Antony Blinken Meets Jewher Ilham, Daughter of Jailed Uyghur Scholar Ilham Tohti

By Uyghur Times Staff

July 11, 2024

Antoni Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, recently met with Jewher Ilham, daughter of imprisoned Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti. Jewher Ilham shared on Twitter, “Recently, I had a conversation with @SecBlinken regarding my father #IlhamTohti. I was encouraged to learn of his steadfast commitment to advocating for my father’s release. Despite the Chinese government’s threats that I must stop criticizing China to ever speak with my father again.”

Ilham Tohti, a respected Uyghur scholar, was sentenced to life in prison on September 23, 2014, on charges of “separatism.” Since 2017, he has reportedly been denied visits from family members. During his pre-trial detention, authorities subjected him to severe abuse, including prolonged shackling and deprivation of food and water. His current health status remains unknown.

Jewher Ilham’s meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlights the Biden administration’s efforts to secure her father’s freedom amid widespread condemnation of China’s human rights abuses in the Uyghur homeland.

Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department issued a statement urging the Chinese government to release Ilham Tohti.”We once again condemn the PRC’s ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang, and we call on the PRC to respect the human dignity of members of ethnic and religious minority groups and to immediately and unconditionally release Tohti and all those arbitrarily detained in Xinjiang and throughout all of China.”

Ilham Tohti received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2019 from the European Parliament for his efforts in promoting understanding between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. In 2020, he was honored with the Human Rights Award by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which was accepted on his behalf by his daughter. He also received the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2019, jointly awarded by the Council of Europe for giving a voice to the Uyghur people.