Babur Mexsut is known to the Swedish and world Uyghur community as a loyal member of the movement. He was arrested, in fact, shortly after returning from a meeting of the World Uyghur Congress (Dunya Uyghur Quriltiyi) in Washington, DC, where he was a guest. Babur Mexsut appears in photographs that show him at rallies holding the blue-and-white East Turkestani flag. Radio Free Asia, which has based its research on rumors from the Uyghur community and interviews with some of its members, that Babur Mexsut is a long-time friend of several prominent members of the Congress. Dilshat Rishit, a frequent spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress who traveled with Babur to Washington, DC, described him as a typical older gentleman, very friendly and welcoming, who acted his age. Babur, said Dilshat Rishit, had never mentioned anything to him about working for the PRC and made comments to him about his desire to work more for the Uyghur cause during his retirement.

According to several individuals interviewed by Radio Free Asia, however, Babur was not above suspicion. Maynur, the head of the Swedish Uyghur Organization, was the first to reveal Babur Mexsut’s identity publicly. She expressed feelings of relief at the vindication of her community’s long-held suspicions of Babur. Maynur urged patience, however, on the part of the world Uyghur community.

More damning is the testimonial of Abdurishit Haji Kerimi, an old acquaintance of Babur, whom he met in Kashgar in the 1990s. According to Kerimi, Babur disappeared the day after the conference. Later, Babur borrowed Kerimi’s cellular phone, as his own was not working, to make several calls. When Kerimi inspected the numbers Babur had dialed, he found several calls to China and to Urumchi, as well as some to the very Chinese embassy in Washington, DC in front of which they had been protesting.

Radio Free Asia has been especially aggressive in seeking out evidence against Babur Mexsut’s character, as well as of the crimes of which he is accused. RFA journalists seem to be looking for any evidence of deviance in Babur’s behavior during the conference. On 19 June, RFA revealed, that Rabiye Kadeer refused Babur’s offer of a donation of 100
000 Euros. The organization also contacted several very old acquaintances of Babur, now living abroad. Their interviews, together with information offered by Kerimi, give us a sense of Babur Mexsut’s biography, albeit one in an unflattering light. The following depicts Babur as a lifelong outsider, just the sort of lonely young man who finds his home with the state.

Babur Mexsut, one of ten children, was born in 1948 in Lanzhou, the son of a Uyghur fruit seller from Kashgar and a Hui (Dungan) woman from Lanzhou. Although his father was poorly-educated, he was of Turkic nationalist inclinations. Soon after Babur was born, the family moved with a group of Uyghurs to Tianjin, where Babur was raised. Babur Mexsut was educated in Chinese and spoke little to no Uyghur, a language he has apparently not grasped fully to this day. (In this light, the early suggestion by RFA that the accused spy was a Uyghur with fluent Chinese may have already identified him to the community.) He kept his distance from other children, preferring the company of adults. In 1969, when Babur was 21, his father, in his sixties, moved the family to Khotan. Babur, it seems, followed in his father’s footsteps, mostly engaging in light trade. When he met Kerimi in Kashgar, he still spoke mostly in Chinese. Eventually, in 1997, Babur made his way to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, whence he moved to Sweden. His younger sister, it seems, wanted to move from Xinjiang to Sweden to live with him, a plan he rejected. Babur apparently resembles his father.

Babur Mexsut’s court date has been rescheduled for 2 July, partly because this is an international problem and partly because it has been difficult to find a lawyer.

Investigations into the accusations of espionage have prompted Sweden to expel one Chinese diplomat. In response, the PRC has expelled a member of the Swedish embassy staff. Neither country has officially confirmed this. The Swedish spokesman, in response to a question from Agence France Presse, did confirm that there had been mutual expulsions, but would not confirm with which country. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, when questioned by another AFP journalist, pretended to have no idea what the reporter was talking about.

Sources:

18 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) ﺷﯟﯦﺘﺴﯩﻴﯩﺪﯨﻜﻰ ﺋﯘﻳﻐﯘﺭ ﺟﺎﺳﯘﺱ ﮔﯘﻣﺎﻧﺪﺍﺭﯨﻨﯩﯔ ﺋﯩﺴﻤﻰ ﺋﺎﺷﻜﺎﺭﯨﻼﻧﺪﻯ

18 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) ﺟﺎﺳﯘﺱ ﮔﯘﻣﺎﻧﺪﺍﺭﻯ ﺑﺎﺑﯘﺭ ﻣﻪﺧﺴﯘﺕ ﻫﻪﻗﻘﯩﺪﻩ ﻣﻪﻟﯘﻣﺎﺗﻼﺭ 1

