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During the 2026 State of the Union Address, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson invited Ziba Murat, the daughter of detained Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, as his guest, drawing national attention to her case and the broader human rights concerns surrounding the Uyghur community in China. The development was highlighted in a press release issued by Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU).
According to CFU, Dr. Gulshan Abbas was forcibly disappeared by Chinese authorities in September 2018, days after her sister, Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of CFU, publicly criticised the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute. The organisation stated that the family had no information about her whereabouts until December 2020, when authorities acknowledged that she had been sentenced following what CFU described as secret proceedings on unfounded charges. Now in her eighth year of detention, CFU said concerns are mounting regarding Dr. Abbas' health. The organisation alleged that she suffers from serious medical conditions and has been denied adequate medical care and regular contact with her family. It described her imprisonment as a case of transnational repression and a violation of international legal standards. In remarks first reported by The Hill, Speaker Johnson said Dr. Abbas had been detained in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region shortly after a family member spoke publicly about the treatment of Uyghur Muslims. He stated that inviting her daughter to attend the State of the Union was part of ongoing efforts to spotlight human rights abuses and call for the release of those he described as unjustly detained. Ziba Murat said attending the address as the Speaker's guest was a significant moment for her family. She expressed hope that the increased visibility would lead to stronger diplomatic efforts and ultimately secure her mother's release. In its statement, CFU thanked Speaker Johnson for bringing renewed attention to Dr. Gulshan Abbas's case and reiterated its call for her immediate release, along with other Uyghurs the organisation says are being unjustly detained. The group also renewed its demand for accountability over alleged crimes against humanity targeting the Uyghur population, as stated in the CFU press release. (ANI)
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