MCLC: Ilham Tohti arrested

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: pjmooney <pjmooney at me.com>
Subject: Ilham Tohti arrested
***********************************************************

This is very, very disturbing news. So much for rule of law in China.

In recent months, we’ve seen two well-known Chinese academics fired from
their positions at universities for political reasons. We now have a
well-respected economist arrested on very dubious charges. I’ve seen
individual foreign academics speak out about this trend, but so far, I’ve
not heard of any leading Western academic institutions speaking out.
Instead, we reward the Communist Party by stepping up our academic
exchanges with these universities.

If one prominent Western professor was fired for expressing such moderate
views, or was arrested and charged with sedition, the international outcry
would be huge. Why do our institutions remain silent when this happens to
our Chinese colleagues?

Paul

===========================================================

Source: New Zealand Herald (2/26/14):
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11209932

China arrests Uighur scholar on secession charge

BEIJING (AP) A prominent Uighur scholar has been formally arrested and
accused of secession more than a month after being taken away by force
from his Beijing home without explanation, his wife said Tuesday.

Guzaili Nu'er said she received the arrest warrant Tuesday and learned
that her husband, Ilham Tohti, is being held in a detention center in the
far-western region of Xinjiang, a center of low-intensity but frequent
Insurgency.

The arrest of Ilham Tohti came as Beijing is stepping up security in the
region.

Xinjiang officials were not immediately available for comment after
working hours Tuesday. A statement by local authorities in January accused
Ilham Tohti of spreading separatist ideas, inciting ethnic hatred and
engaging in separatist activities.

Ilham Tohti is an economics professor at Minzu University of China in
Beijing and has been outspoken about the rights of the Turkic Uighur
ethnic minority in Xinjiang. He is a critic of the ruling Communist
Party's restrictive policies in Xinjiang, but has not joined calls for
Xinjiang's independence.

"My husband is a college professor, a Uighur scholar. The description by
the government does not fit him," Guzaili Nu'er said. "How could the
university have allowed him to do what (the authorities) have alleged?"

His lawyer, Li Fangping, said Tuesday that he had traveled to Urumqi, the
capital of Xinjiang, but had not been allowed to visit Ilham Tohti.

"From my knowledge of him and his statements, nothing constitutes the
charge of secession," Li said.

The charge is punishable by 10 years to life in prison, or the death
penalty if authorities find the crime to be particularly objectionable.