Mergan Ghappar

Merdan Ghappar is a Chinese model and a prisoner of Uyghur heritage. He became known for his internment in one of China's Xinjiang internment camps in 2020. Merdan managed to smuggle video footage and text messages from his internment camp to family members in Europe, who then passed the material on to the press. , his status was unknown.

Childhood and early career Merdan was born in Kucha, Xinjiang, China. He studied dance at Xinjiang Arts University before moving to Eastern China in 2009, eventually finding work as a model for online marketplace Taobao in Foshan.

Detentions since 2018 Merdan lived in Foshan until 30 July 2018, when he was arrested and charged with "selling five grams of marijuana" by the Nanhai District Court of Foshan in South China's Guangdong Province. Evidence shows that he was not suspected of any further offense.

Merdan 's messages continued for several days before ceasing. , his status is unknown.

Government reactions In a fax released in early August 2020, Chinese authorities claimed that Merdan had been detained due to a risk of self harm and due to aggressive actions against police officers. University of Colorado anthropologist Darren Byler described the official reaction as an example of "victim blaming that is often used by the police when caught using excessive force".

Media attention Ruth Smeeth, chief executive officer of Index on Censorship, cited the media attention to Merdan's detention as an example justifying freedom of the press, online social media and "global news coverage".