Alimjan Mahmut, a teacher at Kashgar Sports School, a well-known volleyball player, and a national level coach, were also on the list of torchbearers held by the Norwegian Uyghur Foundation. During a telephone conversation with our correspondent, a relevant official revealed that Alimjan Mahmut had been abducted for "having an affair with a bearded man".
Eight people from Kashgar were mentioned in the list of "captive torchbearers" published by the Norwegian Uyghur Foundation. These included athletes Patigul Qadeer, Alimjan Mahmut, Yasinjan Avut, Jumahun Mehmet and Nourieli Mehmet, as well as Dr. Abduqayyum Samet and Adil Abdurehim. During our inquiries into the list, it was confirmed that Adil Abdurehim and Abduqayyum Samat were in captivity in recent weeks. Today, we called the Kashgar Provincial Sports School, his place of employment, to find out about the well-known volleyball player Alimjan Mahmut. An officer who answered our call answered our questions in Chinese, arguing that there was no teacher abducted at the school.
Abduwali Ayub, an activist and leader of the Uyghur Foundation, said there were at least six to seven teachers abducted from the school, including two volleyball teachers, Ezizjan and Ezizkari. Another staff member who received our call from the school, who mentioned the name of coach Alimjan Mahmut, refused to answer our questions.
In addition to the so-called "separatist" and "religious extremism" symptoms that have plagued hostages for years in the Uyghur region, which began in 2017, the abductions have also led to a number of exceptions to the rule of law.
According to Abduwali Ayub, coach Alimjan Mahmut is well-known and respected not only in his sporting skills and experience, but also in the number and quality of his coaches, as well as his positive attitude in social relations. Reminding that some of the most influential people in the community were first arrested during the 2017 massacre, Abduwali Ayub also claimed that his influence in the community was due to the arrest of Alimjan Mahmut.
The local police officer who answered our call, along with the fact that coach Alimjan Mahmoodi was in captivity, also revealed the reason for his arrest. He is thought to have survived an earlier attempt to oust him following Mr Jiang's intervention.
Earlier in the day, our investigation into the abductions in the village of Araltope in Kunas County revealed that a number of detainees from the area had been arrested for "phone calls from people with dots." Earlier investigations revealed that Rozahun, a well-known comedian from Yildiz, had also been abducted and released shortly afterwards for "phone calls from key people."
According to the Uyghuryar Foundation's "List of Captive Torchbearers," coach Alimjan Mahmut was abducted in 2017 and sentenced to eight years in prison, while he is currently serving his sentence in a prison in Aksu.
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