Bishkek: A Danish anthropologist, Rune Steenberg, was denied entry to Kazakhstan at the Kazakh-Kyrgyz land border near Bishkek on April 12. Despite his previous visits to Kazakhstan, border guards informed Steenberg that he would not be permitted to enter the country.
According to Global Voices, Steenberg has extensively researched Uyghur communities worldwide, including those in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Uyghurs, an ethnic and religious minority in China, have faced mass detention, surveillance, forced labor, and other rights abuses since 2014 under China’s campaign against extremism. Steenberg suspects his research on these issues may have displeased Kazakh authorities, who have not publicly addressed similar issues affecting Kazakhs in China during official visits, such as the one by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Xinjiang in October 2023.
Steenberg’s denial of entry is not an isolated incident. In 2021, Yevgeny Bunin, who created a database of Xinjiang prison victims,
also faced a similar ban. This pattern may be linked to the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China, with China being a major trading partner and investor in Kazakhstan, having invested over USD 25 billion between 2005 and 2023.
In an interview with Global Voices, Steenberg shared his experience of being denied entry. He described the process at the Qordai-Dostuk border crossing, where Kazakh officers scanned his passport and informed him of the entry ban without providing reasons. Despite seeking information from Kazakh and Danish authorities, Steenberg remains uncertain about the ban’s duration or reasons.
Steenberg, whose work focuses on Uyghur issues, now faces restrictions in accessing the two countries with the largest Uyghur populations. Nevertheless, he plans to continue his research with existing materials and through remote ethnography methods, ensuring his work on Uyghur communities and issues persists.