Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

The family of Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti has had no news of his whereabouts since he was arrested at his home in Beijing on January 15, 2014. Tohti is a leading academic and one of the most prominent commentators on basic rights issues affecting the Uyghur people. The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority—in a country that is 91.6% Han Chinese—that live primarily in the Xinjiang region of China and have been repressed by the government. The Chinese authorities raided Tohti’s home on January 15, arresting him and confiscating his computer. The public security bureau in the capital of Xinjiang released a statement accusing Tohti of inciting separatism, but refused to inform his family where he is being held.

On 21 March 2013 Tohti had been put already under house arrest: https://thoolen.wordpress.com/tag/ilham-tohti/

via:

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/24684

China: HRF Condemns the Arrest and Disappearance of Uyghur Professor Ilham Tohti | News | The Human Rights Foundation.

This entry was posted on February 12, 2014 at 16:28 and is filed under Front Line, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights Foundation.

Tags: arrest, China, Forced disappearance, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Human rights defender, Human Rights Foundation, Ilham Tohti, illegal detention, minorities, minority rights, Uyghur