Published: Oct 9, 2025 – 9:40 AM EDT
By: Uyghur Times Staff
Key Points:
– French-Uyghur scholar Dr. Dilnur Reyhan faces trial near Paris on October 13.
– Chinese embassy staff filed charges after a 2022 protest against Beijing.
– Rights groups urge French authorities to drop the case.
A French court will try Dr. Dilnur Reyhan, president of the European Uyghur Institute, on October 13 for “degradation of property belonging to others.” The charge stems from a 2022 protest at a Paris-area music festival, where Reyhan reportedly threw red paint on a Chinese embassy banner while denouncing Beijing’s genocide against Uyghurs.
Three employees of the Chinese embassy filed a complaint, claiming property damage valued at €25. Prosecutors initially dismissed the case in 2023, but it was reopened shortly after Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to France in May 2024.
“The aim is not to win or lose the case, but to impose a psychological and financial cost to silence me,” Reyhan said during an earlier hearing.
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, say the charges are part of China’s broader campaign of transnational repression targeting Uyghur and Tibetan activists abroad.
Observers urge French authorities to protect freedom of expression and drop the case, emphasizing that peaceful criticism of China’s human rights record should not be punished.
Source: HRW
