- Title: EU gives human rights prize to Uighur activist
- Date: 24th October 2019
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - JULY 2013) (REUTERS) UIGHUR SCHOLAR ILHAM TOHTI SEATED AT TABLE LOOKING AT PHONE TOHTI'S FACE PHONE IN TOHTI'S HAND (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) UIGHUR SCHOLAR ILHAM TOHTI, SAYING: "There's no representative for us. No newspaper of our own. What can the ordinary people do when they meet injustice? Some of them will fight in resistance. Even though I oppose violence, I believe there will be more and more violent resistance by the ordinary people if the government polices don't change." BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - OCTOBER 2013) (REUTERS) TOHTI READING NEWSPAPER TOHTI'S FACE CHINESE NEWSPAPER WITH HEADLINE READING (Chinese): "POLICE SOLVED OCT. 28 VIOLENT AND TERRORIST ATTACK (ON TIANANMEN SQUARE)"
- Embargoed: 7th November 2019 10:53
- Keywords: Ilham Tohti Xinjiang China riots separatism Sahkarov Prize for Freedom of Thought European Parliament
- Location: BEIJING AND URUMQI, XINJIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA
- City: BEIJING AND URUMQI, XINJIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Fundamental Rights/Civil Liberties,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2GHJD3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The European Parliament gave its annual prize for the defence of human rights to Ilham Tohti, its president David Sassoli said on Thursday (October 24), a blow to China, where the Uighur activist is serving a life sentence on charges of separatism.
Tohti, 49, was an economics professor at Beijing's Minzu University, as well as an Uighur rights advocate. He has been in jail since 2014.
The European Parliament chose Tohti for his activity to "foster dialogue" between Chinese people and the Uighur Muslim minority who mostly lives in China's western state of Xinjiang.
The prize is likely to infuriate China. Beijing has lashed out at any criticism of its policies in Xinjiang, where the government has faced international opprobrium for placing up to a million Uighurs in what Beijing calls de-radicalisation facilities.
Tohti, an ethnic Uighur, has criticised the government for not giving Xinjiang and its Turkic-speaking Uighurs more autonomy.
(Production: Fang Nanlin) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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