The European Parliament should also work with European Union institutions, governments, and national parliaments to press for urgent United Nations access to Xinjiang to report on serious human rights violations.
“While the Sakharov Prize might bring some comfort and hope to Professor Tohti’s family, it’s a powerful reminder that China is getting away with outrageous abuses in Xinjiang,” said Lotte Leicht, EU director at Human Rights Watch. “EU members should recommit themselves to challenging China’s ruthless crackdown on dissent and pressing for the release of people wrongfully detained.”
The European Parliament announced that it was awarding the 2019 Sakharov Prize – its highest award for human rights work – to Tohti on October 24, 2019. Tohti was prosecuted in a sham trial on baseless charges of “separatism” and given a life sentence in September 2014.
