Rahile DAWUT

Rahile Dawut, a renowned anthropologist and leading expert on the study of Uyghur folklore, is reportedly serving a life sentence after conviction of endangering state security. In late 2017, Rahile Dawut disappeared shortly after she had made plans to travel from Xinjiang to Beijing for an academic conference. Rahile Dawut was then held in secret by Chinese authorities without any confirmation of her detention for over five years, despite international media attention and a campaign led by her daughter calling for her release. In September 2023, reports emerged suggesting that Rahile Dawut had been sentenced to life imprisonment after conviction of ‘endangering state security’. The report also confirmed that her appeal against the conviction had been rejected by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region High People’s Court (see Case Lists 2018 – 2023/3034). 

Rahile Dawut, born on 20 May 1966, is an associate professor at Xinjiang University and founder of the university’s research centre on minority folklore. A recipient of English PEN’s Writer of Courage award in 2023, Rahile Dawut is recognised around the world for her peerless contributions to the study and cataloguing of Uyghur cultural heritage, including through her book Uyghur Shrines (Uyghur Mazarliri) published in Uyghur in 2001. Her work was also recognised and supported by the PRC government. In 2016, just a year before she was initially detained, Rahile Dawut received a research grant from the Ministry of Culture, reportedly the largest ever given to a Uyghur research project.