Uyghur American Urges Trump to Seek Release of Imprisoned Mother at Xi Summit
Ziba Murat appeals to President Trump to advocate for her mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, who has been imprisoned in China for eight years on what her daughter calls fabricated charges.
An American woman whose mother has been imprisoned in China for eight years is appealing to President Donald Trump to seek clemency for her during his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Ziba Murat's mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was arrested in September 2018, shortly after her sister, Rushan Abbas, spoke out about the treatment of Uyghurs in China.
Chinese government officials confirmed Abbas' conviction in December 2018 on charges of participating in organized terrorism, aiding terrorist activities, and disrupting social order. Murat describes these charges as fabricated. Dr. Abbas, a retired doctor, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
"We are doing everything we can to bring this in front of President Trump, and I know that if he knows about this case, he will care about this case," Murat told Fox News Digital. "I hope we are pulling the right levers and President Trump can bring her home."
Rushan Abbas, Ziba Murat's aunt, leads the nonprofit advocacy group Campaign for Uyghurs. The case has drawn attention from lawmakers, with House Speaker Mike Johnson inviting Murat to the 2026 State of the Union address as his guest.
Despite advocacy efforts, securing Dr. Abbas' release has been challenging due to the opaque nature of the Chinese government and ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China on issues such as trade and intellectual property theft.
Murat shared the emotional toll of her mother's absence, noting that her own daughter, who was three months old when Dr. Abbas disappeared, is now eight and beginning to ask about her grandmother. "Where is grandma?" the child recently asked after seeing a photograph.
Murat has been telling her daughter that her grandmother is far away and that they hope she can visit soon, but the child's questions indicate she is beginning to understand the gravity of the situation. "Even without me telling her, she started to pick up things and It just breaks my heart to see her, and I don't have answer to provide her. on when her grandma will be home. So it's very frustrating."
A senior White House official confirmed that Trump is expected to raise the issue of prisoner releases with Xi, including the case of U.S. citizen Dr. Youlin Chen, who was arrested in 2024. The extent to which Dr. Abbas' case might be specifically addressed remains uncertain.
