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."
