Jailed brothers of RFA reporter await verdicts
Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service reporter Shohret Hoshur continues to wait to hear the fate of his two brothers, Shawket and Rexim Hoshur, both of whom have been arrested on charges of “endangering state security” and “leaking state secrets” in China. The charges are widely thought to be retribution by Chinese authorities for Mr. Hoshur’s breaking coverage of both escalating ethnic Uyghur-Han tensions and the Chinese government’s crackdown on the mostly Muslim minority in the country’s far west. Mr. Hoshur’s reporting has been criticized by Beijing.
Last year a third brother, Tudaxun Hoshur, was convicted of “endangering state security” and sentenced to five years in prison. The trials for Shawket and Rexim were held on August 19 and 25, but their verdicts have yet to be announced.
The harassment of Mr. Hoshur’s family has become an issue between the U.S. and China as the two countries prepare for President Xi Jinping’s meeting with President Obama in late September. Mr. Hoshur’s case has been gaining global attention, with editorials and articles in the Washington Post, Slate Magazine and a recent profile in the New York Times.