3 Uygurs freed as part of US-China prisoner exchange: report

The Biden administration reportedly drove ‘a fairly tough bargain’ with Beijing in gaining the release of the Uygurs.

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Ayshem Mamut and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns after her release from Chinese custody last week. Photo: via X

Published: 3:59am, 4 Dec 2024Updated: 5:07am, 4 Dec 2024

At least one Uygur was allowed to leave China as part of a sensitive deal between Washington and Beijing last week, according to the White House and the woman’s US-based son.

In a statement to The New York Times, which first reported news of the Uygur release, the US National Security Council said it was “pleased Ayshem Mamut is home with her family” in the United States, naming one of the three Uygurs reportedly freed by Beijing.

Mamut is the mother of high-profile Uygur activist Nury Turkel, who also serves as a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

“Our prayers have been answered. After more than 20 years, I am overjoyed to be reunited with my mother here in Washington,” Turkel wrote on the social media platform X on Tuesday.

“She can finally embrace her grandchildren for the first time,” he said, noting that his father had died more than two years ago without having the opportunity to reunite with his family.

02:15

Washington lowers travel warning for China as 3 jailed Americans freed by Beijing

Last week, the National Security Council said that Beijing had freed three imprisoned Americans, while China’s foreign ministry said that three Chinese prisoners and one fugitive had been returned to China. Both sides said their nationals had been wrongfully detained. Neither side had mentioned the release of three Uygurs in earlier statements.