BEIJING-A prominent Uyghur academic has been reportedly jailed for life by China for “endangering state security”.
Rahile Dawut’s sentence was confirmed after she appealed against a 2018, according to the US-based Dui Hua Foundation rights group. The 57-year-old professor lost her appeal this month. China has been accused of crimes against humanity against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghurs against their will over the past few years in a large network of what the state calls “re-education camps”.
It has sentenced hundreds of thousands to prison terms. “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.__Courtesy The Nation
