Politics
(Strasbourg) Ilham Tohti is the winner of the 2019 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. His name was decided by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament during their meeting in Strasbourg today and was announced by EP President David Sassoli during the plenary. The other finalists were: Marielle Franco, Chief Raoni, Claudelice Silva dos Santos; and The Restorers. The prize – a parchment and a monetary award – will be bestowed during an official ceremony in Strasbourg on 18 December. Ilham Tohti is a Uyghur economist fighting for the rights of China’s Uyghur minority. A short biography on the EP websites explains that Tohti is “a proponent of dialogue and advocate for the implementation of regional autonomy laws in China. In 2014, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on separatism-related charges. Despite this, he remains a voice of moderation and reconciliation. Since 2017, more than one million Uyghurs have been detained in a network of internment camps”. President Sassoli said: “The European Parliament supports his commitment and calls on the Chinese authorities to release him immediately”.
