Rebiya Kadeer

The most prominent human rights advocate of the Uyghur people, spent six years in a Chinese prison. Before her arrest in 1999, she was a well-known Uyghur businesswoman. Her philanthropic efforts were at first praised by the Chinese government, she was appointed a member of the Political Consultative Congress in 1992, and a member of China’s delegation to the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. In 2000, Human Rights Watch awarded Ms. Kadeer its highest human rights award. In 2004, Norway’s Rafto Foundation honored her with the Rafto Award. In 2005, three days before an official visit to Beijing by the US Secretary of State, she was released from prison on medical grounds.