BEIJING (AFP) \u2013 China hit out at the European Parliament on Friday (Oct 25) for awarding a key human rights prize to jailed Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti, saying that he is a \u201cterrorist\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tohti \u2013 a former economics professor sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 by Beijing \u2013 was announced as the winner of the Sakharov Prize on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing on Friday that giving the award to Tohti was \u201cproblematic\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope that Europe can respect China\u2019s internal affairs and judicial sovereignty, and avoid celebrating a terrorist,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The outspoken Tohti was convicted for \u201cseparatism\u201d in a trial that provoked outcry from foreign governments and human rights organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European Parliament head David Sassoli urged Beijing to immediately release Tohti as he announced the award, calling him a \u201cvoice of moderation and reconciliation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what exactly this prize is, what its importance, value or impact are,\u201d said Hua. \u201cBut what I know is Ilham Tohti is a criminal convicted by Chinese courts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tohti, who turned 50 on Friday, was also awarded the top Vaclav Havel award in September for \u201cgiving the entire Uighur people a voice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has also been nominated by US lawmakers for the Nobel Peace Prize, amid growing scrutiny of China\u2019s treatment of the Uighurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rights groups and experts say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities have been rounded up in internment camps in the north-west region of Xinjiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China initially denied the existence of the camps, but now says they are \u201cvocational training schools\u201d necessary to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before his arrest in January 2014, Tohti founded and ran the UighurOnline website, which wrote in Uighur and Chinese about social issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gained prominence as a moderate voice drawing attention to ethnic tensions in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The website was shut down when he was arrested, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based watchdog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington this month announced the blacklisting of 28 Chinese entities it says are involved in rights violations in Xinjiang, which China rejected as \u201cgroundless\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n