Imprisoned Chinese Uygur scholar Ilham Tohti given top human rights award

A group of leading rights organisations has awarded its annual prize for human rights defenders to imprisoned Chinese Muslim minority economics professor Ilham Tohti, shining new attention on a case that has brought strong international condemnation.

The Martin Ennals Award is bestowed by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and eight other rights groups. The award ceremony takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday evening.

Tohti, 46, was given a life sentence on charges of separatism in September 2014 after a two-day trial. A member of the Turkic Muslim Uygur ethnic group, he taught at Beijing’s Minzu University and was an outspoken critic of Beijing’s ethnic policies in the far western region of Xinjiang. But he denied Beijing’s relentless accusations of advocating separatism and violence.

Tohti had “sought reconciliation by bringing to light repressive Chinese policies and Uygur grievances. This is information the Chinese government has sought to keep behind a veil of silence,” the group said in a statement.

“He remains a voice of moderation and reconciliation in spite of how he has been treated,” it said.