Ilham Tohti,* a former ethnic Uyghur economics professor at the Beijing Minzu University, recently referred to as ‘China’s Mandela’ by the Guardian,[i] was detained on January 14th, 2014, for inciting separatism, ethnic hatred, and supporting terrorist activities because of his open criticism towards the Chinese governmental policies.[ii] Following his arrest, the two-day show trial between September 17th and 18th, 2014, that led to his condemnation and life imprisonment sentence, came as a great shock to many foreign as well as domestic observers, friends, and organizations who supported Ilham due to his prominent, intimidating, and foremost activism defending the autonomy, linguistic, cultural, and religious rights of minority ethnic Uyghurs. The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking and commonly Muslim group, mostly inhabiting in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (henceforth XUAR). Ilham has been referred to as ‘the Uyghur people’s conscience’.[iii]
Background
Ilham’s activism began in 1994 when he started writing about the violations suffered by Uyghurs in the XUAR. In 2006, he shifted the attention online when he and other scholars co-founded the website ‘Uyghur Online’ at uighurbiz.org. The website was a Chinese-language platform seeking to bridge the ongoing divisions between the Uyghur minority and the Han Chinese.[iv] The platform essentially served as a space on which Ilham could make the Uyghur voice heard domestically and internationally. It delved into how the Uyghur’s plight contained them feeling looked down upon by the general society and forgotten by the Chinese government regarding socio-economic development. Ilham would invite the Han to an open, peaceful, and rational platform to discuss and debate their differing views because, as he emphasised, the Han were not the enemies of the Uyghurs, despite their discriminatory and often violent attitude towards them.[v]
Through his website, Ilham promoted a peaceful and holistic approach and never once incited or encouraged violence. He was careful about clashing with governmental laws or underlying agreements that exist in civic society.[vi] However, the website began to attract the ire of the Chinese government, which shut the website down for the first time in June 2008 before China hosted the Olympic games. The government reasoned the shutdown on the basis that it publicised links to so-called Uyghur extremists based abroad.[vii] The major ethnic riots in Urumqi, the capital of the XUAR, and terrorist attacks inspired by a more aggressive reading of Islam on July 5th, 2009,[viii] resulted in approximately 200 people killed, 18,000 detained, and between 34 to 37 disappearances. Following this, Ilham openly spoke about the incident and published the names and faces of those who remained disappeared, eventually leading to his house arrest and later incommunicado detention on July 14th for roughly five weeks until, following international pressure, he was released.[ix]
Another crucial moment came when Ilham and his daughter, Jewher, were at the airport to board a flight to the U.S. because Ilham was to take up a position at Indiana University as a visiting scholar. He was stopped by the authorities, beaten, detained, and saw Jewher being put on the flight to the U.S. alone.[x] This incident marked the climax of Ilham’s story. In October 2013, an Uyghur family crashed their Jeep on the Jingshui Bridge of Tiananmen Square, which had been set on fire. The Chinese government labelled it a terrorist attack, which consequently resulted in Ilham increasing his visibility on foreign media of Britain, France, and the U.S., and led to ‘political policemen’ ramming into Ilham’s car on November 2nd when he was on his way to the airport to pick his mother up. The authorities used violence and intimidation, issuing threats to his family’s life if he did not stop talking to the foreign media.[xi] With the pressure being dialled up on Ilham to cease his vocal concerns, he began to express worry about his safety to his personal friends and, somewhat prophetically, in a telephone statement to Mihray Abdilim, a Uyghur Service reporter for Radio Free Asia, that surveillance on him by state security agents increased and felt as if his voice would soon be silenced. Based on this concern, he asked for his last words to be recorded and published only after his detention.[xii]
Arrest, violations, and a show trial
In January 2014, around 20 police officers raided Ilham’s apartment in Beijing and beat him in front of his two young children. They detained him and permanently shut his website down. On the following day, Hong Lei, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, explained that he had been ‘criminally detained’. The charges for his detention were disclosed in February when the Bureau of Public Security announced his formal arrest for ‘separatism’ – a vague account that allows for capital punishment – and for recruiting followers from his website.[xiii] His arrest triggered a wave of support for Ilham on the grounds that he had visibly argued against calls for XUAR independence and was in favour of the region remaining a part of China. The website Foreign Policy published their analysis on several of Ilham’s cached articles as part of his evidentiary record, and nowhere did they find any direct or indirect expression of separatism or independence.[xiv] Ilham was held at an undisclosed location for five months, barred from any contact with family or friends, and withheld from meeting his lawyer, Li Fangping, until June 26th, when Li reported that Ilham was enervated at being shackled during the first 20 days of his detention and was refused Halal food for the first 10 days of March. These acts constitute violations of international law and arguably fall under the scope of acts of cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment. Many believe and fear that Ilham may have possibly endured torture.[xv]
Ilham only saw his family after eight months of his hasty and unfair trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by September 23rd, but denies all charges brought against him.[xvi] During the trial, the Prosecutors said that Ilham was portraying terrorists as heroes in his classes, internationalised the ‘Uyghur Question’, and made use of student testimonies that are assumed to have been obtained under duress. Some students faced forced strip searches after Ilham’s arrest, were detained, and some of whom remained missing for long periods, thus highlighting the prosecutors’ attempt to build an incriminating case alleging that Ilham was not the peaceful person who made himself out to be but was instead dangerous in the eyes of Chinese security and had to be silenced by being locked away.[xvii]
