This House resolution marks the eighth anniversary of the detention of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired Uyghur medical doctor who was forcibly disappeared on September 10, 2018. The text says her detention is widely understood as retaliation for the public criticisms of the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs by her sister, Rushan Abbas, a United States citizen who spoke at an event on September 5, 2018. The resolution states Dr. Abbas had a secret trial in March 2019 and was sentenced to 20 years; her family learned of the sentence about 21 months later. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded her detention was arbitrary (Opinion No. 88/2022). The resolution lists concerns about Dr. Abbas’s medical needs, describes wider reports of repression against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and says Uyghurs living outside the country have faced surveillance and retaliation against relatives.
The resolution calls on the relevant government to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Abbas and reunite her with family. It calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and other U.S. officials to raise her case at every appropriate opportunity, urges use of diplomatic tools to secure her release, and asks the U.S. Government to identify and, where appropriate, impose sanctions on officials responsible for her detention and for acts of transnational repression. It also calls on that government, pending release, to provide verifiable information on her location and health, permit communication with family, ensure medical care, and allow access by independent international observers. The resolution declares that the House will continue to speak her name and advocate for her freedom until she is reunited with family.
The resolution expresses the view of the House of Representatives and asks U.S. officials to press for Dr. Abbas’s release. If adopted, it directs public attention to her case, urges U.S. diplomatic action and possible sanctions, and asks that information about her health and detention conditions be provided and verified. It also publicly condemns the use of detention to retaliate against speech by people or families connected to the United States. Status: referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; currently in progress.
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Supporters say Dr. Abbas’s detention is arbitrary and retaliatory, tied to peaceful speech by a family member in the United States. They argue the case shows how transnational repression can intimidate and silence people in the United States by targeting relatives abroad. Proponents call for sustained diplomatic pressure, use of all available tools to secure her release, possible sanctions on responsible officials, and verification of her health and detention conditions.
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