China sentences Uyghur scholar Rahile Dawut to life in jail

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23rd Sep, 2023. 07:51 pm
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China sentences Uyghur scholar Rahile Dawut to life in prison.
Dawut was accused of endangering state security.
She is one of many Uyghur intellectuals who have faced detention, arrest, and imprisonment since 2016.

China has sentenced a prominent Uyghur academic, Rahile Dawut, to life in prison for allegedly “endangering state security,” as confirmed by the US-based Dui Hua Foundation rights group.

This sentence comes after Dawut appealed against a previous 2018 ruling, which she lost earlier this month.

China has faced accusations of committing crimes against humanity targeting the Uyghur population and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Human rights organizations estimate that China has forcibly detained over a million Uyghurs in recent years within a vast network of facilities termed “re-education camps” by the state. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands have been handed prison sentences as part of this crackdown.

“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.

In December 2018, Rahile Dawut underwent a secret trial in a Xinjiang court following her arrest in the prior year on charges of “splittism,” which is considered a crime related to endangering state security.

A source within the Chinese government confirmed her life imprisonment sentence to the Dui Hua group.

Before her arrest, Rahile Dawut was an esteemed expert in Uyghur folklore and traditions, serving as a faculty member at the Xinjiang University College of Humanities.

She also founded the Ethnic Minorities Research Centre at the university in 2007 and conducted extensive fieldwork across Xinjiang.

Additionally, she has delivered lectures at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom, including prestigious institutions such as Harvard and Cambridge.

Dui Hua noted that Rahile Dawut is part of a growing list of Uyghur intellectuals who have faced detention, arrest, and imprisonment since 2016.

Accusations of genocide in Xinjiang have been made by several countries, including the United States. Leading human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused China of committing crimes against humanity.

However, China has consistently denied these allegations.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, stated on Friday that she had “no information” regarding Rahile Dawut’s case, as reported by AP.

Xinjiang, officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is home to approximately 12 million Uyghurs, mostly of Muslim faith, and is located in the northwest of China.

China sentences Uyghur scholar Rahile Dawut to life in jail

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