The Uyghur Center for Democracy and Human Rights (UZDM) strongly condemns the detention, denial of entry, and deportation of our President Dolkun Isa by Moroccan authorities.
To attend the International Religious Freedom Summit, Mr. Dolkun Isa travelled to Casablanca on 20 July 2026. When he arrived at Casablanca, he was stopped by the immigration authorities and subjected to a secondary screening. Ultimately, he was detained for approximately 15 hours and deported to Germany, unable to attend the conference.
He was given a written notice from Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior and General Directorate of National Security informing him that a decision had been issued barring him from entering Moroccan territory.
An INTERPOL Red Notice was issued against Mr. Dolkun Isa in 1997 based on allegations submitted by the Chinese government. For more than two decades, the notice had significant implications for his freedom of movement, exposing him to the risk of detention, questioning, and travel restrictions whenever he crossed international borders. Following sustained advocacy by Fair Trials, the Red Notice was officially deleted in 2018. Despite its removal, the consequences of the Red Notice have persisted. Mr. Dolkun Isa has continued to experience difficulties with international travel, including heightened scrutiny and administrative obstacles. Mr. Dolkun Isa’s case has become an example of the lasting impact of the politically motivated INTERPOL notices, even after they have been deleted.
Over the years, Mr. Dolkun Isa has faced travel restrictions such as visa cancellations, refusal of entry, questioning by the authorities, and detention in several countries, including South Korea, India, and Italy. In addition, he was denied access to United Nations premises in both New York and Geneva while attempting to attend meetings for which he had been duly accredited.
“I believed I would be able to travel to Morocco to attend a human rights conference without difficulty, but once again I was proved wrong,” stated Mr. Dolkun Isa. “Governments that act on politically motivated or outdated information risk becoming complicit in China’s transnational repression.”
This incident is especially concerning following the entry into force of Article 63 of China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress on 1 July 2026. The provision allows China to pursue organisations and individuals abroad for vaguely defined acts that allegedly “undermine ethnic unity” or “create ethnic division.” While there is no public evidence that Morocco acted under Article 63, Mr. Isa’s detention highlights the growing risk of China using domestic law to justify transnational repression.
In response to Mr. Dolkun Isa’s detention and deportation, the UZDM urges the Moroccan government to clarify the grounds for these decisions. The UZDM also requests the Moroccan authorities to explain if these decisions have been affected in any way by the Chinese government.
The UZDM also appeals to the German government, the United Nations, the European Union, and international human rights organisations to engage with the Moroccan authorities regarding Mr. Dolkun Isa’s case and necessary measures to implement to protect human rights activists from transnational repression.