FREEALIM.COM

Petition to Free Alim:

Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Hu Jintao
Chairman of the National People’s Congress, Mr. Wu Bangguo,
Secretary of the Communist Party in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Mr. Zhang Chunxian,
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the United States, Mr. Zhang Yesui, 

Dear Sirs:

We are deeply concerned that Uyghur Christian Alimujiang Yimiti was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for allegedly leaking “state secrets to a foreign individual.” The unfair charge and conviction was based on two private conversations between Alimujiang and an American friend. There is no evidence to suggest their conversations included any sensitive information, pointing to Alimujiang’s innocence.

After he was detained on January 12, 2008, Alimujiang Yimiti was held illegally for over one year without sentence. Originally accused of conducting illegal religious activities, he was finally given the severe sentence of 15 years for “leaking state secrets” in August 2009. The verdict followed two secret trials, the first held in May 2008, and the second in July 2009.

Alimujiang Yimiti is a peace-loving and upstanding Uyghur Chinese citizen. Formerly an adherent of Islam, he has been a Christian believer since 1995. As a house church leader in Kashgar, he was very aware of the ethnic tensions in the region Uyghur people and lived out his faith and ran his business with committment to promoting genuine inter-ethnic harmony and love for all peoples.

Alimujiang’s shocking sentence and brutal treatment is an unjust reaction to his choice of religious belief and his ethnic status. His sentence violates Article 36 of China’s Constitution, which acknowledges religious freedom for all Chinese citizens. Furthermore, the illegal actions of the Xinjiang courts, double-jeopardy secret trials, severe sentencing, and harassment of Alimujiang’s lawyers violate Chinese law, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the People’s Republic of China has signed.

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned with Alimujiang’s welfare and this severe case of religious persecution. We pray for the leaders of China, and formally request that you immediately release Alimujiang Yimiti and restore his political rights and freedoms according to the law.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.
Sincerely,

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 China Aid informs us of Alim's current prison status:

Family of Imprisoned Uyghur Christian Alimujiang Denied Visiting Rights

ChinaAid Press 07-19-2010

 Since Uyghur Christian prisoner Alimjan Yimit (Alimujiang Yimiti) was moved in April to No. 3 Prison on the outskirts of Urumqi to begin serving a 15-year sentence, it was expected the normal rules regarding monthly supervised family visits would allow his mother and his wife Gulinuer and children to see him again. After being held for over two years in a detention center in Kashgar and denied all contact with family, the possibility of seeing Alimjan was their sole consolation in light of this extremely harsh and unjust sentence. Now, even that hope has been lost as the prison officials, or more likely higher-ups behind them, perpetuate the abuse. They demand a new letter be brought each visit, written and stamped by the local police verifying Alimjan's wife and mother's relationship to him.  The local police, meanwhile, say it is unnecessary and refuse to cooperate.
 
After the first visit in April, reported on by China Aid, Alimjan was allowed only one other twenty minute interaction with them in May. Alim's lawyers have never been allowed to meet with him since being moved into prison. Each week Gulinuer mails a letter to her husband only two of which she knows he's been given. She has yet to receive a reply.
 
Thank you for upholding Alimjan's family in your prayers. Gulinuer is also very grateful for some of you who have taken the time to e-mail her your words of encouragement and sympathy and sign the online petition at www.FreeAlim.com. These acts serve as tangible evidence of your faithfulness to firmly stand with Alim and his family and the Uyghur church in China through this trial.
 
 Prayer Requests:

1. May God continue to sustain Alim in prison. Nobody has seen or heard anything about him of late.
2. May God give relief to the frustration and powerlessness his family feels and change the hearts of the officials to allow them to visit Alim in prison.
3. May this injustice be somehow set right and Alim be released.
4. May God be glorified through this difficulty and the Uyghur believers be strengthened and multiplied no matter what the outcome.

Visit www.FreeAlim.comto Sign the Petition and encourage Alim and his family today!

Additional Info

• Taking Action 1: SIGN THE PETITION
  
• Taking Action 2: WRITE TO ALIM
  
• Taking Action 3: DONATE (Donar)

Me:  I am glad to know which Congressmen and Congresswomen (listed below) have gotten involved in Alim's case.  It's worth knowing (and respecting highly) those in Congress who are stalwarts for religious liberty.  We need to pray for them as well.

« 19 Congressmen issue Letter to Ambassador Zhou for Alim's release