Ye’erjiang Huaxi (叶尔江·胡阿西) is an ethnic Kazakh Muslim from Gongliu County in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. He served as the imam — the prayer leader — of the mosque in Alemale Village, Jiergelang Township, Gongliu County.
According to 维权网 (Rights Defense Network), in March 2018 township police detained Huaxi after he and fellow Muslims from his village mosque celebrated the annual Nowruz festival — the traditional Turkic new year — including Islamic worship rituals. Five other Muslims from the mosque were detained at the same time, and all six were sent to a local “re-education camp,” after which contact with them was lost.
In 2019, Gongliu County police formally arrested the six on suspicion of “illegal assembly” and “spreading improper religion,” and the county procuratorate prosecuted them in the Gongliu County Court. In February–March 2019 the six were tried in secret and sentenced to between 18 and 21 years for “illegal assembly” and “illegally spreading religion.” Huaxi received the heaviest term: 21 years in prison, reported to run to March 2039. 维权网 reported that he was serving the sentence at Xinyuan Prison in Xinyuan County, Ili Prefecture.
In its August 2026 monthly report, 维权网 listed Huaxi as the only person in its 21-year-sentence group among the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience it reports as currently in custody.
Sources: 维权网, “获刑21年的哈萨克族新疆伊犁州巩留县吉尔格郎乡阿勒玛勒村清真寺伊玛目叶尔江•胡阿西的案情及简介” (September 6, 2022); 维权网 Issue 131 monthly prisoner report (August 31, 2026). Case details are attributed to 维权网’s reporting; no official court document for this case is publicly available.
Media profile & archive: Ye’erjiang Huaxi (叶尔江·胡阿西) — Media Profile & Archive