After sending clothes food to Turkish relatives, Urumqi Ujgur's mother and three daughters were arrested in a row.

In July 2026, Urumqi, a mother of a Uighur family and three daughters, were arrested by police.Radio Free AsiaThe eldest daughter, Gulenul Kamil, who lives in Turkey, said that her family had previously sent her clothes, shoe hats, spices and packaged food, but the police investigated the alleged cross-border connections of "supporting terrorists".

A batch of ordinary living supplies to become the entry point for national security investigation

Gillian saidShe emigrated to Turkey in 2016 and her family helped her do small business and raise children by sending everyday goods. Her sister, Guri Janet, who was in charge of packing the goods, was imprisoned in a “re-education” facility between 2018 and 2020 and partially paralyzed by an accident. Her mother, Bahaguli Tooti, Guri Janet and her adoptive daughter, Guri Pell, were taken away on 4 July, and another sister, Guri Kamili, was arrested a week later.

The family said the police had asked them to lead the officers to the stores where they bought the goods and the logistics companies they used, and to collect blood samples, take photos of the front, side and back. Gurinour told RFA that the family had not shipped the goods to her for more than a year, and that the transaction had logistics and receipt records.

“These are just ordinary everyday stuff,” Gurinour told RFA, who believes the police are interpreting ordinary business and family ties with Turkish relatives as security risks.

The list of “sensitive countries” makes overseas relatives themselves a risk factor

Previous Human Rights Watch studies showIf Xinjiang Uyghurs travel to countries considered “sensitive” by Chinese authorities, have local relatives or maintain communication contacts, they have faced interrogation, detention and even punishment.

This governance logic has resulted in a direct collision between normal cross-border family relationships and the national security system. When sending, sending money, visiting relatives or communications can be reinterpreted as political risks, the private life between overseas Uighurs and relatives in Xinjiang is in fact under continuous monitoring.

* Detention occurred after the entry into force of the Law on the Promotion of National Solidarity and Progress

RFA statedThe arrests took place days after China's new National Unity and Progress Promotion Act came into force on July 1.The official narrative supporting the law highlighted the Chinese community awareness and strengthening national unity; critics feared that it would further strengthen the policy of assimilation and legalize the state's supervision of ethnic, religious, linguistic and cross-border ties.

There is still an important information gap in the case: Chinese police do not disclose the specific legal terms and evidence faced by the four women, nor can the public court records confirm whether they have been formally arrested or prosecuted. At this stage, claims about “supporting terrorists” mainly come from family members referring to the content of the police interrogation, so they should be distinguished from criminal charges that have been confirmed by the court.

Focus on China Watch: Anti-terrorism power could be safeguarded without independent judicial constraints

Over the past decade, Xinjiang’s governance has shown that anti-terrorism, anti-extremism, ethnic policy and large-scale digital surveillance can together constitute a security system that covers everyday life.The Chinese government says these policies maintain social stability and combat violent terrorist activities; UN human rights agencies and international human rights organizations have recorded serious issues such as arbitrary detention, religious restriction, and family separation.

What this family’s encounter reveals is more than just a case-by-case detention. When police can incorporate ordinary family shipments and links to overseas relatives into “supporting terrorism” investigations, and the outside world can’t access public evidence and independent judicial review, it’s difficult for citizens to know in advance what daily behavior will trigger the national security machine. The stronger the anti-terrorism power, the more important is the disclosure of evidence, procedural security and judicial balance for any rule of law system.