Gulchehra Hoja

Gulchehra "Guli" A. Hoja (born 1973) is a Uyghur–American journalist who has worked for Radio Free Asia since 2001. In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang and in 2020, Hoja received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation and was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.

Early life Hoja was born in 1973 in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Her writing focused on Uyghur language and history and his archeological work included field work on mummies found in the Tarim Basin. and China Central Television.

In 2001, while on vacation in Austria, Hoja accessed the internet for the first time and learned about the activities of the Uyghur activists outside of China.

In 2017 Hoja was accused of being a terrorist by the Chinese government and placed on the Most Wanted list. Her brother was also arrested at this time and placed in one of the Xinjiang internment camps due to Hoja's reporting. Three days later on January 31, twenty-five members of Hoja's family were summoned to local police stations in Xinjiang and detained due to their connection with Hoja.

In April 2021, videos were released of Hoja's mother and brother in which they claim to be leading normal lives and criticize Hoja's reporting.

Accolades In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang.

In 2020, Hoja was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.

In 2020, Hoja received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation.

Personal life Hoja lives in Woodbridge, Virginia with her husband and three children.