Imprisoned Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti becomes Nobel Peace Prize nominee for 2024

More than 180 high-level officials and experts have nominated the 53-year-old jailed Uyghur academic and blogger Ilham Tohti to receive the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role as “the true symbol of the Uyghur people’s fight for freedom” under Chinese rule in Xinjiang.

The nomination includes signatures from ministers, parliamentarians, university rectors and professors from countries including Canada, Japan, Rwanda, Australia, Paraguay, Turkey and France.

Supporters nominated Tohti days after the anniversary of a Dec. 9, 2021, ruling by an independent Uyghur Tribunal proclaimed that China has perpetrated genocide against the Uyghur people.

Tohti was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 23, 2014, following a two-day show trial on charges of promoting separatism.