22 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) ﺟﺎﺳﯘﺱ ﮔﯘﻣﺎﻧﺪﺍﺭﻯ ﺑﺎﺑﯘﺭ ﻣﻪﺧﺴﯘﺕ ﻫﻪﻗﻘﯩﺪﻩ ﻣﻪﻟﯘﻣﺎﺗﻼﺭ 2

22 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) ﺟﺎﺳﯘﺱ ﮔﯘﻣﺎﻧﺪﺍﺭﻯ ﺑﺎﺑﯘﺭ ﻣﻪﺧﺴﯘﺕ ﺭﺍﺑﯩﻴﻪ ﻗﺎﺩﯨﺮ ﺧﺎﻧﯩﻤﻐﺎ 100 ﻣﯩﯔ ﻳﺎﯞﺭﻭ ﻳﺎﺭﺩﻩﻡ ﺗﻪﻛﻠﯩﭙﻰ ﺳﯘﻧﻐﺎﻥ

22 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) ﺷﯟﯦﺘﺴﯩﻴﻪ ‘ ﺑﺎﺑﯘﺭ ﺟﺎﺳﯘﺳﻠﯘﻕ ﯞﻩﻗﻪﺳﻰ’ ﮔﻪ ﭼﯧﺘﯩﺸﻠﯩﻖ ﺧﯩﺘﺎﻱ ﺩﯨﭙﻠﻮﻣﺎﺗﯩﻨﻰ ﭼﯩﮕﺮﯨﺪﯨﻦ ﻗﻮﻏﻼﭖ ﭼﯩﻘﺎﺭﻏﺎﻥ

22 June 2009 (The Local) Sweden Expels Chinese Diplomat: Report

24 June 2009 (联合报网) 传瑞典驱逐 涉谍报中国外交官 中国以牙还牙

24 June 2009 (Sina) 瑞典被指驅逐中國外交官

According to statements by a Säpo Chief Inspector, the suspect’s activities, conducted from January 2008 through June 2009, were not limited to Sweden. In Sweden, he is accused of being responsible for collecting information on Uyghur immigrants on behalf of the Chinese government. Sweden is home to a vibrant Uyghur community, including Küresh Kösen, who passed away in 2006, and more recently Adel Hakimjan, formerly a Guantánamo detainee and resident of Albania, who received asylum earlier this year. The historical connections between Sweden and Xinjiang run long and deep, and knowledge about Xinjiang is widespread in Sweden.

Formal charges must be leveled against the suspect by 18 June, at which time we should know more about the situation. In the meantime, Radio Free Asia, which makes a point of the suspect’s fluent Chinese, has been receiving calls from members of the Swedish Uyghur community reporting various unspecified suspicions about the man’s identity.

We may speculate more sympathetically, perhaps, about the man’s motives. It is, of course, entirely possible that this individual was sent by the PRC some years ago to keep tabs on members of the Uyghur community, that he is a mole and a shill for the Chinese state. I wonder, though, if he does not have family in Xinjiang, family who may be unable to follow him and whom the Public Security Bureau might harm if he does not follow their orders. It would be remarkable, I suppose, for someone who has spied in several countries to be a minor player in a larger game. It is worth noting, however, that he is accused of spying only over the course of the past year and six months. Do people usually begin their intelligence careers at the age of 59 or 60? Rather, I think that he is a typical example of “refugee espionage”: someone who is blackmailed into spying for their home country. It seems that this is a common problem in Sweden, and it is sad to see that a country that has accepted so many people in need has also taken on so many security risks, as well.

The New Dominion will keep you updated.

Sources:

8 June 2009 (Radio Free Asia) “Sweden arrests Uyghur who spied for China”

6 June 2009 (The Local) “‘Refugee spy’ remanded into custody”

4 June 2009 (The Local) “Security police arrest ‘refugee spy’“

In the article, Adel recounts his interrogation by Chinese personnel brought into Guantanamo, probably as part of a deal to gain a Chinese UN Security Council vote in favor of the Iraq War. The accounts squares with what he have heard before.

Adel Hakimjan’s lawyer, Sten de Geer, argues that Albania is an inappropriate country for his asylum, as he did not himself choose Albania, but rather was sent there. One wonders, if de Geer’s argument prevails, what the implications for the other Uyghurs in Albania might be. Could an organization in, for example, Canada invite one for a talk, then assist him in seeking refugee status there? The Uyghur men left in Albania are in no apparent danger, but they risk spending their lives in limbo, in continued detention. Is this enough to grant asylum?