06192019172120.html
https://www.lesoir.be/231231/article/2019-06-17/une-famille-ouigoure-met-la-belgique-dans-lembarras
Décisionnaires
Belgium Uyghur Association