Beijing -
A Chinese court opened the trial of prominent Uighur-minority scholar Ilham Tohti on separatism charges on Wednesday, lawyers and supporters said.
The court in Urumqi, capital of the far-western Xinjiang region, sat for about three hours from mid-morning and would reconvene later Wednesday, said human rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan, who is representing Tohti at the trial.
“My father had no thought of splitting the country. My father is innocent!” Jewher Ilham, Tohti's US-based daughter, said on Twitter during the trial.
“He was imprisoned because he stood up and spoke out for his people, because he called for the equality of nationalities (ethnic groups),” she said.
Police arrested Ilham Tohti, 44, at his Beijing apartment in January, detaining him in his home region of Xinjiang some 2,000
kilometres west of Beijing.
His lawyers appealed without success for judicial authorities to have his case moved to Beijing.
Western governments and international human rights groups have criticised China's decision to prosecute him, arguing that Tohti is a moderate who promotes better relations between Uighurs and Chinese authorities.
His trial “only serves to deepen perceptions of discrimination against Uighurs,” US-based Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Tohti faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison if convicted of encouraging separatism, another of his lawyers, Li Fangping, said earlier.
Tohti is an economics professor at the Central Nationalities University in Beijing.
Six of his students, who were also arrested in January, were believed to be still in custody, Li said. - Sapa-dpa