Turkish police have detained Akide İsmail, a 33-year-old Uyghur mother of two, at her Istanbul home and moved her to a removal centre. Her family fears she could be sent to China, where Uyghurs face severe persecution. The case adds to mounting criticism of Turkey’s treatment of Uyghurs and of Beijing’s pressure on countries that host them.
What happened to Akide İsmail
According to the Uygur Haber news website, as relayed by the Stockholm Center for Freedom, plainclothes police detained İsmail at her home in İstanbul’s Sefaköy district on Tuesday. She held a valid residence permit. Her family says police gave no reason. Reports have not named the removal centre where she is held
İsmail was born in Aksu in Xinjiang. She works as a Quran teacher in Sefaköy and is the main provider for her two children and two younger brothers. One child reportedly has a kidney condition. It is unclear whether a deportation order exists or what legal grounds are being used. Turkey’s Yeni Şafak reported that officials had given no formal explanation, and that her family wants the detention clarified quickly so she can return to her children.
A pattern of pressure on Uyghurs in Turkey
Turkey hosts an estimated 50,000 Uyghurs, the world’s largest Uyghur diaspora. Many fled Xinjiang, where rights groups and UN experts have described mass arbitrary detention, torture and other abuses as possible crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch reported in November 2025 that Turkey was increasingly restricting Uyghurs’ legal residency. It described opaque “restriction codes” and detention in degrading conditions. It also said detainees were pressured to sign “voluntary return” forms, which can lead to removal to third countries that have extradition agreements with China. One interviewee was deported to the United Arab Emirates.
Le Monde, citing the HRW investigation, reported at least five attempted deportations and news reports of 33 Uyghurs held in Turkish detention centres between December 2018 and October 2025. It said Turkey maintains it has never directly deported Uyghurs to China.
The treaty and the legal principle
A Turkey–China extradition treaty, signed in 2017, has not been ratified by Turkey’s parliament. Critics fear it could be used against the diaspora. Voice of America reported that Turkish and Chinese officials dismissed claims that the treaty opens a route for deporting Uyghurs.
Rights groups say sending Uyghurs to China would breach non-refoulement, the principle barring return to places where people face a real risk of persecution or torture. HRW urged Ankara to stop deporting Uyghurs to third countries and to recognise them as refugees on a prima facie basis.
Why this matters
Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs is the root of the danger. A woman with legal residence, a job teaching the Quran and two dependent children should not face possible return to a state accused of crimes against humanity. Turkey should publish the legal basis for İsmail’s detention, give her access to a lawyer and her family and rule out any removal to China or a third country.
The Chinese government has rejected the allegations of abuse in Xinjiang. Yet the fear in Uyghur communities abroad shows how far its pressure reaches. Neither Ankara nor Beijing had publicly commented on İsmail’s case in the sources reviewed.