China dismisses Uighur advocate's human rights award

Record ID: 84387

  • Title: China dismisses Uighur advocate's human rights award
  • Date: 11th October 2016
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (OCTOBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, GENG SHUANG, WALKING IN FOR REGULAR BRIEFING MEDIA SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, GENG SHUANG, SAYING: "Ilham (Tohti)'s criminal facts are clear with irrefutable evidence, and he was sentenced for 'separatism' by the relevant Chinese judicial authority. Ilham's case has nothing to do with human rights." BRIEFING IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE NATIONAL FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2016 10:32
  • Keywords: China Uighur human rights award human rights aware Ilham Tohti
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00153K818L
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: China's Foreign Ministry dismissed its Uighur advocate Ilham Tohti's prestigious human rights award on Tuesday (October 11) in Beijing.
    The Chinese academic, an ethnic Uighur jailed for life two years ago for campaigning for the rights of the Muslim Uighur people, was selected from three finalists for the Martin Ennals Award, organisers said earlier on Tuesday.
    In Beijing, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang dismissed the award, saying that Tohti's "crimes are clear" and that his "case has nothing to do with human rights."
    Tohti is China's most prominent advocate for the rights of Muslim Uighur people, a Turkic-speaking people.
    Many resent restrictions on their culture and religion, and complain they are denied economic opportunities amid an influx of majority Han Chinese into Xinjiang.
    Rights advocates said at the time of Tohti's sentencing, after a two-day trial on separatism charges in September 2014, that it sent a clear signal that the government is determined to suppress dissent.
    The Martin Ennals Award's jury is composed of 10 activist groups including Amnesty International, where Ennals was an early secretary-general.
    Other finalists were Syrian human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh and the so-called Zone 9 Bloggers of Ethiopia. Its first recipient in 1994 was Chinese dissident Harry Wu.
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