Guzaili Nuer (C), wife of Ilham Tohti, a former economics professor at a Beijing university, walks with two of Tohti's three brothers as they make their way to the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, in Urumqi, in China's Xinjiang region on Wednesday (AFP Photo/Goh Chai Hin)
China’s most prominent Muslim Uyghur scholar faced charges of separatism and a possible life sentence on Wednesday during the first day of a trial expected to fuel tensions in turbulent Xinjiang.
Prosecutors at the court in Urumqi have charged Ilham Tohti with helping to organize violence in western China.
“[They] accused Ilham of being the leader of a group of eight people advocating secession,” defense lawyer Li Fangping said by telephone from Urumqi, scene of two attacks by suspected Uyghur separatists this year.
A guilty verdict and a sentence of between 10 years and life are all but certain after the case is expected to close on Thursday, Li added.
Tohti’s defense has argued his actions represent little more than constructive criticism of Chinese repression against minority Muslim Uyghurs as authorities battle an increasingly violent separatist movement.
A professor at Beijing’s ethnic nationalities Minzu University, Tohti ran a website promoting understanding between majority Han Chinese and minority Uyghurs that was shut down by the Public Security Bureau in June.
Both his lectures and online postings were cited as evidence of separatism during the trial.
“Tohti has consistently, courageously and unambiguously advocated peacefully for greater understanding and dialogue between various communities, and with the state,” Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, said ahead of the trial.
Although careful to condemn violent separatism in Xinjiang, Tohti’s comments appeared to increasingly irritate Beijing.
At the end of last year, he claimed government agents deliberately crashed into his car while he was driving his wife and child, and then warned they would kill him and his family.
During an interview with ABC in January in which he called for greater Uyghur autonomy, Tohti accused authorities of acting “like the mafia”.
“I’ve lived under threat for many years. If I don’t speak out, they’ll become more arrogant,” he said of the Chinese government.
Twelve days after the interview was broadcast, police detained Tohti and at least six of his students who also face trial. Rights groups have since complained that members of the group have faced poor treatment in prison.
After going on hunger strike for 20 days after his arrest, Tohti was deprived of food and water for 10 days following an attack by suspected Uyghur terrorists at Kunming train station in March, according to Amnesty International.
Foreign diplomats who traveled to Urumqi hoping to witness court proceedings were denied access on Wednesday, said a European Union spokesman in Beijing. Four relatives including Tohti’s wife were permitted to attend.
His trial comes a month after Uyghur linguist Abduweli Ayup was sentenced to 18 months in prison for “illegal fundraising” which reportedly included selling t-shirts and honey.
Alim Seytoff, president of the American Uyghur Association in Washington DC, warned that Tohti’s trial would further raise tensions following attacks and rioting that have left at least 323 people dead in western China since April last year.
“Punishing peaceful Uyghur scholars, like Abduweli Ayup and Ilham Tohti, who have worked within the Chinese system and entirely within the confines of China’s laws, will not foster trust or good relations between the Chinese state and Uyghur people,” he said.