She became one of the first victims of these camps in the world to speak publicly about the Chinese repressive campaign against Muslims, igniting a movement against these abuses.

[7] After finishing a medical degree at a university in China, she subsequently worked as a doctor, teacher, education director, and headmaster in several preschools.

[8] In March 2018, to avoid being sent back to the camps, where she feared she would die, Sayragul decided to flee to Kazakhstan, where her family had already found refuge shortly before.

[8][9] On 13 July, Sayragul appeared in a court in the city of Zharkent, Kazakhstan accused of illegally crossing the border from China, facing $7,000 in fines or a one-year jail sentence.

[8] During the trial she revealed extensive information about the maltreatment of prisoners at the camp which garnered the attention of the international public.

[13] Her lawyer argued that if she were extradited to China, she would face the death penalty for exposing internment camps in Kazakh court.

[11] While China officially did not comment about the trial and her claims, Sayragul received information that members of her family and friends still in Xinjiang had been arrested and possibly sent to a camp by Chinese authorities, which she interpreted as an attempt to cow her into silence.

[3] German-language book Die Kronzeugin, which appeared in mid 2020, was written by Alexandra Cavelius on the basis of interviews with Sayragul.

In 2020, Sayragul said that she was being constantly harassed by the "long arm of China", receiving "death threats from Chinese callers".

A jury member noted that the reason for this was that "despite constant threats and attempts at intimidation, she gave fearless testimony and stood up for the Muslim minorities in China with admirable courage"; the jury also wanted to draw public attention to the persecution of minorities and to recognize the advocacy of women for human rights.