UHRP Calls for Accountability Three Years After Deadly Ürümchi Fire

For immediate release
November 24, 2025, 5:00 p.m. EST
Contact: Omer Kanat, +1 (202) 790-1795

On the third anniversary of the deadly Ürümchi fire, the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) honors the memory of the victims and urges the Chinese government to hold those responsible accountable, and to release those detained for participating in the “White Paper” protests that followed.

“Three years after the Ürümchi fire, we mourn the Uyghur lives lost to a disaster intensified by government-imposed restrictions and disregard for basic safety,” said UHRP Executive Director Omer Kanat. “The Chinese authorities must free all detained protesters and end the repression that still confines and endangers Uyghurs across East Turkistan.”

A November 24, 2022 fire in a residential high-rise in Ürümchi claimed the lives of dozens of Uyghurs after residents were reportedly unable to escape due to stringent Covid-19 lockdown measures. Government-imposed restrictions and physical obstacles are widely believed to have magnified the scale of the tragedy.

The widespread protests that erupted across China in the aftermath were a rare expression of public frustration with the government’s harsh “zero-Covid” policies and a call for freedom of movement and expression. An unknown number of protestors were detained. Some, including Uyghur student Kamile Wayit, remain in detention.

As the world reflects on the Ürümchi fire three years on, UHRP calls on governments and human rights advocates to continue pressing for accountability, transparency, and the protection of fundamental freedoms for Uyghurs.