BBC News Top Stories-World China sentences Uyghur scholar to life in jail
September 23, 2023 3 min 449 words
这篇报道揭示了中国对维吾尔族学者Rahile Dawut的残酷判刑，她被指控“危害国家安全”而被判终身监禁。这种镇压行为令人震惊，是对学术自由和人权的严重侵犯。尤其令人痛心的是，她是一位在维吾尔民间传统和文化领域有着卓越贡献的学者。 报道中提到的中国在新疆地区建立的所谓“再教育营”网络引发了国际社会的广泛关注和谴责。多个国家和人权组织指责中国对维吾尔族等穆斯林少数民族进行了种族灭绝罪行。这一问题引发国际社会的深切关切，要求中国解释和采取措施来终止这些行为。 美国的Dui Hua Foundation呼吁Rahile Dawut的立即释放，这也是一个重要的呼声。她的女儿在声明中表达了对母亲的担忧，呼吁中国释放她的母亲。这是一个家庭的心声，也是全球关切人权的一部分。 然而，中国政府对此事保持沉默，坚称没有关于Rahile Dawut案件的信息。这种不透明和缺乏透明度对于国际社会来说是不可接受的。 总之，这篇报道凸显了中国在新疆问题上的严重人权侵犯，以及对知识分子和学者的打压，这些行为令人深感忧虑。国际社会需要继续敦促中国采取措施，确保人权得到尊重和保护。
A prominent Uyghur academic has been reportedly jailed for life by China for "endangering state security".
Rahile Dawut's sentence was confirmed after she appealed against a 2018, according to the US-based Dui Hua Foundation rights group.
The 57-year-old professor lost her appeal this month.
China has been accused of crimes against humanity against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
Human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghurs against their will over the past few years in a large network of what the state calls "re-education camps".
It has sentenced hundreds of thousands to prison terms.
"The sentencing of Professor Rahile Dawut is a cruel tragedy, a great loss for the Uyghur people, and for all who treasure academic freedom," said John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation.
He called for her immediate release and safe return to her family.
Her daughter, Akeda Pulati, said that she worried about her mother every day.
"The thought of my innocent mother having to spend her life in prison brings unbearable pain. China, show your mercy and release my innocent mother," she said in a statement released by Dui Hua.
Ms Dawut's secret trial in December 2018 in a Xinjiang court followed her arrest the previous year for "splittism", a crime of endangering state security.
A source in the Chinese government confirmed the sentence of life imprisonment to Dui Hua, the group said.
Ms Dawut is an expert on Uyghur folklore and traditions and had been teaching at Xinjiang University College of Humanities before her arrest.
She founded the Ethnic Minorities Research Centre at the university in 2007 and conducted field work throughout Xinjiang. She had lectured in universities in the US and UK, including Harvard and Cambridge.
Dui Hua said Ms Dawut was among "the long and growing list of Uyghur intellectuals" who have been detained, arrested, and imprisoned since 2016.
The US is among several countries to have accused China of genocide in Xinjiang. The leading human rights groups Amnesty and Human Rights Watch accuse China of crimes against humanity.
China denies the allegations.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday she had "no information" on Ms Dawut's case, according to AP.
There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang, which is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and located in the north-west of China.
A series of police files obtained by the BBC in 2022 revealed details of China's use of "re-education camps" and described the routine use of armed officers and the existence of a shoot-to-kill policy for those trying to escape.