Tomorrow, the European Parliament will award the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in Strasbourg – and this year, the Parliament will honor the Uyghur human rights activist Ilham Tohti. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) welcomes the EU's statement against the oppression of the Muslim community in western China. "But the people in Xinjiang need more than well-meant gestures", emphasized Ulrich Delius, the STP's director. "If Europe is serious about its much-quoted values, then this is the time for real sanctions."

Three leading politicians of the Communist Party are mainly responsible for the perfidious system of mass internment: Xinjiang's party secretary, Chen Quanguo, the former head of security of the Zhu Hailun region, and his successor Wang Junzheng. "When the EU Parliament discusses the situation in Xinjiang tomorrow after the award ceremony, it should also consider sanctions against these politicians," Delius stated. "Whoever is responsible for crimes against humanity on this scale should not be allowed to enter Europe – and shouldn't be allowed to hold capital here either.

Before his transfer to Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo was party secretary in Tibet – responsible for the repression of the Buddhist community there. It was security chief Zhu Hailun who set up the camps and the mass surveillance system throughout the region, and his successor Wang Junzheng is in charge now. Their role in the deportation and detention of over a million Uighurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz Muslims has been known for some time – and their signatures can also be found on some of the recently revealed China Cables documents.

The 50-year-old professor of economics Ilham Tohti is regarded as a bridge builder between the Uyghurs and the majority population of the Han. "The Sakharov Prize honors the peaceful commitment of someone who, despite all intimidation and threats by the Chinese state security, decided to push through with his life's work of promoting mutual understanding," Delius stated. In 2014, Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment, so his daughter Jewher Ilham will accept the award in Strasbourg on his behalf.

Over the past two years, the STP had repeatedly suggested Tohti as a possible winner of the Sakharov Prize winner in the European Parliament. Two years ago, the STP had successfully nominated him for the Human Rights Award of the City of Weimar, which he received in 2017. China's government had reacted with furious protests and sanctions against scientific institutions in Weimar.