China’s Silencing of a Uyghur Scholar: Detained & Deported

U.S. citizen and Uyghur scholar Abdulhakim Idris was detained for 21 hours and expelled from Malaysia in March 2026, an act he describes as a direct result of Chinese transnational repression.

Detention in Kuala Lumpur

Idris arrived in Kuala Lumpur on March 29, 2026, to launch a Malay-language edition of his book and present new reports from the Center for Uyghur Studies. Upon arrival, he was pulled aside by immigration officers and informed by the Royal Malaysia Police that he would be denied entry and deported.

He was held in a temporary detention center for 21 hours without justification. During this time, his U.S. passport was seized, and he was provided only one small meal and one bottle of water.

Idris was subsequently escorted by four police officers onto a deportation flight to the United States via Istanbul. He stated that partners in Kuala Lumpur confirmed the denied entry was the result of direct pressure from Beijing.

A Pattern of Intimidation

This incident follows a history of travel restrictions and harassment. Between April and May 2025, Idris was detained at an Indonesian airport for three hours before being allowed entry following intervention by the U.S. government.

During a previous advocacy trip to Indonesia in 2024, immigration officials in Pontianak questioned his visa and informed him he was not permitted to speak at events on a tourist visa. Idris noted that CCP propaganda campaigns are widespread in the region, often utilizing social media and local influence to obstruct his work.

Idris argues that the use of a third country to detain and expel a U.S. citizen sets a dangerous precedent for journalists, researchers, and advocates operating abroad.

Personal Impact of State Repression

The scholar’s advocacy is tied to personal loss. Since 2017, 24 of his family members have gone missing, including his mother and siblings. In August 2023, Idris learned via an anonymous source that his father had passed away in January 2023 in Hotan.

The CCP’s campaign of repression has also targeted his extended family. In September 2018, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, the sister of Idris’s wife, Rushan Abbas, was forcibly disappeared from her home in Urumqi. The Chinese Foreign Ministry later confirmed she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Beyond family detentions, Idris has faced direct threats. Following his 2021 testimony before the Uyghur Tribunal in London, Chinese state television broadcast his photograph to denounce him. In 2024, he and his wife received video messages containing direct death threats, which were later confirmed by the FBI.