This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/world/asia/china-xinjiang-brothers-radio-free-asia.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
China Frees 2 Brothers of U.S. Reporter for Radio Free Asia China Frees 2 Brothers of U.S. Reporter for Radio Free Asia
(about 13 hours later)
HONG KONG — Two brothers of an American journalist who United States lawmakers say were jailed by China in retaliation for his reporting on ethnic tensions in the country’s Xinjiang region have been freed, the reporter’s employer said. Another brother remained in custody. HONG KONG — Two brothers of an American journalist who United States lawmakers say were jailed by China in retaliation for his reporting on ethnic tensions in the country’s Xinjiang region have been freed, the reporter’s employer said. Another brother remained in custody.
The brothers, Rexim Hoshur, 38, and Shawket Hoshur, 54, of Shohret Hoshur, a reporter for the United States government-funded news service Radio Free Asia, were released on Wednesday by the authorities in Xinjiang, in China’s northwest, said Rohit Mahajan, a spokesman for Radio Free Asia in Washington. They have returned to their home in Qorghas County, an area near the Kazakhstan border, Mr. Mahajan said. Rexim Hoshur, 38, and Shawket Hoshur, 54, brothers of Shohret Hoshur, a reporter for the United States government-funded news service Radio Free Asia, were released on Wednesday by the authorities in Xinjiang, in China’s northwest, said Rohit Mahajan, a spokesman for Radio Free Asia in Washington. They have returned to their home in Qorghas County, an area near the Kazakhstan border, Mr. Mahajan said.
Both men were detained in August 2014 and tried a year later, charged with endangering state security and leaking secrets. No verdict has been announced in their case, and Mr. Mahajan said in an email on Wednesday that he did not know why they were released.Both men were detained in August 2014 and tried a year later, charged with endangering state security and leaking secrets. No verdict has been announced in their case, and Mr. Mahajan said in an email on Wednesday that he did not know why they were released.
The Hoshurs’ case and that of their brother Tudaxun Hoshur, who is serving a five-year sentence for endangering state security, have been followed closely by American lawmakers and diplomats, who have urged China to release the men. Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said in a July letter to Secretary of State John Kerry that China was targeting the brothers to retaliate against Shohret Hoshur, a United States citizen, for his reporting on the tensions between the Chinese government and Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighur minority.The Hoshurs’ case and that of their brother Tudaxun Hoshur, who is serving a five-year sentence for endangering state security, have been followed closely by American lawmakers and diplomats, who have urged China to release the men. Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, said in a July letter to Secretary of State John Kerry that China was targeting the brothers to retaliate against Shohret Hoshur, a United States citizen, for his reporting on the tensions between the Chinese government and Xinjiang’s Muslim Uighur minority.
A man who answered the telephone on Thursday at the Public Security Bureau in Qorghas County would not discuss the release of the Hoshurs or clarify their legal status, saying only that the case involved secrets. The man refused to give his name.A man who answered the telephone on Thursday at the Public Security Bureau in Qorghas County would not discuss the release of the Hoshurs or clarify their legal status, saying only that the case involved secrets. The man refused to give his name.
“This is welcome news, obviously, for Shohret and his family,” Mr. Mahajan said. “But we remain concerned about other reporters at R.F.A. with family in China finding themselves in the same situation. Shohret has had to work under extraordinary pressure for the duration of this process, which has unfolded over a year and a half.”“This is welcome news, obviously, for Shohret and his family,” Mr. Mahajan said. “But we remain concerned about other reporters at R.F.A. with family in China finding themselves in the same situation. Shohret has had to work under extraordinary pressure for the duration of this process, which has unfolded over a year and a half.”
Mr. Hoshur, 50, left Xinjiang in 1994 and has been based in Washington for Radio Free Asia, which has a Uighur-language service, since 2007. His dogged reporting has documented many episodes of deadly violence in Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in recent years in clashes between Uighurs and the Chinese authorities, who are mostly members of China’s majority Han ethnic group.Mr. Hoshur, 50, left Xinjiang in 1994 and has been based in Washington for Radio Free Asia, which has a Uighur-language service, since 2007. His dogged reporting has documented many episodes of deadly violence in Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in recent years in clashes between Uighurs and the Chinese authorities, who are mostly members of China’s majority Han ethnic group.
Some Uighurs, frustrated by dwindling economic opportunities and decades of Han migration into the region, are pushing for an independent state to be called East Turkestan, and others have been influenced by jihadist websites, experts on the region say.Some Uighurs, frustrated by dwindling economic opportunities and decades of Han migration into the region, are pushing for an independent state to be called East Turkestan, and others have been influenced by jihadist websites, experts on the region say.
Violent episodes in Xinjiang often go unreported in China’s state-run news media, frequently making Mr. Hoshur’s reporting the only source of information about them. The region’s unrest is viewed with alarm by the central authorities in Beijing, who appear increasingly unwilling to tolerate foreign reporters who contradict the official narrative that radical jihadist groups with international ties, rather than resentment of Beijing’s policies, are behind the violence.Violent episodes in Xinjiang often go unreported in China’s state-run news media, frequently making Mr. Hoshur’s reporting the only source of information about them. The region’s unrest is viewed with alarm by the central authorities in Beijing, who appear increasingly unwilling to tolerate foreign reporters who contradict the official narrative that radical jihadist groups with international ties, rather than resentment of Beijing’s policies, are behind the violence.
The Hoshur brothers’ release came less than a week after the Chinese government said it was expelling a French reporter, Ursula Gauthier, over a November article she wrote on Xinjiang, in which she said that the violence there had “nothing in common” with the terrorist attacks in Paris days earlier that killed 130 people. Ms. Gauthier’s visa and accreditation were due to expire on Thursday, and she was preparing to leave the country.The Hoshur brothers’ release came less than a week after the Chinese government said it was expelling a French reporter, Ursula Gauthier, over a November article she wrote on Xinjiang, in which she said that the violence there had “nothing in common” with the terrorist attacks in Paris days earlier that killed 130 people. Ms. Gauthier’s visa and accreditation were due to expire on Thursday, and she was preparing to leave the country.
In her essay, Ms. Gauthier noted that a Sept. 18 knife attack at a mine in Xinjiang, which apparently left dozens dead, was not reported by Chinese state news media until after the Paris attacks, in articles that depicted China’s struggle with Xinjiang militants as part of a global fight against terrorism. The mine attack was first reported by Mr. Hoshur, just days after it occurred. In her essay, Ms. Gauthier noted that a Sept. 18 knife attack at a mine in Xinjiang, which apparently left dozens dead, was not reported by Chinese state news media until after the Paris attacks, in articles that depicted China’s struggle with militants as part of a global fight against terrorism. The mine attack was first reported by Mr. Hoshur, just days after it occurred.