(Bloomberg) -- Authorities in Xinjiang have detained an outspoken ethnic minority activist, scholar Rune Steenberg said, adding to persistent concerns over human-rights abuses in the far western Chinese region. 

Zhanargül Zhumatay, an ethnic Kazakh musician who advocated for the rights of herders, was taken by state security police from her sister’s house in the outskirts of Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi on Friday, according to Steenberg, a postdoctoral researcher and Xinjiang expert affiliated with Palacky University Olomouc in the Czech Republic. 

Steenberg had been in almost daily contact with Zhumatay since the beginning of this year. After failing to reach Zhumatay in recent days, he called her mother’s phone and finally reached her siblings, who confirmed the details of their sister’s detention. 

Zhumatay faced “discrimination and constant security checks,” since recently spending more than two years in a camp in Xinjiang, Steenberg told Bloomberg News through a messaging app. “It was her expressed wish to exit to Kazakhstan.” 

Her latest detention was also reported earlier by Radio Free Asia. The Xinjiang regional government’s press office did not answer calls seeking comment. When asked, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters Monday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that he was not aware of the case. “We hope all parties will look at Xinjiang’s strong development in an objective light,” he said.

Why China and US Disagree on Forced Labor in Xinjiang: QuickTake

The US has accused China of committing genocide in Xinjiang, with a 2019 UN assessment saying an estimated 1 million people had “reportedly been sent to internment facilities under the guise of ‘counterterrorism and de-extremism’ policies since 2016.” 

A UN slavery expert said last year he found claims of forced labor in Xinjiang among Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing to be “reasonable.” 

China has repeatedly rejected the allegations, saying it has provided development and educational opportunities to an impoverished region. The government also says it’s fighting separatism and religious extremism mainly among ethnic groups comprised primarily of Muslims, mainly Uyghur but also Kazakhs. 

Why China and US Disagree on Forced Labor in Xinjiang: QuickTake

The Xinjiang Victims Database, which was founded by scholar and advocate Gene Bunin, describes Zhumatay as an artist and musician who also holds certification as an editor for Kazakhstan television. 

She studied and worked in Kazakhstan for around a decade, returning to China in 2008 where she became an advocate for herders’ rights, it said. She was detained for two years, including a period of “re-education” according to the database. China says the collection of victim accounts is fabricated. 

“Zhanargül had been aware and scared of the possibility that she may be arrested more than a month already,” Steenberg added. 

--With assistance from James Mayger.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.