Life in jail: unusually harsh sentence for Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti for inciting separatism
Economics professor from Minzu University had strongly denied the charges
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 23 September, 2014, 1:32pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 23 September, 2014, 1:49pm
Laura Zhou [email protected]
lham Tohti, a Beijing-based economics professor from Minzu University, had told the court, according to his lawyer, that it was always his opinion that it was in the best interests of Uygurs to remain in China. Photo: Reuters
An outspoken ethnic Uygur economics professor has been sentenced to life in prison on charges that he sought to split China.
Ilham Tohti, a Beijing-based economics professor from Minzu University, was handed the jail term by the Intermediate People’s Court of Urumuqi in Xinjiang this morning. The court also ordered that all his property be confiscated.
Tohti, 44, was accused of promoting independence on a Uygur- and Chinese-language website he managed, called Uighurbiz.net , where he called for adjustment of China’s policy in the region.
He strongly denied the charges of separatism during the two-day trial that started last Wednesday saying in a closing statement that “he loved his country ... and that it was always his opinion that it was in the best interests of Uygurs to remain in China”, according to his lawyer Li Fangping .
The trial of Tohti has drawn concerns over judicial and human rights abuses. “Tohti has consistently, courageously and unambiguously advocated peacefully for greater understanding and dialogue between various communities, and with the state,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch . “If this is Beijing’s definition of ‘separatist’ activities, it’s hard to see tensions in Xinjiang and between the communities decreasing.”
The verdict was announced amid a spike of anti-government violence in the far western region of Xinjiang, home to ethnic minority Uighur Muslims.
In the latest violence, at least two people were killed and multiple injured in a series of explosions in at least three locations in Luntai County on Sunday afternoon, government-owned news portal Tianshan web said in a brief report Monday morning .
Chinese authorities have blamed separatist forces from Xinjiang for these attacks against government.
Human rights groups and Uygur activists say the government’s high-handed policies fuel discrimination against local Uygurs by the Han, the dominant group of China.
Mainland authorities have launched a massive crackdown against terrorism in wake of a string of violent attacks in the restive Xinjiang region and other cities on the mainland.
