Nury A. Turkel

Commissioner, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

USA/China

Nury Turkel is a lawyer and Uyghur rights advocate. He is currently an attorney and Chairman of the Board for the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP), which he co-founded in 2003. He also served as the president of the Uyghur American Association and as a legal and policy adviser to the past and present presidents of the World Uyghur Congress (WUD). Mr. Turkel has published policy-oriented commentaries in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, and Foreign Policy. He has testified before Congress, speaking about Uyghur camps and advocating a legislative response to China’s atrocities. He holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Juris Doctorate from the American University in Washington, DC.