The murders of two Uyghur men — one in California, United States and another in Tashkent, Uzbekistan — have underscored a sobering reality: physical distance from Xinjiang (referred to as East Turkestan by many native Uyghurs) no longer insulates members of the diaspora from violence, according to a detailed report published in The Diplomat magazine.

The Two Killings

On 29 July, Shukur Aikebaer was abducted and killed outside his home in California by two individuals reportedly identified as Zhengfeng Bo and Jianquan Bo. Zhengfeng Bo was shot and killed by police during the abduction. Investigators have not publicly established a motive or released detailed information about the suspects.

The incident drew immediate comparisons to a July 2024 case in Uzbekistan, where Ablehet Qahar, a Uyghur historian, was killed in his apartment in Tashkent. According to the report, that case was, in the words of the author, 'quietly swept under the rug,' and Qahar's residence was subsequently barricaded while his entire collection of Uyghur historical materials disappeared.

Transnational Repression — and Its Proxy Form

Zilala Mamat, Vice President of the Uyghur American Association and founder of United Uyghur Youth, writing in The Diplomat, argued that conventional analyses of transnational repression — focused on a state's direct tools such as intelligence services, cyber surveillance, and diplomatic pressure — miss a broader and more dangerous pattern.

'China's growing political and economic influence appears to be producing a different dynamic, one in which repression is carried out also through the institutions of partner governments. It is, in effect, a form of transnational repression by proxy,' Mamat wrote.

Over the past decade, reports of harassment, surveillance, threats to family members, and attempted deportations targeting Uyghurs abroad have grown significantly, according to the report.

Central Asia's Shifting Role

Central Asia — historically home to one of the world's largest Uyghur diasporas and a custodian of Uyghur language and culture — has become a pressure point. Roughly half of the economic corridors within China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) run through Central Asian territory, making Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan strategically critical for Beijing's global connectivity ambitions.

That economic dependency, the report argues, has inclined Central Asian governments to accommodate Chinese concerns — including those related to Uyghur communities on their soil. The result is a regional environment increasingly hostile to Uyghur activists, historians, and community leaders who once considered these countries a refuge.

Broader Policy Implications

Mamat's analysis contends that Western governments have historically treated China's human rights record and its geopolitical rise as two separate policy challenges. The pattern emerging from Central Asia, she argues, suggests they are the same challenge.

'If policymakers fail to recognise that connection, they risk confronting China's repression where it begins rather than where it is already taking hold,' she wrote.

Separately, the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) in March expressed serious concern over reports that Uyghurs in Xinjiang faced restrictions during Ramadan, with several individuals allegedly arrested for observing religious practices. Citing Radio Free Asia's Uyghur Service, the WUC stated that on 27 February, police in China's Hotan Prefecture — across villages including Bulaq Chorgey, Bash Chapal, Dul Tugman, and Korgan — arrested six Uyghurs allegedly for 'secretly fasting' during Ramadan.

As international scrutiny of Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs intensifies, the two diaspora killings are likely to sharpen calls for coordinated policy responses that account for China's expanding extraterritorial reach.