A leading Muslim Uygur scholar was today sentenced to life imprisonment for advocating separation of the restive Xinjiang province from China.
The verdict by the Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, deprived Ilham Tohti of his political rights for life and confiscated his personal property.
Tohti, 44, strongly denied the charges of separatism during the two-day trial that started last Wednesday, saying in a closing statement that "he loved his country" and that it was always his opinion that it was in the best interests of Uygurs to remain in China, his lawyer Li Fangping said.
The verdict against Tohti, known to be a moderate academic, was strongly condemned by the European Union which dexcribed it as completely unjustified.
"The EU condemns the life sentence for alleged 'separatism' handed out today to Uighur economics professor Ilham Tohti, which is completely unjustified," a statement released here said.
"Tohti has consistently, courageously and unambiguously advocated peacefully for greater understanding and dialogue between various communities, and with the state," Human Rights Watch said.
Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Afghanistan, is experiencing a major conflict as native Muslim Uygurs numbering over 11 million are restive over the rising number of Han settlers marginalising them in their homeland.
In the last few years, the province has become a centre for many violent attacks as the al-Qaeda-backed East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is heading a separatist insurgency.
The court heard that the former economics lecturer at Beijing's Minzu University of China spread lessons containing separatist thoughts through the website Uygur Online.
He coerced students to work for the website and built a criminal syndicate, according to the ruling, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Tohti organised the group to write, edit, translate and reprint articles seeking Xinjiang's separation from China.
The articles attacked China's ethnic, religious, economic and family planning policies, and incited ethnic hatred by distorting the causes of a number of riots and disputes that occurred in Xinjiang and Beijing, the court statement said.
It said using his website, Tohti encouraged fellow Uygurs to use violence. He colluded with foreign groups and individuals in hyping incidents related to Xinjiang with the aim of making domestic issues international.
Tohti was prosecuted by the People's Procuratorate of Urumqi in late July for separatism.
A public trial was held by the Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi last week, with two lawyers for the defendant.
Police authorities said in January a meticulous probe had proved that Tohti formed a separatist group and undertook clandestine separatist activities.
The sentence came two days after a series of explosions killed two people and injured a number of others in several locations in Xinjiang.
