Jailed Uighur wins Sakharov rights award
The European Parliament yesterday awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in China for “separatism”.
The outspoken former professor of economics at a Beijing university was sentenced in 2014 by Chinese courts in a trial that provoked an outcry from foreign governments and human rights organisations.
European Parliament head David Sassoli urged China to immediately release Ilham Tohti as he announced the award, which was certain to sow diplomatic tensions with Beijing.
“Despite being a voice of moderation and reconciliation, he was sentenced to life in prison following a show trial in 2014,” Sassoli told a plenary session of parliament.
“By awarding this prize, we strongly urge the Chinese government to release Tohti and we call for the respect of minority rights in China”, added the top MEP from Italy.
Tohti, who turns 50 on Friday, in September won another of Europe’s top human rights awards, the Vaclav Havel prize, for “giving the entire Uighur people a voice”.
Rights groups and experts say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities have been rounded up in internment camps in Xinjiang.
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