Ilham Tohti's Award for Humanism

Academic Ilham Tohti was awarded the EU Parliament's top human rights prize

Ilham Tohti, a respected Uighur academic, economist and writer who has been jailed for life since 2014, has been awarded the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament's top human rights prize.

We wrote about his being charged for separatism and at the time were shocked by this -- he is considered a moderate voice and urged the Chinese government to invest in minority populations, to promote more Uighur cadres to positions of real responsibility, and establish a framework of legal protections for ethnic autonomy.  Instead the Chinese authorities deemed him to be a "separatist" and sentenced to life in prison.

EU Parliament President David Sassoli

The EU Parliament said Tohti, who was a former professor at Minzu University, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his attempts to "foster dialogue" between Chinese people and Uighurs. "The parliament calls on the Chinese authorities to release him immediately," EU Parliament President David Sassoli said.

"By awarding this prize, we strongly urge the Chinese government to release Tohti and we call for the respect of minority rights in China," Sassoli said.

The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded annually by the EU Parliament in memory of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. The award was created in 1988 and awarded to "those who carry the spirit of dissident Andrei Sakharov", who dedicate their lives to the peaceful struggle for human rights.

Andrei Sakharov won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975

It is hard to find out how Tohti is doing. According to liberal EU legislator Phil Bennion, the Uighur academic has been in solitary confinement for years and hasn't seen his family since 2017. Bennison hopes Beijing will allow a delegation of EU legislators to visit him in prison to tell him the news of the award. However, it seems highly unlikely.

Last month Tohti was also awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights prize by the Council of Europe, which is not an EU institution, but acts as Europe's human rights watchdog.

The Andrei Sakharov prize will be presented in Strasbourg, France on December 18.

Perhaps his daughter, Jewher Ilham, who is now living in the United States, will accept the award on her father's behalf.

She says the award recognizes the "suffering that Uighurs have gone through.

Tohti's daughter, Jewher Ilham who lives in the US

"Everyday I wake up worrying about my family members in China, and of course, I'm afraid. When my dad first started speaking up for the Uighurs, he knew he could end up in prison. But he decided to take on this fight and continue on for other people's sake."

Sadly, Tohti's imprisonment was a foreshadowing of what was to come. In 2017 China began building "schools" in Xinjiang for Uighurs to undergo "reeducation". Academics have estimated at least 1 million people have been held in these camps where Uighurs are forced to undergo indoctrination programs, like studying Chinese propaganda and learning about Xi Jinping thought.

When will this horrific nightmare end for Uighurs? When will Tohti be free?

The world must continue to press for Tohti to be released, as well as his fellow compatriots who are stuck behind the walls of these camps. The Vaclav Havel Human Rights prize and now the Andrei Sakharov Prize are highlighting Tohti's plight and the need to push China to stop this inhumane treatment of its own people.