A book launch and signing event for “Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghurs in Chinese Prisons” was held in London, where the Uyghur genocide was also brought into focus.

24 December 2025, Londra Gazete

On 16 December 2025, the Yunus Emre Institute in London hosted the launch and signing of the book “Imprisoned Souls: Poems of Uyghurs in Chinese Prisons.” The book brings together the poems and life stories of Uyghur poets who have been detained, sentenced to long-term imprisonment, or forcibly disappeared as part of the Chinese government’s extensive genocidal policies in East Turkistan since 2017.

Compiled and translated by Uyghur intellectual Aziz İsa Elkün, the book features biographies and works of 25 Uyghur poets, including Gülnisa İmin Gülhan, Nurmuhammet Yasin Örkişi, Ablet Abdureşit Berqi, Perhat Tursun, Abdurehim Abdulla, Abduqadir Jalalidin, Adil Tuniyaz, and Vahitjan Osman.

The signed launch event featured speakers including Aziz İsa Elkün, World Uyghur Congress President Turguncan Alawudun, Ross Holder, President of PEN International Asia-Pacific, Jennifer Langer, Founding Director of the Society of Exiled Writers and Poets, and Prof. Dr. Rachel Harris from SOAS, University of London.

Jennifer Langer drew attention to the fact that all the poets featured in the book have disappeared into China’s vast prison and detention camp system, with their whereabouts unknown. She noted that the poems express profound emotions of despair, pain, longing, and love.

Prof. Dr. Rachel Harris discussed Uyghur poetry and culture, highlighting the crucial importance of preserving this cultural heritage and promoting it internationally.

Additionally, Heret Schröder of PEN Austria spoke about her efforts to nominate Perhat Tursun as honorary chair of the Austrian Writers’ Association and translate one of his novels into German. She emphasized that imprisoning Uyghur poets, silencing their voices, and banning their works is fundamentally an attempt to erase Uyghur language and culture.