Nov 21
Daughter of Renowned and Imprisoned Uyghur Intellectual Joins VOC as Uyghur Human Rights Fellow
Jewher Ilham holds up a photo of her father, Ilham Tohti, a renowned Uyghur intellectual imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is pleased to announce that Jewher Ilham has joined us as a Uyghur Human Rights Fellow.
Jewher Ilham is an emerging voice for the Uyghur people and an accomplished young scholar in her own right. Jewher is the daughter of Ilham Tohti, an internationally renowned Uyghur intellectual who is currently serving a life sentence in the People’s Republic of China for his advocacy on behalf of the Uyghur people. He was arrested, detained, and separated from his daughter in 2013 while traveling to the United States. Since then, Jewher has started her life over stateside and continues to tirelessly advocate for Uyghur causes on her father’s behalf.
“VOC is honored to have Jewher join our team to tell her story, her father’s story, the story of her people, and the truth about communism,” says VOC’s executive director Marion Smith. “The Chinese Communist Party is conducting cultural genocide—including mass internment and forced sterilizations of Uyghurs—and the world is only beginning to notice but has not yet responded. We look forward to the many contributions Jewher will make toward a better understanding of the Uyghur people and their plight under Xi Jinping’s communist regime in Beijing.”
Visit VOC’s website to access Jewher’s full bio and samples of her TV, podcast, and print appearances.
