Update | Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti accused of 'separatist offences' by prosecutors

Mainland authorities have accused Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti, who has been detained since last week, of a range of political offences.

The Bureau of Public Security in Urumqi, the capital of the restive far-western Xinjiang region, said Tohti recruited followers through a website he founded to cause trouble, spread separatist ideology, incited ethnic hatred and engaged in separatist activities.

In an online statement yesterday, the bureau said the scholar told his students that Uygurs should use violence and oppose the government as China opposed Japanese invaders during the second world war. It also claimed Tohti told his students that those who attacked Xinjiang police in previous incidents were heroes.

"Ilham Tohti made use of his capacity as a teacher to recruit, lure and threaten some people to form a ring and join hands with key people from the East Turkestan Independence Movement to plan and organise people to go abroad to take part in separatist activities", according to the statement posted on the bureau's official weibo account.

"According to the meticulous investigation of the police, we had solid evidence that Ilham Tohti was involved in splitting the country," it said.

Tohti has not been formally charged, but prosecution is all but guaranteed. Human rights groups and foreign governments have expressed concerns over his detention.

His wife, Guzaili Nu'er, said the accusations were groundless.