Trial for Uighur scholar accused of separatism; defendant's lawyer comments

Описание: (18 Sep 2014) A Muslim Uighur scholar accused of separatism was on Thursday seeking to show that his writings and classroom lectures were not a campaign to split his native Xinjiang region from China.
Frequent government critic and former Beijing economics professor Ilham Tohti is on trial, accused of fomenting ethnic hatred and unrest to overthrow Chinese rule in Xinjiang, which has seen an increase in violence over the past 18 months that authorities blame on "terrorist cells" seeking a separate state.
His supporters say he is a moderate who has sought a middle road in resolving the region's ethnic tensions, and that the case against him reflects Communist Party-ruled China's unwillingness to allow criticism and free speech.
He was expected to testify Thursday in the second day of the trial, which has been closed to foreign reporters.
His lawyer Li Fanping said prosecutors on Wednesday cited Ilham Tohti's online articles about Uighur rights, education and Christianity.
They also cited his classroom pronouncements to the typically ethnic minority students who took his classes at Beijing's Minzu University, including his strong emphasis on proclaiming Uighurs to be distinct from China's Han majority, Li said.
"The next step will be to explain that this material does not amount to separatism," Li said ahead of Thursday's second day of proceedings in what was expected to be a two-day trial in Urumqi People's Intermediate Court in the Xinjiang regional capital.
A verdict was not expected until later.
Ilham Tohti could face from 10 years to life in prison, Li said.
Police formed a several-block perimeter around the venue with tape, keeping away journalists, bystanders and Western diplomats from eight nations and the European Union who travelled to Urumqi in an attempt to witness the trial.
Some of his relatives, including his wife, were allowed to attend the proceedings.
Ilham Tohti has long been a critic of what he calls the systematic exclusion of Uighurs from the economic benefits brought to Xinjiang by migrants from China's Han majority, and has sought to prevent the Turkic Uighur language and culture from being marginalised.
He was arrested in Beijing earlier this year amid the recent violence, and authorities have blamed him for fomenting some of the unrest.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...