伊克拉木・努尔买买提 (Ikram Nurmehmet), born in 1991, is a Uyghur independent film director and producer from Urumqi, Xinjiang. He studied film and television at Marmara University in Turkey from 2010 to 2016, then returned to China and settled in Beijing, where he made short documentaries and narrative shorts, including works shown at the FIRST International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
On May 29, 2023, he was detained by Urumqi police and taken back to Xinjiang. He was tried by the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court in October 2023 on charges of organizing, leading, or participating in a terrorist organization, and in January 2024 was sentenced in a secret judgment to six years and six months in prison, with a term running to January 28, 2030. At trial he said he had been held in a dark room for 20 days and tortured into a false confession. His family was denied the right to appoint counsel, and a state-appointed lawyer represented him. Human Rights Watch has called the charges politically motivated and urged his immediate release.
He is listed in the August 31, 2026 monthly report on political prisoners in mainland China published by the Rights Defense Network (维权网).
Identity note: His case should not be confused with that of Maiwulani Nuermaimaiti (买吾拉尼•努尔买买提), a different Uyghur man covered by Amnesty International in 2020.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, October 21, 2024; The Guardian, November 8, 2023; China File, July 2025; CHRD Political Prisoner Database; Rights Defense Network Issue 131 monthly report, 2026-08-31.
Media and documentation archive: Media and documentation archive for 伊克拉木・努尔买买提 (Ikram Nurmehmet)