Senior official Shirzat Bawudun died mysteriously in prison

According to a source familiar with the situation who contacted our radio station, when the family of Shirzat Bawudun, a former high-ranking official currently serving a prison sentence, requested a video meeting with him in July this year, authorities informed them that he had died in prison. However, they provided no information about the cause of death. During our reporter's phone inquiries about this mysterious death, Shirzat Bawudun's death in prison was confirmed. Below is a report prepared by our correspondent, Shohret Hoshur, on this matter.
Shirzat Bawudun, former deputy secretary of East Turkistan (Xinjiang) Party Committee's Political and Legal Affairs Commission, former Minister of Justice, and former member of the Autonomous Region's Political Consultative Conference, was detained in November 2018 on suspicion of being "two-faced" and officially arrested on December 27 of the same year after his "crimes" were determined. On April 6, 2021, the Autonomous Region government held a press conference announcing that Shirzat Bawudun and Education Minister Sattar Sawut had been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
Last week, according to a source who wished to remain anonymous, Shirzat Bawudun was serving his sentence in Turpan Dahiyen Prison. When his family requested a video meeting with him in late July this year, authorities informed them that he had died in prison.
To verify this information, we first called Turpan Dahiyen Prison. One of the prison staff stated that they had been internally notified of Shirzat Bawudun's death, but the cause was not disclosed.
The informed source noted that when authorities notified Shirzat Bawudun's family of his death, they provided no information about the cause, time of death, or how the body was handled. They were only told that Shirzat had died in prison and that they should not request any more meetings. Family members, who had been detained and subjected to severe interrogation and torture for about a month when Shirzat Bawudun was initially arrested, did not dare ask for detailed information about his death this time. People close to Shirzat's family noticed changes in their emotional state, realized they were in mourning, and visited to offer condolences. Subsequently, news of Shirzat Bawudun's death began to spread in the community.
Another prison staff member who answered our call mentioned that they learned about Shirzat Bawudun's death from a meeting among prison staff.
During China's "anti-religious extremism campaign" in the Uyghur region, Shirzat Bawudun was accused of being a "long-term two-faced official hiding in key positions."
According to information from the "Baidu" database, Shirzat Bawudun, who would have been 58 this year, had worked mainly in the political and legal field for 30 years. He graduated from the Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law in 1988 and taught at East Turkistan (Xinjiang) Police Academy. Before being promoted to a ministerial-level position, from 1989 to 2011, he served in various roles, including head of the political department of the Hotan Prefecture Public Security Bureau, chief of the Karakash County Public Security Bureau, head of the State Security Department of Hotan Prefecture Public Security Bureau, and governor and party secretary of Karakash County.
In the verdict from the Autonomous Region's High Court, Shirzat Bawudun was accused of "separatism," involvement in "terrorism," and spreading "religious extremism." The verdict also claimed that while leading a Hajj delegation to Saudi Arabia, Shirzat Bawudun met with members of the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" organization, planned "national independence," and gave them one million yuan in cash. Although overseas activists have never confirmed such an incident, and some witnesses mentioned in the news have denied such a connection, Shirzat Bawudun admitted to these actions in his televised confession on Chinese television.
According to the informed source, Shirzat Bawudun's family was allowed to have video meetings with him once every four months. During their meeting in March this year, they observed no signs of illness or concerning physical weakness. Therefore, the news of Shirzat's death came as a sudden and mysterious shock to his family and the community.
rfa.org