During the reporting period, OHCHR received allegations of intimidation against Mr. Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur linguist and activist, during his participation in the Second International Conference on Language Technologies for All, co-organized by UNESCO, the European Language Resources Association, and its Special Interest Group on Under-resourced Languages, and held at UNESCO’s Headquarters between 24 and 26 February 2025.
25. According to information received by OHCHR, on 24 February 2025, the first day of the conference, Mr. Ayup intervened twice in the plenary during the question and answer segments. He reportedly raised concerns regarding the situation of the Uyghur language in the country. Following his public interventions, he was allegedly approached by unidentified individuals, who challenged his views and inquired about the whereabouts of his family. When Mr. Ayup stated that his siblings were detained, possibly in prison facilities following earlier internment, the individuals challenged this statement and referred to the siblings as “terrorists”. 26. Later on 24 February 2025, the Organizing Committee informed Mr. Ayup via email that they were unable to secure approval to include his “poster” presentation in the program of the following day. Nevertheless, on 25 February 2025, Mr. Ayup proceeded to deliver his presentation informally at the conference, during which he was reportedly filmed without his consent by an unknown individual. Mr. Ayup was reportedly being followed and at times filmed during his participation in the conference by an unknown individual.