article_snippet: Ilham Tohti, an economics professor at Central University for Nationalities in Beijing and the founder of the "Uyghur Online" website was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2014 on charges of "separatism.
article_snippet: The charge was based on his online articles, university lectures and interviews with foreign media.
article_snippet: his worked to peacefully build bridges between ethnic communities and often criticized government policies that promoted discrimination.
article_snippet: I have not seen evidence that his words did otherwise.