Elektra Tuhti has been serving 12 years of life: United Nations documents claim that family members have not been visited since 2017

23 September marks the twelfth anniversary of the life sentence of the Uighur scholar, Ilhami Tokhti. On 24 January, the Movement issued an update of the case, stating that he was still serving his sentence at Prison No. 1 of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Public documents of recent United Nations human rights mechanisms record that their families have not been allowed visits since 2017.

Sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of “secession of the State” in 2014

Elektra was a teacher at the Central National University and created the website “Uighur Online”. (a) On 23 September 2014, following his arrest in January 2014, the Urumqi court sentenced him to life imprisonment for “secession of the State” and confiscated his personal property; The sentence was upheld in second instance. He himself denied the charges during the trial.

In its response to international human rights mechanisms, the Government of China has in the past insisted that its cases be dealt with by the judiciary in accordance with the law. International human rights organizations, the European Parliament and some United Nations experts have consistently criticized convictions, trial proceedings and long-term conditions of detention.

The interruption of family visits has become a recurrent issue in international human rights documents

The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council in 2025 states that the Elyhamu detention site is approximately 2,700 kilometres from Beijing, where the family has long lived, and that their families have not been allowed to visit them since

1. In another communication to the Government, the United Nations special procedures similarly recorded that he had not received family visits or contact since 2017 and requested information on the health, medical and communications situation in China.

This information is consistent with earlier public statements by El Haqmu ' s daughter and Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch. The lack of continuous disclosure of information on the prison system ' s state of health, meeting records and so forth has limited knowledge of the current life in its prisons.

The international awards have not changed the status of the sentence

In 2019, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Il Ham. His daughter received the award on his behalf and stated at the award site that the family had been unable to obtain direct information about him for many years. The European Parliament has since adopted numerous statements or resolutions calling on China to release Il Hamu; These political and human rights positions, which belong to the European Parliament, do not alter the criminal judgements already in force in Chinese courts.

The central fact after 12 years is still that information is closed

As of September 2026, it can be ascertained from open sources that the life sentence of Il Hamu is still being executed and that the places of detention are being directed by various human rights and United Nations sources at Xinjiang ' s first prison; Family visits, which have been interrupted since 2017, have also been documented by the United Nations. As to their current state of health, their daily correspondence and the continued incommunicado detention, the public information remains insufficient to provide new independent confirmations.

The next practical step in this case will depend on whether prison meetings are resumed, whether families have stable contact and whether the Chinese judicial and prison authorities have made more verifiable information available on their implementation.