Behind Ilham’s struggle
But what is Ilham Tohti’s case really about? Uyghur-Han tensions have existed since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), simmering into pockets of unrest bursting from time to time and triggering harsher policies against Uyghurs, especially after Xi Jinping took the helm of government in March 2013 and later unveiled the ‘grand strategic plan’ for the XUAR in December of the same year, with Ilham expressing concerns that the pressure on Uyghurs was about to increase.[xviii] The Chinese government has framed the issue as the ‘Uyghur Question’ or the ‘Xinjiang Problem’ which they have attempted to solve through a process of Sinification, one that has existed for many centuries in Chinese history and that entails the promotion of assimilation rather than integration. It later encouraged the Han Chinese to migrate to the region through policies that favoured the Han over the Uyghurs, and which resulted in an imbalance of socio-economic development. Ilham fell victim to China’s use of censorship technology and laws, where today, even a single post on the Twitter-like app of Sina Weibo can land its author in jail if it seemingly criticises the Chinese government.[xix] Ilham’s imprisonment proves that the Chinese government does not acknowledge the bridge between Uyghurs and the Han. In response to the supposed terror attack by the Uyghurs on Han Chinese in the Kunming train station in March 2014, the government declared a ‘People’s War on Terror’ and targeted scholars, activists, journalists, writers, and human rights lawyers throughout 2014.[xx] The underlying contradiction is that the internet serves as the primary tool to connect human beings across geographical, social, cultural, and linguistic borders and on which much of today’s commerce and communication takes place. Instead, the Chinese government’s ‘Great Firewall’ blocks the consumption of foreign content from entering China and uses the internet as a bludgeoning tool to censor and control digital content according to the approved narrative of China’s image, interests, and policies, criminalizing the spreading of ‘rumours’ online and establishing a pre-registration requirement for any online account that shares political opinions or statements.[xxi]
As the author of this piece, and along with my colleagues at Broken Chalk, I feel a close affinity to the tragic story of Ilham Tohti and many others like him because I, too, have a personal blog where I discuss my concerns about current global affairs. Exercising freedom of expression in the way that Ilham did through his ‘bridge blog’ is not a crime, nor should it unjustly label Ilham as a terrorism supporter, a drug peddler, a weapon seller, or an American agent. He truly sought to get Uyghurs and the Han to engage in conversations, overlook their differences, and become more united as common people. He chose to use peaceful and informed ways of educating others about Uyghurs opposing the narrative that paints them as terrorists, evil, and security risks to the ethos or foundation of Chinese society. Instead, he became a political martyr for ethnic Uyghurs in XUAR, receiving numerous awards for defending and seeking to expand human rights and freedoms,[xxii] and a beacon that continues to shed light upon the precarious situation that Uyghurs have faced in China’s internment camps since 2017, where numerous human rights violations take the form of beatings, torture, rape, killings, forced labour, and the sterilisation of Uyghur women.[xxiii]
Ultimately, Ilham is remembered as knowledgeable and courageous and as having a drive and determination to fight for ethnic Uyghurs, keeping his head up in the face of injustice and intimidation by Chinese authorities.
* To read and learn more about Ilham Tohti, there is a recent publication named ‘We Uyghurs Have No Say: An Imprisoned Writer Speaks’ (Verso Books). It is a series of collected essays and articles by Ilham prior to his detention. A paperback and eBook version are available at: https://bit.ly/3wiP6Mv
*Author’s note: throughout the article, his first name is used. In Uyghur culture, his last name, ‘Tohti’, refers to his father’s name, akin to saying that Ilham is the son of Tohti.
Written by Karl Baldacchino
Edited by Olga Ruiz Pilato
Sources;
[i] Kennedy, H. (2022) ‘We Uyghur’s Have No Say by Ilham Tohti Review – A People Ignored’. The Guardian. Available online from: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/09/we-uyghurs-have-no-say-ilham-tohti-review-background-genocide-china [Accessed on 20/03/2022].
[ii] Makinen, J. (2014) ‘China’s Detention of Uighur Professor Ilham Tohti Worries U.S.’. Los Angeles Times. Available online from: https://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-china-detention-professor-20140117-story.html#axzz2qljh0LfJ [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also Wong, E. (2014) ‘Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti Goes in Trial in China on Separatist Charges’. The New York Times. Available online from: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/world/asia/separatism-trial-of-ilham-tohti-uighur-scholar-begins-in-china.html?_r=0 [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also Wertime, D. (2014) ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’. China File. Available online from: https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/media/internet-where-nobody-says-anything [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also Amnesty International, ‘Academicus Ilham Tohti: Levenslang Gevangengezet’. Available online from: https://www.amnesty.nl/wat-we-doen/themas/sport-en-mensenrechten/ilham-tohti [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also Denyer, S. & Rauhala, E. (2016) ‘To Beijing’s Dismay, Jailed Uighur Scholar Winds Human Rights Award’. The Washington Post. Available online from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/to-beijings-dismay-jailed-uighur-scholar-wins-human-rights-award/2016/10/11/d07dff8c-8f85-11e6-81c3-fb2fde4e7164_story.html [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also PEN America, ‘Ilham Tohti’. Available online from: https://pen.org/advocacy-case/ilham-tohti/ [Accessed on 19/03/2022].
