Mutallip Hajim

Mutallip Hajim (d. 2008) was a prominent Uyghur businessman from Xinjiang province in China who died while in police custody.

Life

Hajim was a wealthy Uyghur jade trader and philanthropist. In January 2008 Hajim was taken into custody by police in Hotan. On 3 March2008 Hajim’s body was returned to his family. Police instructed his family to bury him immediately and inform no one of his death. Hajim was thirty-eight at the time of his death.

Xinjiang protests March 2008

On 23 March2008-24 March2008 as many as one thousand people in Hotan and Karakax County took to the streets in protest. The protests coincided with unrest in Tibet, but the motivations appeared to be local. One issue that reportedly brought locals to the streets in protest was a government ban on women wearing headscarfs. Another issue was the death of Mutallip Hajim. Alim Seytoff, head of the World Uyghur Congress, stated that, “The Uighurs began protesting after the killing of Mutallip Hajim, who had died in police custody.” This claim was echoed by unnamed sources in a Radio Free Asia report. Local police and the government run religious affairs department refused to comment on Hajim's death when contacted by Agence France-Presse.

See also

• Rebiya Kadeer
• East Turkestan independence movement

References