Free Ilham Tohti, a warrior for peace!

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">It&rsquo;s been two years since <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/11/21/china-xinjiang-verdict-upholds-unjust-life-sentence">Ilham Tohti</a>, a well-regarded ethnic Uyghur economist and peaceful critic of the Chinese government, was sentenced to life in prison by the Xinjiang People&rsquo;s High Court for alleged &ldquo;separatism&rdquo; after a grossly unfair trial. Ilham Tohti has recently been nominated for European Parliament's Sakharov Prize 2016 for Freedom of Thought. Tohti and his family had already endured years of harassment and periods of house arrest by state agents, but in September 2014 Beijing evidently felt it necessary to take him off the grid permanently. Professor Tohti had been subjected to <a href="http://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/?p=21703%20WUC%20Alarmed%20by%20the%20Arbitrary%20Detention%20of%20Ilham%20Tohti">frequent harassment</a> by the Chinese authorities; however, on January 15, 2014 he was <a href="http://uhrp.org/press-release/uyghur-human-rights-project-urges-international-community-maintain-vigilance-condition">arrested</a> and was handed a <a href="http://uhrp.org/press-release/uyghur-american-association-condemns-harsh-sentencing-ilham-tohti.html">life sentence</a> on September 23, 2014 after a trial that fell far below international standards. The <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/statement-press-secretary-conviction-and-sentencing-ilham-tohti">White House</a>, <a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/09/232026.htm">U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry</a> and the <a href="http://www.eeas.europa.eu/statements/docs/2014/140923_01_en.pdf">European Union</a> condemned the sentencing.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">Since then, human rights defenders and the rule of law in China have been under <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2016/country-chapters/china-and-tibet">sustained attack</a> from President Xi Jinping&rsquo;s government.The signs are ominous: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/world/asia/xinjiang-seethes-under-chinese-crackdown.html?_r=0">restrictions on observing Ramadan</a> are now an annual reality, and some Uyghurs are now being required to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36472103">give DNA samples</a> and other biodata in order to obtain passports. China&rsquo;s state media reports on counterterrorism operations when it&rsquo;s politically convenient to do so, but we don&rsquo;t know how many local residents die in these <a href="http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20160919/s00013/1474222391617.">raids</a>, how those detained in connection with the operations are treated, or even whether the state is responding to a credible threat. Hundreds &ndash; perhaps thousands &ndash; of Uyghurs have fled the country, some of whom have been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/03/14/thailand-dont-forcibly-return-uighurs-china">forcibly returned under Chinese government pressure</a>.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">Tohti had been well-placed to help lessen some of these tensions. He critiqued and proposed solutions to the economic discrimination against Uyghurs. He spoke passionately about how an independent legal system could ease abuses in the region. And perhaps most important, he helped Xinjiang-watchers inside and outside China understand developments there, and urged peaceful debate &ndash; not violence &ndash; among students, scholars, and others.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">This petition is to condemn the imprisonment of a noble soul like Ilham Tohti and to demand the following things from Chinese government.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;">&nbsp;</p><p align="left">We strongly urge:<br />1. Chinese authorities to release Ilham Tohti immediately, otherwise, announce the details of his alleged &ldquo;crimes.&rdquo; Authorities should use evidences to prove the case, rather than criminalizing speech.<br /><br />2. The police must guarantee to Ilham Tohti individual rights, allowing a lawyer of his or his family&rsquo;s choosing to be involved and meet with him. The police should also withdraw from unlawfully restricting the movements of his family.</p><p align="left">By signing the petition, we express our concern over Ilham Tohti and urge the Government to reconsider their policies about Uyghur community!</p><p align="left">&nbsp;</p>