Dr. Gulshan Abbas’s Case Highlighted at SOTU 2026 By Speaker Mike Johnson

  • February 26, 2026

CFU PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 25th, 9:00 AM EST

Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org

Campaign for Uyghurs www.campaignforuyghurs.org  

Washington, DC –In the 2026 State of the Union Address, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) invited Ziba Murat, daughter of Dr. Gulshan Abbas, as his guest, bringing national attention to the case of Dr. Abbas and the ongoing persecution of the Uyghur people. Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) extends its sincere appreciation for this powerful gesture of solidarity. 

In September 2018, Dr. Gulshan Abbas was forcibly disappeared by Chinese authorities, just days after her sister, CFU Executive Director Rushan Abbas, spoke out against the Chinese Communist Party’s oppression of Uyghurs at a public panel at the Hudson Institute. Her family had no knowledge of Dr. Abbas’ whereabouts until December 2020, when authorities admitted that Dr. Abbas had been secretly sentenced on sham charges. Now entering her eighth year of unjust imprisonment, concerns grow about her health, as she suffers from serious medical conditions. Denied access to proper medical care and contact with her family, Gulshan’s imprisonment is both an act of transnational repression and a violation of international law.

“In 2018, Dr. Gulshan Abbas was forcibly detained and arrested by the Chinese Communist Party in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region days after her family member spoke out about the CCP’s heinous treatment of Uyghur Muslims,” Speaker Johnson said in a statement first provided to The Hill. “As we continue to shine an international light upon China’s human rights abuses and call for the release of all those unjustly detained, it is my honor to invite Dr. Abbas’ daughter – Ziba Murat – as my guest at President Trump’s State of the Union Address.”

“It was a profound honor to attend the State of the Union as Speaker Johnson’s guest. I am deeply grateful for his leadership in bringing the plight of the Uyghur people to the spotlight,” said Ziba Murat. “My hope is that this visibility translates into urgent diplomatic action, bringing us one step closer to my mother’s freedom and reuniting our family,” she added. 

CFU expresses its appreciation to Speaker Johnson for standing with the Uyghur people by bringing Dr. Gulshan Abbas’s case to national attention. CFU reaffirms its commitment to advocating for the immediate release of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and all Uyghurs unjustly detained, as well as to advancing accountability against those responsible for the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity targeting the Uyghur people.

Picture of Jacob

editor-muyesser

Campaign for Uyghurs

We defend the human rights of Uyghur people and the free world by exposing and confronting the Chinese government's genocide, and empowering Uyghur women and youth in the diaspora.

Donate Now

READ MORE

Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production
Located in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.
‘This Has Been Delayed For Too Long’
Source: RFA Rushan Abbas, a former broadcaster for RFA’s Uyghur Service and the director of the U.S.-based Campaign for Uighurs exile group, recently testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington about rights violations in northwest China’s
Uyghurs in Exile Launch Campaign Calling on China to Release Video of Missing Family Members
Source: RFA More than a dozen ethnic Uyghurs living in exile have called on China to release video of family members held in political “re-education camps” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after Chinese state media published what it
Tough Curbs on Burials
Source: RFA HONG KONG—Ethnic minority Uyghurs from the far-west Chinese city of Urumqi say authorities attach strict conditions when they release the bodies of Uyghurs who die in custody. Hundreds of Uyghurs were detained as part of a broad crackdown
I’ve fought China’s slow-motion genocide of Uighur Muslims. Now, my family are victims.
Source: USA Today   The world is finally waking up to the ongoing and terrifying violations of human rights against the Uighurs — a Muslim minority in Northwest China. My own family is victim to these violations. As both an American citizen and
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference March 11, 2019 I would like to thank President Tsai’s comments and her for taking the time to be here out of her busy schedule. I can’t help but just
On Capitol Hill, persecuted Muslims unite to protect religious minorities’ rights
(RNS) — More than 125 members of the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect spent Monday (April 1) on Capitol Hill advocating for international religious freedom causes — particularly lending their voices on behalf of beleaguered Uighur Muslims. As part of its
As Countries Seek Trade With China, Imprisoned Uyghur Community Has Become “Collateral Damage”
China’s top trade negotiator is traveling to Washington this week as tension over trade intensifies between the two nations. President Trump is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Chinese imports after the U.S. accused China of

STAY
INFORMED

Add your name to our mailing list so we can keep you updated about upcoming events, speciality drives, new initiatives and more.