Prominent Uyghur activist and former World Uyghur Congress (WUC) President Dolkun Isa was detained, denied entry and deported by Moroccan authorities on 20 July 2026, just as he arrived in Casablanca to attend the International Religious Freedom Summit. Held overnight for approximately 15 hours with little explanation, Isa was handed a written notification from Morocco’s Ministry of Interior and General Directorate of National Security stating that a decision prohibits his entry to Moroccan territory. He was subsequently deported to Germany and prevented from attending the conference. The incident underscores how authoritarian governments misuse international police and security mechanisms to target political dissidents and human rights defenders abroad and raises urgent questions about Morocco’s compliance with China’s extraterritorial repression
A Pattern of Transnational Repression
An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued against Isa in 1997 following allegations submitted by the Chinese government. After years of advocacy by lawyers and international organizations, particularly Fair Trials, the notice was deleted in 2018. Nevertheless, its consequences have continued to affect his international travel and human rights work. Over the years, Isa has faced visa cancellations, entry denials, questioning and detention in several countries, including South Korea, India and Türkiye. He was also prevented from entering United Nations premises in New York and Geneva while attending accredited meetings. In 2017, he was forced to leave the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues without explanation, despite being an accredited participant.
“Once Again I Was Proved Wrong”
“I believed I would be able to travel to Morocco to attend a religious freedom conference without difficulty, but once again I was proved wrong,” Isa said following his deportation. His case reflects a wider pattern in which authoritarian governments misuse international police and security mechanisms to target political dissidents and human rights defenders abroad. The WUC has condemned the incident as part of a broader campaign of transnational repression against Uyghur activists. In 2021, Reporters Without Borders urged Morocco not to extradite Uyghur journalist Yidiresi Aishan to China, citing the risk of torture highlighting the kingdom’s repeated role in China’s global persecution network.
China’s New Legal Weapon: Article 63
The timing of this incident is especially alarming, coming only weeks after Article 63 of China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress entered into force on 1 July 2026. Article 63 provides that organizations and individuals outside China who engage in activities directed against China that “undermine ethnic unity and progress or create ethnic division” may be held legally liable under Chinese law. Its vague and explicitly extraterritorial wording risks providing the Chinese government with a new legal pretext to target Uyghur activists, human rights defenders, journalists and organizations operating outside China.
Defending Dissidents Beyond Borders
Dolkun Isa’s deportation is not an isolated incident it is a symptom of a growing global crisis in which authoritarian regimes weaponize international institutions and bilateral relationships to silence critics abroad. As China’s new Ethnic Unity Law expands its extraterritorial reach, the threat to Uyghur activists and human rights defenders operating in democratic spaces intensifies. The WUC urges Germany, the European Union, the United Nations and international human rights organizations to raise this case with Moroccan authorities and demand stronger protections for Uyghur activists facing transnational repression. The world must act now before the borders of authoritarianism expand further