The Constraint of China's Constitution: Ilham TohtiThe Constraint of China's Constitution: Ilham Tohti

The People’s Republic of China has become a widely discussed and extensively debated topic in Türkiye, as it has around the world in recent times. Among the broad range of issues under discussion—from global trade and the Taiwan crisis to digital surveillance policies and artificial intelligence—the Uyghur Turks are also prominently included.

The Uyghur Turks, who live in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China, are one of the 56 ethnic groups in the country. Their rights, like those of every minority in the country, are officially protected by the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law^【1】. Or at least this is how it is presented to the world. But is this truly the case?

Ilham Tohti (AA)

According to the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law, which is enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the Uyghur Turks have the right to freely practice their language, culture, and traditions; to formulate their own governance policies in line with the central Chinese government; to determine local economic development policies; to have a say in the use of local natural resources; to freely practice their beliefs and worship; and to protect and manage their religious institutions. However, it is widely known that these rights, while existing in theory, have no practical counterpart, and that full control in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region rests entirely with Han Chinese authorities. It is now a globally recognized fact that the Uyghur Turks have been systematically excluded and assimilated. One of the most influential figures in bringing this reality to the world’s attention is Professor Dr. Ilham Tohti.

Ilham Tohti and His Imprisonment

Ilham Tohti, an academic of Uyghur origin living in Beijing, conducted and published scholarly research on the Uyghur Turks, a subject that became a serious “issue” for China. We learn about him primarily from the only book published in Türkiye about him, titled “The Imprisoned Leader Ilham Tohti: My Path and My Purpose.”

Ilham Tohti was born in Artush, China. At the age of 16, he gained admission to Beijing Nationalities University, where he began his academic career, later serving as a faculty member at the same institution. He conducted academic research in South Korea and Pakistan and remained an activist fighting for the rights of the Uyghur Turks until his arrest.

Tohti examined the consequences of the Chinese government’s deliberate exclusion of Uyghur Turks from industrial production and urban life, forcing them into rural areas. His research concluded that the Uyghur Turks were politically and economically marginalized, a situation stemming from the non-implementation of China’s Constitution and the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law. Among Uyghur intellectuals, he launched the “Uyghur Legal Movement” and made significant efforts to enlighten both Chinese and Uyghur societies by publishing content in both Chinese and Uyghur on his website, “uygurbiz,” launched in 2005. The Chinese government, disturbed by Tohti’s efforts to inform the international press about his human rights advocacy, used the July 5, 2009, Urumqi riots as a pretext to shut down the “uygurbiz” website and placed Tohti under house arrest. This imprisonment led to his widespread recognition within the Uyghur community as the “voice and conscience of the Uyghurs.” Ultimately, on September 23, 2014, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of “separatism.”

A Leader Between the Charge of “Separatism” and Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

Following Ilham Tohti’s life sentence, the People’s Republic of China faced international condemnation. The European Union described his sentence as “disproportionate and unjust.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the punishment constituted a “severe blow to freedom of expression” and accused China of violating the rights of the Uyghurs. The U.S. Department of State called on China to release Tohti and condemned its human rights violations. Countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada emphasized that Tohti had been unjustly imprisoned and demanded his immediate release.

As global reactions intensified, Ilham Tohti was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2016 and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament in 2019. In 2020, the U.S. Congress passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, imposing sanctions on Chinese officials for repression targeting the Uyghurs. Amnesty International declared Tohti a “prisoner of conscience” and launched a campaign for his release. Academics from Harvard, Oxford, and other prestigious universities published open letters arguing that Tohti was punished solely for his academic work.

Currently, under the Ilham Tohti Initiative, academics are campaigning to nominate Ilham Tohti for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tohti’s Freedom May Be Linked to the Nobel Peace Prize

The Ilham Tohti Initiative, established to protect the rights of the Uyghur Turks and secure Tohti’s release, has launched an awareness campaign in Türkiye. Through this campaign, Turkish and global academics are being informed about who Tohti is, the nature of his research, and the personal costs he has paid in his struggle for Uyghur rights. Academics who become aware of his case are now nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

On Saturday, January 25, a panel titled “The Life of Ilham Tohti and His Role in the East Turkestan Cause” was held at the Institute of Turkish Studies at Istanbul University. Organized jointly by the Isa Yusuf Alptekin Foundation, the Turkish World Research Foundation, the Uyghur Academy, and the Ilham Tohti Initiative, the panel emphasized that Tohti’s freedom could be tied to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. The participating academics stated that such a distinguished scholar, who has pursued his rights through legal means and produced extensive scientific research on behalf of the Uyghur Turks, cannot justifiably be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Tohti’s struggle will continue to be communicated to the public and to the academic community, both within universities and civil society organizations. Tohti, who was among the finalists for the award last year, is expected to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in the coming years, and it is hoped that this recognition will lead to his release.