Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced a prominent scholar from China's mostly-Muslim Uighur minority to life in prison for "separatism," his lawyer said, in a case which critics say could add to tensions in the restive Xinjiang region.
Ilham Tohti, a former university professor and outspoken critic of China's policies in the far western region, "will certainly appeal", his lawyer Li Fangping told AFP. The United States and European Union have called for Tohti's release.