When Gulchehra Hoja began reporting for Xinjiang TV, pressure to promote the Communist Party led her to Radio Free Asia (RFA), which offered the only autonomous Uighur-language news outside of China. After joining RFA in the U.S., Gulchehra was sent a “red notice” from China, banning her from returning home. Today, two dozen of her family members – among an estimated 800,000 to 2 million Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in detainment – face “cultural genocide,” according to Gulchehra. Categorized as “re-education” facilities, these detention camps in Xinjiang also include crematoriums. Following Gulchehra’s risky interviews with escapees, prison guards and other officials, she testified in front of the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Foreign Affairs on the dangers of reporting on human rights.
IWMF Awards
- Courage in Journalism Awards , 2020