Case Details and Biography of Berzat Bolathan, a Kazakh Citizen from Tacheng, Xinjiang, Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison

（Report by the Information Center of the Rights Defense Network）On March 30, 2026，this website learned the case details and biography of Berzat Bolathan·a Kazakh citizen from Tacheng, Xinjiang, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison，and reports them as follows：

Berzat Bolathan·Born on April 29, 1985，his Kazakh name is Berzat Bolathan，also transliterated as Berzate·Boratkhan，he is from Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region，a resident of Narenqiahan Kule Village, Jiele Agaishi Town, Emin County, Tacheng Prefecture，he is a farmer and carpenter by profession, and a conscience prisoner detained in China。

From childhood, he was solitary by nature，as an adult he neither drank nor smoked，nor argued with his elder brother，so in the eyes of his elder brother and family he was both shy and modest；later, his elder brother went to Kazakhstan to study abroad，studying painting at an art academy，but he himself was always willing to stay behind，living with and caring for his elderly, chronically ill father；during this period, he went to Kazakhstan twice to visit his elder brother，but that was all，and generally did not travel outside often，instead, like his father, he was a farmer who mainly grew wheat，with carpentry as a sideline，managing his family farm and workshop；in April 2017，he was suddenly taken away by police from the Emin County Public Security Bureau while he was processing timber in his workshop，and sent to a detention center（in fact, an education and training center/concentration camp）for detention；his father went to the Public Security Bureau to ask about the reason and circumstances，but the authorities told his father not to worry，claiming that “he may be released very soon”，because “there are already too many people inside”；but he was not released thereafter，and instead remained in custody，until his father finally received accurate information that he had been formally arrested in 2018 after being accused of “extremism”，and that in the same year he was ultimately sentenced by a certain court under the Tacheng authorities in Xinjiang to 17 years in prison on charges resembling “religious extremism” and “possession of religious books”，with his sentence running until 2034＊

Regarding his arrest and harsh sentence，neither his father nor his brother knows the process by which he was tried，and his family is certain that he normally did not pray at all，nor did he believe in religion，and there was not even a copy of the Quran at home；another source said that his arrest and sentencing may have been related to his having discussed on WeChat（WeChat）the possibility of moving to Kazakhstan；in addition，because he was extremely introverted and never caused trouble，and although he had briefly married, he divorced the following year，his family to this day continues to ask about and question the true reason for his detention and sentencing；it is learned that his family’s visitation rights were once denied，but after long-term applications and appeals by his elder brother，his elderly father eventually managed to visit him several times，though each visit required bribing prison guards，and he also had to pay for his meals, ranging from as little as 200 yuan to as much as 100 U.S. dollars（the reason for the currency difference is unclear）；his health is poor in prison，and when visiting him, his father always has to bring medication to alleviate his illnesses。He is currently serving his sentence at Usu Prison in Xinjiang.