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Ilham Tohti

Riot police stand guard a checkpoint near the courthouse where ethnic Uighur academic Ilham Tohti's trial took place in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in mid-September.

China’s harsh punishment for a moderate Uighur could make things worse in Xinjiang

Justice

Even cynics were surprised when a court in China handed moderate Uighur independence advocate Ilham Tohti a life sentence and severe economic penalties on Tuesday. Now observers think the harsh ruling may further stoke tensions and violence in China’s Xinjiang province.

Guzailai Nu'er, the wife of Ilham Tohti, looks out the window of her house in Beijing as she does an interview over the phone with Reuters on January 17, 2014. Nu'er has been prevented from leaving by Chinese police.

Recent arrests show China taking a harder line on all forms of dissent