File footage of Uyghur activist and possible Nobel Peace Prize contender Ilham Tohti

Record ID: 1639338

  • Title: File footage of Uyghur activist and possible Nobel Peace Prize contender Ilham Tohti
  • Date: 29th September 2021
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) UYGHUR SCHOLAR, ILHAM TOHTI, SAYING: "There's no representative for us. No newspaper of our own. What can ordinary people do when they face 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 LOOKING ON CHINESE NEWSPAPER WITH HEADLINE READING (Chinese): "POLICE SOLVE OCTOBER 28 VIOLENT TERRORIST ATTACK (IN TIANANMEN SQUARE)"
  • Embargoed: 13th October 2021 10:58
  • Keywords: China Ilham Tohti Nobel Peace Prize Uyghur activist Xinjiang human rights
  • Location: BEIJING, URUMQI, XINJIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA / STRASBOURG, FRANCE
  • City: BEIJING, URUMQI, XINJIANG AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA / STRASBOURG, FRANCE
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA003EWWSU9Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Jailed Uyghur activist Ilham Tohti is among the possible contenders for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
    He is known for his efforts in defending the human rights of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China.
    Tohti, an ethnic Uyghur, has criticised the government for not giving Xinjiang and its Turkic-speaking Uyghurs more autonomy, but had always sought to work inside the system.
    He had taught at Beijing's Minzu University, which specialises in ethnic minority studies.
    He was detained in 2014 and accused of promoting Xinjiang's independence from China.
    His arrest is seen as part of a broader crackdown on what the government says is violence carried out by Islamist militants and separatists there.
    The Uyghur scholar, who is currently serving a life sentence in China on separatism charges, was also awarded an European Parliament annual prize in 2019, accepted by his daughter Jewher Ilham on his behalf.
    On the ceremony of the EU parliament prize, Tohti's daughter called on lawmakers to use their "laws to hold Chinese government officials accountable," adding it was not "about fighting China" but about "protecting human rights".
    The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 will be announced on October 8.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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