Ilham Tohti, a prominent economist and scholar from China’s ethnic Muslim Turkic Uighur group, was on Thursday taken from his home in Beijing by security authorities and may be facing arrest.
Mr. Tohti, who is a professor at the Central University of Nationalities in Beijing, is among the most influential intellectuals from China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang region. He has written extensively – and often critically – of the government’s policies there.
Mr. Tohti’s wife said more than two dozen police from both Beijing and Xinjiang security branches entered their home, which is right outside the university, and took away personal belongings. No reason was given for Mr. Tohti’s detention.
Chinese officials suggested he may be charged with a crime, with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei telling reporters at a briefing Mr. Tohti was “suspected of breaking the law,” according to Reuters.
In several interview with The Hindu, Mr. Tohti had expressed concerns over his safety in the wake of the July 2009 ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, which left at least 197 people killed.
