China: Life Sentence Against the Uyghur Professor Ilham Tohti

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sharply criticizes the life sentence against the Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti in China. "This is an unjust ruling – a politically motivated sham to silence unwanted critics," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Asia-consultant, after the harsh court ruling was announced in the city of Urumqi on Tuesday morning. "Rather than considering Tohti's criticism of China's nationalities policy – as a nation of law should – the professor is locked away and silenced for the rest of his life." The court justified its harsh sentence against the economist with alleged incitement to separatism. His belongings are to be confiscated.

"This is a black day for all efforts to further a rule of law in the People's Republic," said Delius. "The German federal government must set a clear sign and suspend the human rights dialogue with China. Germany's politicians must finally recognize that the Chinese government is currently not interested in human rights issues and has thus chosen not to respect the basic standards of Chinese law. Instead, the autocratic Communist Party is trying preserve its power at all costs. If the human rights dialogue is to be continued without interruption, Germany will merely provide the Chinese leadership with a fig leaf to deceive the international community."

"This unjust ruling will lead to even more violence in north-western China," warned Delius. Tohti was always committed to further a dialogue and understanding between the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese. Accusing him of inciting separatism is an absurd defamation of his life's work. The allegations against him are absurd – and the so-called "evidence" is implausible. "This unfair trial is a catastrophic sign for East Turkestan/Xinjiang. Now, even the moderate Uyghurs will lose the last bit of hope for a dialogue with the Chinese leadership – and the unjust ruling will stoke violence in the north-west of the country. China's leaders may be complaining about that on the one hand, but such unjust rulings against moderate Uyghurs are a cause for the violence."