MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the cases of unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs in China, notably Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas

B10‑0116/2024

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the cases of unjustly imprisoned Uyghurs in China, notably Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas

(2024/2857(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas in 2014 the Xinjiang People’s High Court convicted Ilham Tohti on politically motivated charges of “separatism” and sentenced him to life in prison; whereas his family was not allowed visiting him since 2017; whereas he is in solitary confinement since under arrest; whereas in 2024 his Uyghur prison guard Ghopur Abdurishit was jailed for leaking information regarding Tohti’s conditions; whereas Ilham Tohti was awarded the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2019;

B. whereas Gulshan Abbas is serving a 20-year sentence since 2019 on fallacious terrorism-related charges; whereas Gulshan Abbas was detained six days after her sister, a Uyghur human rights defender, criticised the persecution of the Uyghur people in China; whereas Gulshan Abbas suffers from a number of health complications;

C. whereas the repression against Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas reflect the Chinese government’s abuses against the Uyghurs in the Xinjian Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR);

1. Urges the Chinese authorities to quash the conviction of Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas and to immediately and unconditionally release them along with all those arbitrarily detained in China;

2. Demands the Chinese authorities to guarantee their access to medical care and unrestricted access to their lawyers, to provide their families with their whereabouts and to ensure family visiting rights, including through virtual communication;

3. Condemns the human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese authorities, including against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic people in Xinjiang; Calls on Member States to swiftly adopt additional sanctions against high-ranking officials and entities involved in the Human Rights violations in XUAR;

4. Requires the Chinese authorities to halt their repression in the XUAR, targeting Uyghurs with policies that amount to  crime against humanity, as reported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2022, and represent a serious risk of genocide;

5. Strongly condemns China's lack of implementation of the OHCHR and the Universal Periodic Review recommendations as well as the lack of cooperation with UN human rights bodies; invites OHCHR to issue a comprehensive update on the situation in Xinjiang and to present an action plan to hold the Chinese government accountable;

6. Calls on the EU institutions and Member States to use every opportunity to request the release of Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas to the PRC authorities and to implement the OHCHR report;

7. Urges the Member States to apply, without delay or restrictions, the principle of non-refoulement to all persons fleeing persecution from Xinjiang and to offer international protection;

8. Urges Member States to mitigate all risks of transnational repression against Chinese dissidents and Uyghur people on their territory and to prosecute responsible individuals;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Chinese authorities, the HRVP, the Commission, the Member States, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary-General.