Daughter of Chinese Uyghur prisoner makes emotional plea to Trump during spotlight Xi summit

Ziba Murat is asking President Donald Trump to press Chinese leader Xi Jinping for her mother's release during their high-profile summit this week. Murat's mother, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, a retired physician, vanished from her home in China on September 10, 2018. Chinese officials announced that December that Abbas had been convicted of participating in organized terrorism, aiding terrorist activity and disrupting social order, and sentenced to 20 years in prison — charges Murat calls fabricated, insisting her mother was never political, according to Fox News.

The family believes the timing was retaliation: Abbas disappeared six days after her sister, Rushan Abbas, spoke publicly about Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs. Rushan Abbas heads Campaign for Uyghurs, a nonprofit advocating for the ethnic group. Murat said it took nearly two years just to learn where her mother was being held.

The case has drawn attention from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has advocated for Abbas' release and hosted Murat as his guest at the 2026 State of the Union address. Still, securing her freedom has proven difficult amid China's secrecy and broader U.S.-China friction over trade and intellectual property. Murat told Fox News Digital she believes Trump would act if he were made aware of the case, and is hopeful Thursday's meeting between the two leaders might ease tensions enough to bring her mother closer to release.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →