Yalqun ROZI

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A Uyghur writer, journalist, editor, and literary critic, Yalqun Rozi continued to serve a 15-year prison sentence in Xinjiang, China at the end of 2025 following his conviction for ‘inciting subversion of state power’. PEN International believes that Yalqun Rozi has been targeted for his peaceful efforts to promote Uyghur language, culture, and education. 

Yalqun Rozi was detained without a warrant at his home in Urumqi on 6 October 2016, reportedly after he and several colleagues from the state-run Xinjiang Education Press were questioned by authorities about Uyghur-language textbooks used in schools across the region. He had previously served as an editor in the publisher’s Uyghur Textbook Department, overseeing the preparation of literature textbooks and teaching materials approved by China’s Ministry of Education.  

According to UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, following his detention, Yalqun Rozi was held incommunicado and subjected to repeated interrogations. He was formally arrested on 30 December 2016 and held in pre-trial detention for an additional two years. On 3 January 2018, a court in Urumqi convicted him of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. In November 2025, PEN International called for his release as part of its Day of the Imprisoned Writer campaign. 

Born in 1966 in Atush, Xinjiang, Yalqun Rozi graduated from Xinjiang University in 1987 and began his career as a journalist at Urumqi People’s Radio Broadcasting. He later worked for the Xinjiang Education Press, where he played a central role in developing Uyghur-language educational materials. Yalqun Rozi is the author of several Uyghur-language books, including The Golden Temple in Taklimakan, Secret of Clay Castle, and Philosophy of Life. Dozens of his commentaries and literary critiques addressing Uyghur literature, history, and society have been published in newspapers and magazines.