Ziba Murat has asked President Donald Trump to request the release of her mother, Dr. Gulshar Abbas, from Chinese authorities during the ongoing summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Murat, an American woman, spoke to Fox News Digital about her mother's eight-year detention, stating that she believes Trump will care about the case if he is informed of the details.
Abbas, a retired doctor who was 56 at the time, disappeared from her home on Sept. 10, 2018. According to Murat, Chinese government officials confirmed in a December 2018 press conference that Abbas had been convicted of taking part in organized terrorism, aiding terrorist activities, and seriously disrupting social order. The officials sentenced her to 20 years in prison. Murat described these charges as fabricated.
The family believes the detention was linked to the advocacy work of Abbas' sister, Rushan Abbas. Rushan Abbas runs Campaign for Uyghurs, a nonprofit advocacy group supporting the Muslim minority in China. Murat noted that her aunt spoke about conditions affecting Uyghurs just six days before Gulshar Abbas was taken by Chinese government officials. Murat emphasized that her mother was not a political figure or activist but a grandmother, and the family spent nearly two years determining where she was being held.
Advocacy for Abbas has gained high-level attention in the United States. House Speaker Mike Johnson has used his official position to advocate for her release. Murat attended the 2026 State of the Union speech as a guest of Johnson. Despite this support, Murat said progress remains difficult due to the secretive nature of the Chinese government and broader tensions between the United States and China regarding trade and intellectual property.
Murat expressed hope that Thursday's bilateral summit would ease some of these tensions and bring the family closer to reuniting with her mother. She described the emotional toll of her daughter's absence, noting that 24 family members are U.S. citizens. Her daughter was three months old when Abbas disappeared. Recently, while looking at a family tree in an encyclopedia, her eight-year-old daughter asked where her grandmother was after seeing a picture of her aunt and a note that her sister was gone.
Murat told her daughter that Abbas is far away and that the family hopes she will return soon. However, the child has begun to deduce the truth without direct explanation. Murat said her daughter sighs and acknowledges she thinks her grandmother is in jail, a realization that leaves Murat frustrated by her inability to provide a timeline for her mother's return.
A senior White House official confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that Trump is expected to ask Xi Jinping to release at least one prisoner during the summit. The official identified U.S. citizen Dr. Youlin Chen as one individual for whom Trump may seek release. Chen was arrested by Chinese officials outside a Beijing airport in 2024.