Free professor serving life sentence: Your gift matched

Your gift matched: Donate now Dear friends, Chinese police arrested Professor Ilham Tohti and jailed him for life for “stirring up ethnic hatred.” He is serving this unjust sentence despite the fact that all of his writings and lectures have always opposed violence. Professor Ilham Tohti is part of China’s Uighur community, a marginalized ethnic group that faces widespread discrimination in employment, education, housing and curtailed religious freedom. Please help Amnesty demand that Chinese authorities free Professor Ilham Tohti. Your donation will help fund our Write for Rights campaign — our letter-writing initiative that channels activist energy towards a handful of specific cases including Tohti’s. Your gift now will be matched dollar for dollar and will have twice the impact. Now more than ever, it’s important that we build a larger and stronger grassroots movement that demands respect for human rights. Donations will support our efforts: Mobilizing activists to write letters and sign petitions to Chinese authorities. Organizing scholars from Harvard, Oxford and the University of Hong Kong to advocate for his release. Buying postage for sending petitions and letters. Engaging human rights experts to apply “grasstops” pressure on Chinese officials. This case needs our urgent attention. Professor Ilham Tohti has been tortured in detention, was denied food for 10 days and shackled for more than 20 days. Efforts like these make a difference. Last year’s Write for Rights campaign helped to free three prisoners of conscience and two other cases. And in 2015, Amnesty helped free another Uighur, activist Ablikim Abdiriyim. Donate now and your contribution will go twice as far to help us ensure that Ilham Tohti walks free. Sincerely, Zeke Johnson Managing Director, Individuals at Risk Program P.S. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar. Help strengthen our movement to defend human rights globally and in the United States.     Professor Ilham Tohti was arrested in January 2014 and is serving a life sentence. Help Amnesty free Ilham Tohti. Donate now and your contribution will be matched dollar for dollar. Now more than ever, it’s important that we build a larger and stronger grassroots movement that demands respect for human rights. Amnesty tote included with a gift of $50 or more.

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