NewWife of detained Uygur academic fears 'stronger measures' from Beijing
Wife tells of raid on their Beijing home, where cellphones and papers were seized, as Beijing faces flak from US over the arrest
Mainland police who hauled away outspoken Uygur economist Ilham Tohti had raided his home, seizing computers, cellphones and even his students’ thesis manuscripts, Tohti's wife said on Thursday.
About 30 police officers raided their Beijing home in a six-hour operation on Wednesday afternoon after taking away her husband, Guzaili Nu’er said.
“The Uygur people have become outsiders in the development of their own homeland and survival,” Ilham Tohti wrote in a post on his mobile social media account on Wednesday morning. “It is here that the people’s anger begins to grow. Uygur people need an avenue to express their aspirations and protect their rights.”
The scholar’s wife said she feared the authorities meant to take stronger measures against him this time. Although he has been taken away for questioning before, she said, he usually returned late at night.
“This time it’s different. They sent so many security officers, including police from Xinjiang, Beijing and the nearby police station. This time it is more serious,” she said.
Guzaili Nu’er said police seized four computers, several mobile phones and Ilham Tohti’s students’ thesis papers, and refused to answer her questions about where he had been taken to, or why.