New | Western powers 'outraged' after China convicts Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti
US and European leaders and experts call for Tohti's immediate release
Outraged Western powers have rounded on China over a life sentence handed to a prominent Uygur academic, accusing Beijing of silencing a moderate voice in a move that analysts say risks inflaming tensions in the restive Xinjiang region.
A court in China's far western Xinjiang region on Tuesday sentenced Ilham Tohti – a persistent but moderate government critic who advocated for the rights of the mostly-Muslim Uygur minority – to life in prison on charges of "separatism".
The decision was seen as unusually harsh – it also includes depriving Tohti of political rights for life and the confiscation of his personal property – and comes amid a broader crackdown on what the state claims is a terror-backed independence movement in Xinjiang.
The sentencing of the 44-year-old father of three drew strong condemnation from the United States and European Union, with both calling for his release.
The White House urged Chinese authorities to differentiate between "peaceful dissent and violent extremism".
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"We believe that civil society leaders like Ilham Tohti play a vital role in reducing the sources of inter-ethnic tension in China, and should not be persecuted for peacefully expressing their views," the White House press secretary said in a statement.