Your gift matched: Donate now Dear friends, Chinese police arrested Professor Ilham Tohti and jailed him for life for “stirring up ethnic hatred.” He is serving this unjust sentence despite the fact that all of his writings and lectures have always opposed violence. Professor Ilham Tohti is part of China’s Uighur community, a marginalized ethnic group that faces widespread discrimination in employment, education, housing and curtailed religious freedom. Now more than ever, it’s important that we build a larger and stronger grassroots movement that demands respect for human rights. Donations will support our efforts: - Mobilizing activists to write letters and sign petitions to Chinese authorities.
- Organizing scholars from Harvard, Oxford and the University of Hong Kong to advocate for his release.
- Buying postage for sending petitions and letters.
- Engaging human rights experts to apply “grasstops” pressure on Chinese officials.
This case needs our urgent attention. Professor Ilham Tohti has been tortured in detention, was denied food for 10 days and shackled for more than 20 days. Efforts like these make a difference. Last year’s Write for Rights campaign helped to free three prisoners of conscience and two other cases. And in 2015, Amnesty helped free another Uighur, activist Ablikim Abdiriyim. Sincerely, Zeke Johnson Managing Director, Individuals at Risk Program | 
