Breaking | Life in jail: unusually harsh sentence for Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti for inciting separatism
Economics professor from Minzu University had strongly denied the charges
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, 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 court said Tohti had spread lessons containing separatist thoughts through his website and organised students to write, edit, translate and reprint articles seeking Xinjiang’s separation from China, Xinhua reported.
He also had “internationalised” Xinjiang issues by conducting
interviews with foreign media and attacking China’s policies in Xinjiang, the court said.
