China Sentences Peaceful Uyghur Scholar Ilham Tohti to Life in Prison · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Photo taken by Wang Lixiong and shared on Twitter.
Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur Muslim minority scholar in China, was found guilty of separatism charges and sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court on September 23. The verdict of the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court was the harshest sentence imposed on a political dissident in recent years in the country.
Ilham, who advocates for peaceful ethnic reconciliation between the Uyghur Muslims and the Han Chinese, was arrested in January. Ethnic tensions between the two groups have simmered for years and at times boiled over in deadly clashes between Uyghur activists and authorities.
The state accused Ilham of having ties to the World Uyghur Congress, an overseas group labelled an extreme separatist group by the Chinese Communist Party, and spreading dissent through the the website that he founded, Uyghur Online, which covered social issues from a Uyghur perspective.
Ilham has denied the accusations, and in court rejected the sentence and protested before the bailiffs led him out of the room. His lawyer Li Fangping has filed for appeal and helped Ilham publicize his view on the sentence (via Wei Quan Wang, a website on Chinese human right):
“1、我是为我们的民族呐喊，更是为中国未来呐喊。”
“2、进来前我一直担心自己承受不了严酷的环境。我担心自己会出卖我的良心、事业、朋友和家人。我挺过去了。”
“3、未来的监狱生活我没有经历过，但这将就是我们的生活、我的经历。我不知道自己的人生能持续多久，我是勇敢的，我不会那么脆弱，如果传出自残、自杀，肯定是虚假的。
“4、看到判决书的内容，我反而认为自己应该肩负更大的责任。”
“5、我虽已离去，但我依然期待阳光、期待未来。我坚信中国会更好、维吾尔人的宪法权利必将得到尊重。”
“6、和平是上天赠送给维汉人民礼物，唯有和平、善意才能创造彼此的共同利益。”
“7、我24小时戴着脚镣、8个月只有三小时放风、有6个汉族已决犯陪监。境况不能说不严酷，但相对我的学生，还有很多被控分裂国家的同族被告们，无疑我又是幸运的，我有自己委托的汉族律师出庭辩护、家属可以旁听、我说出了我想说的话。我希望通过我的案件推动新疆法治化，哪怕是一点点。”
“8、我昨晚睡了一个8个多月来最好的觉。我从来没有发现自己内心居然这么强大。只是老母亲不能告诉她，你叫家里说判了五年就行了。昨晚旁边监室帕哈提（学生）在撞门、大声悲叹，我也听到有不断提押的脚镣声，或许他们也判了。”
“9、（与妻书）我的爱人:为了我们的孩子，你要坚强，不要哭泣！不久的将来，我们还会拥抱在一起。你保重！爱你的哈木。”
1. I scream for our ethnic group, but I scream louder for China.
2. Before I was jailed, I worried that I could not withstand the torture. I was worried that I would betray my conscience, career, friends and family. But I got through this.
3. I was never in jail before, but the jail will become part of our life and my experience. I don't know how long I can carry on with this. I believe I have the courage and I am not weak. If anyone said I hurt myself or committed suicide, it would be a lie.
4. Upon reading the verdict, I feel that I bare a much larger responsibility.
5. I have left but I still expect the sun to shine and the future to come. I believe China will become better and the constitutional right of Uyghurs will be respected.
6. Peace is a gift to Uyghurs. Only peace and goodwill can build our common interest.
7. I was in foot chains 24 hours a day, only enjoyed three hours outside of jail cell during the eight-month detention. There were six other Chinese prisoners in the same cell. The situation is tough, but when compared with my students [some of whom were also prosecuted], and other Uyghurs who are charged with separatism, I should consider myself lucky. I could hire my own lawyers to defend for me, my family could attend my hearing, I could speak in court. I wish that my case helps the development of the rule of law in Xinjiang [where Uyghur people mainly live].
8. Last night I slept deeper than I have in these eight months. I never knew that my heart could be that strong. But I could not tell my mother. Please told her that they sentenced me to five years. Last night, I heard one of my students banging on the door and crying loudly, as well as some sounds of a foot chain. Did they receive their sentence as well?
9. (To my wife) My lover: For the sake of our children, please be strong, don't cry. In the near future, we will embrace each other. Please take care. Love you, Ilham.
The US and European Union have condemned the verdict. The EU criticized the Urumqi court for not respecting the due process of law as it deprived Ilham of his right to a proper defense. It also called for his immediate and unconditional release. John Kerry, the US secretary of state, criticized China for silencing moderate Uyghur voices and advised the government to differentiate between peaceful dissent and violent extremism, as it is vital to counterterrorism efforts.
