Chinese photographer Lu Guang has been missing for weeks after being taken by state security officers

Lu Guang, an award-winning Chinese photojournalist and US green card holder, is missing following a visit to Xinjiang. His wife Xu Xiaoli detailed his disappearance in a lengthy statement posted on Twitter on Monday, saying she had not heard from him since early November. Lu was in the Chinese region for a photography event when he was taken away by national security officers, according to the wife of the person who invited him.

Lu’s work highlights issues such as China’s problems with intense pollution and its rising rate of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. He has won three World Press Photo awards and received a National Geographic Photography Grant in 2010. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that at least 41 journalists were imprisoned in China at the end of 2017.

In a statement, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, Steven Butler, said:

Chinese authorities must immediately account for Lu Guang’s whereabouts, allow him to travel freely, and halt the harsh measures taken against journalists throughout the country. Lu’s detention is a high-profile illustration of the cruel and arbitrary way that China detains journalists and other civilians in Xinjiang.