A livestream about the history of the Yuan Dynasty completely changed the life of Keyizati Aierken, a Kazakh man from Xinjiang. He was detained by Chinese police on charges of "inciting ethnic hatred" and subjected to prolonged torture and interrogation for posting on social media that "Han people had the lowest social status during the Yuan Dynasty." He now lives in exile.
Ke Yizati recently recounted this nightmarish experience to Radio Free Asia – from the underground interrogation room at the Public Security Bureau to the Fukang City Detention Center, from receiving electric shocks to his mouth to fleeing overseas with his family. He described himself as "just an ordinary person who loves history," yet because of his sensitive remarks, he was labeled a "separatist" by the state apparatus: "We were just discussing the history of the Yuan Dynasty, how could that be considered separatism?"
Kiyizati told reporters that he was about to leave the Slovenian refugee camp and prepare to go to Germany; "I ran away from the refugee camp and was preparing to go from Venice or Milan, Italy, to France, and my destination was Germany," and I vowed to "tell the truth about what happened in Xinjiang and let the world know the truth."
Born in 1988, Keyizati Aierken is originally from Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. He was a civilian employee living in Fukang City, Changji Prefecture, and also served as a special police auxiliary officer for six months. He was accused of "inciting ethnic hatred" for discussing history and subjected to prolonged torture. He fled to Kazakhstan with his young son, and then traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia. He said, "Telling the truth in China means imprisonment and even beatings to death."
Reported for saying "Han people had the lowest status in the Yuan Dynasty"
On June 19, 2023, an ordinary livestream changed his fate. During a Douyin livestream with over 100 netizens, he discussed the social structure of the Yuan Dynasty, mentioning in passing that "Han people had the lowest social status at the time." This was a piece of public history, readily available in textbooks, but it was screenshotted and reported.
"Some people say I attack Han people and spread extremist ideas," he said.
Soon after, Fukang City Public Security launched an investigation on suspicion of "separatism." Police raided his home, confiscated all his history books, and seized a copy of the Quran from his bedside, using this as evidence of "religious extremism." He was taken to the third basement level of the Public Security Bureau, where he was denied food and rest for 17 hours and repeatedly interrogated about whether he had used the Quran to incite hatred.
He denied everything, emphasizing that he grew up in a Chinese language school, surrounded by Han Chinese friends, and had never made any discriminatory remarks against any ethnic group. However, the police ultimately detained him for "inciting ethnic hatred": "I simply cannot understand the Quran. As a Muslim, I have a Quran in my collection, but I haven't even opened it to read it. I asked the police to check the pages to see if there are any traces of my fingerprints."
Electric shocks to the mouth and punches to the chest: "That's not interrogation, it's torture"
In Fukang Detention Center, Keyizati said he experienced "systematic torture." Police placed books on his chest and struck him violently; they thrust electric batons into his mouth until he passed out. "My face was burned, my eyebrows were singed, and after I passed out, I was splashed with cold water to wake myself up," he said.
He suffers from diabetes and has fainted repeatedly due to hypoglycemia. Guards refused to allow him to be sent to the hospital, instead deploying additional police officers to strengthen supervision, claiming he was "mentally abnormal." Cell 108 is the innermost cell, with "three stone walls, no light, and a camera covered with cloth. It's a place specifically for beatings."
Keyizati briefly served as an auxiliary police officer in Fukang. In 2016, he witnessed the beating death of a Uyghur man, Abduyimu, in a detention center. Officials attributed his death to "self-inflicted causes." The experience left him depressed, and he resigned and returned home to open a beef patty shop, "actually preparing to escape."
Escape and pursuit: Son accompanies, black bear appears
After being released on bail pending trial, he was strictly restricted from leaving Fukang City. In December 2023, he fled to Kazakhstan with his five-year-old son, but continued to be harassed by Chinese state security officers via WeChat and text messages. Not only was he ordered to return to China, but his sister was also threatened. He said, "They forced me to cut off contact with my sister."
Kazakh immigration authorities also harassed him several times, seemingly collaborating with Chinese pressure. Fearing deportation, he went into hiding and, with financial support from friends, flew to Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 27, 2025, then crossed the border on foot.
"On June 28th, while walking in the forest, I encountered black bears twice, one time only six meters away," he said with a wry smile. "I could only stand still and wait for it to leave. I also encountered a venomous snake, but luckily my son saw it and screamed, which allowed me to escape."
On June 30, Kižák entered Croatia but was discovered by patrolling police and deported. He entered the country again the next day, arrived in Zagreb on July 3, and entered Slovenia on July 4.
Keizati, who speaks fluent Chinese, stated that Xinjiang's re-education camps were secretly launched as early as 2014, with large-scale arrests of Kazakhs and Uyghurs beginning in 2016 and reaching a peak in 2017. He said, "Police forced Uyghurs to go to Kazakh villages to arrest Kazakhs, and then directed them to arrest Uyghurs in Hui villages in Kazakh areas, causing widespread panic among the villagers. In my hometown of Liuchengzi West Village alone, 20% of the herders were arrested. Couples who quarreled were sent to concentration camps together, and their children were sent to orphanages."
Providing evidence to human rights groups "to let the world know we are not terrorists"
In March of this year, Keizati submitted testimony and video footage to the Kazakh human rights organization Atajurt Volunteers, describing his experiences of torture in Xinjiang. Founder Serikzhan Bilash confirmed his account to this station on Friday. Tilek Niyazbek, a member of the organization, also stated, "Keyezati feared deportation and entrusted us to preserve the footage so we could release it publicly if anything were to happen."
Our station called the Fukang City Public Security Bureau Office and the Public Security National Security Bureau that had asked Ke Yizati to return to China, but the call could not be connected.
The Kazakh ethnic group has long faced cultural, linguistic, and religious oppression in Xinjiang, with many facing charges for discussing history, practicing Islam, or using social media. He said he recounted these events not to garner sympathy but to "leave evidence," "to let the outside world know these events really happened, and that we are not terrorists or separatists, but ordinary people sharing history."
