Ilham Tohti est le lauréat 2016 du Prix Martin Ennals pour les défenseur-e-s des droits humains

IlhamTohti (China)

A renowned Uyghur intellectual in China, Ilham Tohtihas worked for two decades to foster dialogue and understanding between Uyghursand Han Chinese. He has rejected separatism and violence, and soughtreconciliation based on a respect for Uyghur culture, which has been subject toreligious, cultural and political repression in the Xinjiang Uyghur AutonomousRegion.

In 1994 he began to write about problems and abusesin Xinjiang, which led to official surveillance. From 1999 to 2003 he wasbarred from teaching. Since then the authorities have also made it impossiblefor him to publish in normal venues. As a response, he turned to the Internetto broaden public awareness of the economic, social and developmental issuesconfronting the Uyghurs. In 2006 he established Uyghurbiz.net, a Chinese-languagesite, to foster dialogue and understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese.Over the course of its existence, it has been shut down periodically, andpeople writing for it have been harassed.

In 2009, he was arrested for several weeks afterposting information on Uyghurs who had been arrested, killed and “disappeared”during and after protests. In the following years he was periodically subjectedto house arrest, and in 2013, while bound to take up a post as a visitingscholar at Indiana University, USA, he was detained at the airport andprevented from leaving China.

On January 15, 2014, Ilham Tohti was arrested oncharges of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment, after a two-daytrial. Numerous statements were issued by Western governments and the EuropeanUnion condemning his trial and sentence, and in early 2016 several hundredacademics petitioned the Chinese leadership for his release.

Upon his nomination as a Finalist for the MartinEnnals Award earlier this year, his daughter stated: “My father Ilham Tohti hasused only one weapon in his struggle for the basic rights of the Uyghurs ofXinjiang: Words; spoken, written, distributed, and posted. This is all he hasever had at his disposal, and all that he has ever needed. And this is whatChina found so threatening. A person like him doesn't deserve to be in prisonfor even a day.”

Martin Ennals Foundation Chair Dick Oosting stated “The real shame of this situation is that byeliminating the moderate voice of Ilham Tohti the Chinese Government is in factlaying the groundwork for the very extremism it says it wants to prevent”.

Thetwo other finalists received Martin Ennals Prizes:

Razan Zaitouneh (Syria)

Razan has dedicated her life to defending political prisoners,documenting violations, and helping others free themselves from oppression. Shefounded the Violations Documentation Center (VDC), which documents the deathtoll and ill-treatment in Syria's prisons. She had started to cover all sidesin the conflict when she was kidnapped, alongside with her husband and twocolleagues, on 9 December 2013. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

Zone 9 Bloggers (Ethiopia)

Kality prison in Ethiopia, has 8 zones and holdsmany journalists and political prisoners. 9 young activists called themselves‘Zone 9’ as a symbol for Ethiopia as a whole. They document human rights abusesand shed light on the situation of political prisoners in Ethiopia. Six of itsmembers were arrested and charged with terrorism. Although they have now beenreleased, three are in exile while four of the six remaining in in Ethiopia arestill facing charges and are banned from travel.

The main award of the human rightsmovement. The Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders(MEA) is a unique collaboration among ten of the world’s leading human rightsorganizations to give protection tohuman rights defenders worldwide. The Jury is composed of the following NGOs:

Martin EnnalsAward Jury:

- Amnesty International - EWDEGermany

- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) - Front Line Defenders

- Human Rights First -Human Rights Watch

- International Commission of Jurists -HURIDOCS

- International Service for Human Rights -FIDH

Moreinformation is available on www.martinennalsaward.org

Contact:Michael Khambatta, Director of the Martin Ennals Foundation: khambatta@martinennalsaward.org / +41 79 474 8208