Mainland Chinese dissidents published their heartbroken messages on Twitter over the Chinese Communist Party's extreme measure against a peaceful negotiator. @Zengjinyan re-posted a video interview of Ilham by Tibetan writer Woeser from November 2009 after the July 5 Urumqi riots, which left nearly 200 people dead and hundreds injured. In the video, he also mentioned that he anticipated 10 or 20 years in jail, a prediction he made even before his arrest on the most recent charges:
News and analysis website China Digital Times highlighted the part in the video that on the sacrifices Ilham made for his advocacy:
Woeser: A few years ago you were one of the wealthiest Uyghurs in Beijing, but now it’s said you’re one of the poorest. That’s such a dramatic rise and fall for a person to go through, both financially, but also politically and in terms of your safety. Now that you’re in such a precarious situation, what do you make of it all?
Ilham Tohti: I think these problems just need to be faced. As you well know, if you’re that sort of person, with ideals like that, you can easily imagine … [the consequences]. But initially, I didn’t give so much thought to it. I knew at the outset I’d face certain setbacks, maybe even being put in jail for 10 or 20 years. I thought, I can handle that, I’ve always been prepared for that.
[…] Whatever the government decides to do, I’m ready. We already lost our money when they froze our accounts. […]
[…] I think for a nationality there comes a point, and in this country with the way things are, where you can go to jail for what you say, for running a website, for just speaking the truth … which for me would be an honor. As I’ve said before, to trade my humble life to call for freedom … gladly, I’d be proud to do it.
Before the trial and shortly after his arrest in January 2014 he entrusted his close friend Tsering Woeser, a Tibetan writer, to release excerpts of his personal statements, in which he says he will not leave China in any circumstance:
I am not going anywhere. The issues facing the Uighur are in China, and the resolution of these issues is also in China. If I have to be imprisoned, then I will remain in a Chinese prison. After my release from prison, I will still be in China seeking a future for the Uighurs. If I die, I have only one desire: to be buried in my hometown. It would be enough of a solace for me.
When compared with the Chinese authorities attitude to Ilham in 2009 after the Urumqi riots and the current situation, Jiang Tianyong believed that the central government's attitude has changed:
【包子比方便面更无营养】有些人中国梦不醒，还在对包子抱幻想！09年75事件形势那么紧张，新疆国保到北京要带走伊力哈木，北京国保不同意，因上面不同意；强烈对比的是，2013年新疆终于从北京带走了伊力哈木，因为包子当小组长了！
— 江天勇 (@jtyong) September 23, 2014
Some Chinese are still trapped in the Chinese dream and are hopeful for President Xi Jinping. Back in 2009, the atmosphere during the July 5 Urumqi riots was so tense, the security police from Xinjiang went to Beijing to arrest Ilham, but Beijing security police disagreed because the higher-up authorities disagreed. On the contrary, in 2013, Xinjiang authorities finally went to Beijing and successfully took away Ilham because Xi is now the leader.
Political cartoonist Biatailajiao compared the life sentence of Ilham to the killing of peace — with a dove with olive leaves.
Political cartoon by Biatailajiao on Ilham Tohti's life sentence.
Wang Lixiong, a scholar on Tibet society and Ilham's friend, reposted a photo he took a few days before Ilham's arrest:
2014年1月8日我给伊力哈木时拍了这张照片，那时并未想到是最后一面。几天后（1月15日）他在在北京家中被抓走，今天他在乌鲁木齐被判无期徒刑。但我并不相信今后只能无期地从这张照片见他，因为正义的迟到一定不会是无期！ pic.twitter.com/dgWQRRVSAJ
— 王力雄 (@wlixiong) September 23, 2014
I took this photo for Ilham on January 8, 2014. I never imagined that this was our last meeting. A few days later on January 15, he was arrested from his home in Beijing and today he was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, I don't believe that from now on I will only see him in photos because belated justice will still arrive.
Su Yutong, a former reporter from Deutsche Welle who interviewed Ilham many times in the past, urged other reporters to do something for the imprisoned scholar:
#FreeIlham 作为DW曾经的记者，我多次采访伊力哈木老师，我一次次的把他那些温和理性的观点写进报道里，这些成了他被构陷的罪证吗？所有引述过他那些包含对民族之爱、呼吁和平话语的记者们，今天我们是不是该做点什么！！！
— Suyutong (@Suyutong) September 23, 2014
#FreeIlham As a former reporter from Deutsche Welle, I had interviewed Ilham on many occasions. I reported his moderate stances and perspectives in my reports. Did these reports become evidence of his crime? For those reporters who had quoted him talking about his love for his nation, his insistence on peace, shouldn't we do something for him!!!