The Tangled Politics Keeping a Uyghur Man in Limbo

Season 1, Episode 8

This week we’ll hear from Annie Hylton. For the March/April issue of The Walrus, Hylton takes a look at the complex case of Ayoob Mohammed. 

Mohammed is Uyghur—a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group that has faced persecution in China. Recently, Canada’s Parliament labelled China’s treatment of Uyghurs “genocide.” 

While escaping from China in 2001, Mohammed found himself in Afghanistan on the eve of 9/11. In the chaos that ensued, he was sold for bounty to US forces and sent to Guantánamo Bay.

US officials maintained that Mohammed was a member of the Eastern Turkistan Independence Movement, allegedly a Uyghur terrorist group, though this may have been part of an attempt to secure China’s support for the war on terror.

Hylton takes listeners through Mohammed’s long journey from his birthplace in China to Guantánamo Bay to Albania, where he remains after two rejected attempts to join his family in Canada.

Hylton is an independent investigative journalist and writer from Saskatchewan who is now based in Paris, where she is an associate professor at Sciences Po. She won a gold National Magazine Award for her 2020 long-form feature “Searching for Mackie,” which was published in The Walrus. 

We hear Hylton discuss Uyghur culture and the persecution the group has faced in China.

Hylton talks about Ayoob Mohammed and his early life in Xinjiang. 

She then explains how 9/11 threw the region into turmoil and led to Mohammed being imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. 

She then talks about how she came across and reported Mohammed’s story. 

Hylton then shares what she is currently watching right now. 

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Endless Exile: The Tangled Politics Keeping a Uyghur Man in Limbo 

• How can I help Ukraine? Resources and tips for Canadians
• Article Club 
• My Son Peed Onscreen in a Zoom Call, and Other Tales of a Working Parent

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Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab; “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music; “Lightless,” “Floating Cities,” “Shores of Avalon,” and “Comfortable Mystery” by Kevin MacLeod, provided by Film Music. 

Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3982-lightless-dawn

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3765-floating-cities

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Shores of Avalon by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4349-shores-of-avalon

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Comfortable Mystery by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3531-comfortable-mystery

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Additional sources: Global News on YouTube.