[iii] Woeser, T. (2009) ‘Interview with Uyghur Scholar Ilham Tohti’. YouTube. Available online from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQT0iN1nMk8 [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’; see also Johnson, I. (2014) ‘”They Don’t Want Moderate Uighurs”’. China File. Available online from: https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/they-dont-want-moderate-uighurs [Accessed on 19/03/2022].
[iv] ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’; see also ‘To Beijing’s Dismay, Jailed Uighur Scholar Winds Human Rights Award’; see also Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, ‘Ilham Tohti’. United States Congress. Available online from: https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/defending-freedom-project/prisoners-by-country/China/Ilham%20Tohti#:~:text=Biography%3A%20Ilham%20Tohti%20is%20a,regional%20autonomy%20laws%20in%20China. [Accessed on 19/03/2022].
[v] ) ‘Interview With Uyghur Scholar Ilham Tohti’; see also PEN America (2014) ‘Ilham Tohti: 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner’. YouTube. Available online from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm6YLWrnKPw [Accessed 19/03/2022].
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] ‘Ilham Tohti’. United States Congress; see also ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’.
[viii] known as 7/5 due to it being a sensitive date in China
[ix] ‘They Don’t Want Moderate Uyghurs’; see also PEN America, ‘Ilham Tohti’; see also Tohti, I. (2013) ‘The Wounds of the Uyghur People Have Not Healed’. Radio Free Asia. Available online from: https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/wounds-07052013134813.html [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also ‘To Beijing’s Dismay, Jailed Uighur Scholar Winds Human Rights Award’.
[x] PEN America, ‘Ilham Tohti’.
[xi] Ibid.; see also ‘They Don’t Want Moderate Uyghurs’; see also Tohti, I. (2013) ‘Uyghur Scholar Tohti Speaks About His Concerns Before Detention’. Radio Free Asia. Available online from: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/interview-02072014182032.html [Accessed on 19/03/2022]; see also ‘China’s Detention of Uighur Professor Ilham Tohti Worries U.S.’.
[xii] ‘Uyghur Scholar Tohti Speaks About His Concerns Before Detention’; see also ‘They Don’t Want Moderate Uyghurs’.
[xiii] PEN America, ‘Ilham Tohti’; see also ‘China’s Detention of Uighur Professor Ilham Tohti Worries U.S.’; see also ‘Ilham Tohti’. United States Congress; see also ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’.
[xiv] ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’
[xv] Ibid.; see also ‘Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti Goes in Trial in China on Separatist Charges’; see also Cao, Y. (2014) ‘China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate’. China File. Available online from: https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/china-2014-through-eyes-human-rights-advocate [Accessed on 20/03/2022].
[xvi] ‘Academicus Ilham Tohti: Levenslang Gevangengezet’; see also ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’; see also ‘Uighur Scholar Ilham Tohti Goes in Trial in China on Separatist Charges’; see also ‘China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate’.
[xvii] ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’; see also ‘China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate’; see also ‘China’s Detention of Uighur Professor Ilham Tohti Worries U.S.’; see also ‘They Don’t Want Moderate Uyghurs’; see also ‘To Beijing’s Dismay, Jailed Uighur Scholar Winds Human Rights Award’.
[xviii] PEN America, ‘Ilham Tohti’; see also European Foundation for South Asia Studies, ‘Language, Religion, and Surveillance: A Comparative Analysis of China’s Governance Models in Tibet and Xinjiang’. Available online from: https://www.efsas.org/publications/study-papers/comparative-analysis-of-governance-models-in-tibet-and-xinjiang/ [Accessed on 20/03/2022].
[xix] Ibid.; see also ‘China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate’; see also ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’.
[xx] ‘An Internet Where Nobody Says Anything’; see also ‘China in 2014 Through the Eyes of a Human Rights Advocate’.
[xxi] Ibid.
[xxii] Ilham Tohti is the recipient of PEN America’s 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, the 2016 Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders who show deep commitment and face great personal risk, Liberal International’s 2017 Prize for Freedom, was nominated in 2019 and 2020 for the Nobel Peace Prize, and awarded in 2019 Freedom Award by Freedom House, the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
[xxiii] ‘We Uyghur’s Have No Say by Ilham Tohti Review – A People Ignored’; see also ‘Academicus Ilham Tohti.
*cover photo taken from: https://www.omct.org/fr/ressources/declarations/ilham-tohti-2016-martin-ennals-award-laureate-for-human-rights-defender
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