February 20, 2014
President Xi Jinping
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
100017 Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Your Excellency:
As a member of the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies the Royal
Society of Canada is writing to express concern about the recent detention of our colleague Ilham Tohti, a
Chinese economist and rights activist. Professor Tohti, an ethnic Uighur, is a professor at Beijing’s Central
Nationalities University, and has been an outspoken supporter of the rights of China’s Uighur citizens. He
has been subject to ongoing surveillance and harassment which has included house arrest, detention, and
interference with his travel. Last year, Professor Tohti was prevented from leaving China to take a position as
a visiting scholar at Indiana University.
On January 15, 2014, more than 20 police officers reportedly conducted a 6-hour raid on Professor Tohti’s
home, seizing his mobile phone, computers, credit cards, and other documents. He was detained on suspicion
of “breaking the law” and his whereabouts are unknown. At least six of his students were also reportedly
detained for questioning.
We are concerned that Professor Tohti appears to be detained solely for peacefully exercising his
fundamental rights to freedom of expression and opinion as promulgated by the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. We respectfully request that the charges against Professor Tohti be clarified, that his
whereabouts be communicated to his family, that he be provided access to legal counsel, and that his
conditions of confinement meet internationally recognized standards. We are grateful for your attention to
this request and anxiously await your response.
Sincerely,
Jeremy N. McNeil
Foreign Secretary
Irving Abella
Chair, Committee on Intervention in Matters of Public Importance
cc:
H.E. Mr. Wang Yi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Guy Saint-Jacques, Ambassador of Canada to China
Canadian Embassy
Ambassador J. Zhang
Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China
Carol Corillon, Director
Committee on Human Rights
(Please also send copies to your country’s ambassador to China and the Chinese ambassador to your country.)