Amnesty International on Wednesday called on world leaders to help secure the release of imprisoned Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti ahead of the 10-year anniversary of his conviction.

The rights group highlighted the need for international governments to elevate diplomatic efforts to secure Tohti’s immediate and unconditional release. Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnes Callamard stated:

When Ilham Tohti promoted cooperation and peaceful coexistence between China’s Uyghur and Han communities, the Chinese government responded with repression and imprisonment. His decade-long incarceration is a further shameful stain on China’s troubled human rights record … The shocking milestone of his 10th year behind bards underlines the need for the international community to do more.

Amnesty International said that Tohti was convicted “on baseless charges of ‘separatism'” and received an “unfair trial” before being sentenced to life in prison on September 23, 2014. The group also stated that Tohti has been subject to torture and ill-treatment in prison, including shackling, prolonged solitary confinement and denial of adequate care.

Tohti was an economics professor who staunchly criticized the Chinese government’s discrimination and repression against the Uyghur minority in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Chinese authorities arrested Tohti in January 2014, with authorities accusing him of promoting independence for Xinjiang. Tohti had previously been “forcibly disappeared” following allegations that he incited the 2009 Urumqi Riots.

On the tenth anniversary of Tohti’s detention, the US State Department denounced China’s actions in Xinjiang, calling for the release of Tohti and other individuals who are arbitrarily detained. The department stated, “[Tohti’s] life sentence demonstrates the PRC’s efforts to silence those brave enough to speak out against the government’s discriminatory practices and other human rights abuses, which include genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”

The Uyghur people are predominantly Turkic-speaking Muslims, with approximately 11.5 million Uyghurs live in Xinjiang. According to a 2021 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), China has arbitrarily detained around 1.3 million Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims. Countries and international organizations have criticized China’s treatment of the Muslim community in Xinjiang over recent years, expressing specific concerns over claims of arbitrary detention, forced labor and genocide. In June, for instance, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned China’s suppression of the Muslim community in Xinjiang and claimed the government is working to “erase” Uyghur culture.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concluded in 2022 that China may be committing crimes against humanity against Muslim minorities. HRW further claimed that China has continued to commit such crimes in the two years since the OHCHR report was released and called on UN member countries to “intensify pressure on the Chinese government to end its abuses.”