China begins trial of Ilham

Tohti

Uighur scholar, respected internationally for constructive views on country’s ethnic tensions, is accused of fomenting separatism

Ilham Tohti, a scholar of China’s Turkic Uighur ethnic minority, pictured in 2013.Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing-Wednesday 17 September 2014

Chinese authorities began trying the Uighur academic Ilham Tohti on charges of “separatism” on Wednesday morning, in what human rights groups have called a “travesty of justice” that underscores the government’s unwillingness to field even moderate criticisms of its ethnic policies.

China Begins Trial of Ilham Tohti by Thavam