U.S. condemns China over sentencing of Uighur academic

Dawut, known for her studies of Uighur folklore and traditions, disappeared from Xinjiang in 2017 and was secretly sentenced in 2018

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department has condemned China’s sentencing of Uighur ethnographer Rahile Dawut to life in prison.

Dawut, known for her studies of Uighur folklore and traditions, disappeared from Xinjiang in 2017 and was secretly sentenced in 2018.

The U.S. alleges that Dawut and other Uyghur intellectuals were wrongfully imprisoned as part of China’s campaign to eradicate Uyghur culture.

The State Department said the life sentence was an example of China’s overall intent to erase Uighur identity and undermine academic freedom.

“Professor Dawut’s life sentence is part of an apparent broader effort by the PRC to eradicate Uyghur identity and culture and undermine academic freedom, including through the use of detentions and disappearances,” the statement said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China. 

Dawut, 57, an anthropologist by training, founded Xinjiang University’s Minority Folklore Research Center and has written numerous articles and books on Islamic shrines in Central Asia.

Her disappearance coincided with China’s launch of a large-scale arrest operation in Xinjiang.

Reports from 2021 confirmed her arrest in 2017 and subsequent conviction in 2018. 

China has detained up to 1.8 million Uyghurs in detention centers established in 2017

China initially denied establishing detention camps, but later admitted to them, portraying them as training or reeducation facilities.

Western authorities and human rights organizations, however, accuse China of intending to eradicate Uighur culture and call its actions genocide — a claim China vehemently denies.