page_title: Ilham Tohti
section_title: Awards and recognition
hierarchical_section_title: Ilham Tohti / Awards and recognition
caption_attribution_description: Ilham Tohti's daughter Jewher Ilham accepted the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Wednesday on behalf of her jailed father. Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur scholar fighting for the rights of China’s Muslim Uyghur minority, has been in jail since 2014 on separatism-related charges. Presenting the award, Parlimaent President David Sassoli said: “Ilham Tohti, with his activism, managed to give a voice to the Uyghurs. [...] He has been working for 20 years to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between them and other Chinese people. &quot;Today should be a moment of joy, to celebrate freedom of speech. Instead, it is a day of sadness. Once again, this chair is empty, because in the world we are living, exercising our freedom of thought does not always mean being free.&quot; Read more: &lt;a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/priorities/sakharov-prize-2019/20191213STO69021/sakharov-prize-daughter-of-2019-winner-ilham-tohti-receives-prize-on-his-behalf" rel="noreferrer nofollow"&gt;www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/priorities/sakha...&lt;/a&gt; This photo is free to use under Creative Commons license CC-BY-4.0 and must be credited: &quot;CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2019 – Source: EP&quot;. (&lt;a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noreferrer nofollow"&gt;creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/&lt;/a&gt;) No model release form if applicable. For bigger HR files please contact: webcom-flickr(AT)europarl.europa.eu
context_page_description: Ilham Tohti is a Uyghur economist serving a life sentence in China, on separatism-related charges. He is a vocal advocate for the implementation of regional autonomy laws in China, was the host of Uyghur Online, a website founded in 2006 that discusses Uyghur issues, and is known for his research on Uyghur-Han relations. Tohti was summoned from his Beijing home and detained shortly after the July 2009 Ürümqi riots by the authorities because of his criticism of the Chinese government's policies toward Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Tohti was released on August 23rd after international pressure and condemnation. He was arrested again in January 2014 and imprisoned after a two day trial. For his work in the face of adversity he was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, the Martin Ennals Award, the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, and the Sakharov Prize. Tohti is viewed as a moderate and believes that Xinjiang should be granted autonomy according to democratic principles.
context_section_description: In September 2016 he was nominated for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, and the following month he was declared as the winner of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.  The Martin Ennals foundation cited Tohti for spending two decades trying "to foster dialogue and understanding" between the Han Chinese majority and members of Xinjiang's largely Muslim Uighurs. “He has rejected separatism and violence, and sought reconciliation based on a respect for Uighur culture, which has been subject to religious, cultural and political repression,” they added.
  In September 2019 the Council of Europe jointly awarded the 2019 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize to Ilham Tohti and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights. Enver Can of the Ilham Tohti Initiative received the prize on his behalf.
  In October 2019 Ilham Tohti was awarded the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament.
  Tohti has dedicated his life to advocating for the rights of the Uyghur minority in China. Despite being a voice of moderation and reconciliation, he was sentenced to life in prison following a show trial in 2014. By awarding this prize, we strongly urge the Chinese government to release Tohti and we call for the respect of minority rights in China.
  — David Sassoli (President of the European Parliament)
  In December 2019 Tohti's daughter, Jewher Ilham, accepted the Sakharov Prize and €50,000 on his behalf.
  I am grateful for the opportunity to tell his story, because he cannot tell it himself. To be honest with you, I do not know where my father is. 2017 was the last time my family received word about him.
  — Jewher Ilham
caption: Jewher Ilham accepting the 2019 Sakharov Prize on behalf of her father from David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament
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