France crisis talks after beheading

25 September 2014 Last updated at 11:53

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Francois Hollande told the UN Herve Gourdel's killing was a "cowardly assassination"

France's defence council is to hold a crisis meeting after the beheading of tourist Herve Gourdel by Algerian militants linked to Islamic State (IS).

The meeting was called by President Francois Hollande, who condemned the killing as "cruel and cowardly".

Jund al-Khilafa group killed Mr Gourdel after giving France an ultimatum to halt its air attacks on IS in Iraq.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Thursday France would consider targeting IS in Syria as well as Iraq.

Islamic State has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in recent months.

'Never cede to terrorism'

Ahead of Thursday's crisis meeting, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said "everything would be looked at again", including "what we want to do in Iraq and what will happen in Syria".

French warplanes have been taking part in US-led air strikes against IS in Iraq since last Friday, and on Thursday carried out new raids.

However, it has so far refrained from joining the US and several Arab states in attacking targets in Syria.

Mr Le Drian told French radio that it was "a question that is on the table". But he added: "The opportunity is not there today. We already have an important task in Iraq."

On Wednesday, President Hollande said despite the killing of Mr Gourdel, 55, French strikes in Iraq would continue.

"France is going through an ordeal through the murder of one of its citizens, but France will never give in to blackmail," Mr Hollande told the UN General Assembly.

"The fight against terrorism must continue and be stepped up."

Speaking on the sidelines of the assembly, he said that Mr Gourdel - who was seized on Sunday - had been killed because he was a representative of French people who "defend human dignity against barbarity".

"France will never give in to terrorism because it is our duty, and, more than that, because it is our honour.''

'Terrible shock'

Several French cities, including Mr Gourdel's home city in Nice, had flags flying at half mast on Thursday.

A government spokesman said flags across the country would be lowered from Friday to Sunday.

The head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith called on fellow Muslim leaders to meet on Friday to condemn militant attacks carried out in the name of Islam.

Jund al-Khilafa (Soldiers of the Caliphate) posted a video on Wednesday of Mr Gourdel's murder, entitled "Message of blood for the French government".

IS itself has beheaded three Western hostages since August: US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Their deaths were all filmed and posted online.

The group has also threatened to kill Britain's taxi driver Alan Henning, who was seized while on an aid mission to Syria in December.

French and Algerian newspapers react to murder

"Executed for being French," says French daily Liberation, framing his photo in black on its entire front page. "Murdered," is the headline in La Depeche du Midi.

France is now "plunged into fear", says Cecile Cornudet in Les Echos, adding: "It's the role of a political leader to stop that fear from turning into panic."

Dominique Quinio, in Catholic newspaper La Croix, says the French authorities are not to blame but "those who have decided that those who don't think or live like them…no longer have a place on Earth".

In Algeria, state-owned daily Ech-chaab calls the murder "a cowardly action and a hideous crime".

The entire front page in privately-owned daily Al-Fadjr carries the headline: "The return of brutality?!"

Born in the southern French city of Nice, Mr Gourdel worked as a mountain guide in the Mercantour national park in the Alps.

He had also been organising treks through the Atlas Mountains of Morocco for some 20 years, and had also visited Nepal and Jordan.

In the video posted by his killers, he is shown on his knees with his hands behind his back in front of four masked, armed militants.

He is allowed briefly to express his love for his family before one of the militants reads out a speech in which he denounces the actions of the "French criminal crusaders" against Muslims in Algeria, Mali and Iraq.

The beheading, the spokesman says, is to "avenge the victims in Algeria... and support the caliphate" proclaimed by IS in Iraq and Syria.

In Nice, residents expressed their horror over the killing.

"It's a terrible shock," Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

He added that Mr Gourdel's family had reacted to his death "with dignity, anger and an unspeakable pain".

Who are Jund al-Khilafa?

• Previously part of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which grew out of Algerian Islamist groups involved in 1990s civil war
• Carried out numerous attacks in Kabylie region - in April, ambushed an army convoy, leaving 11 soldiers dead
• Many residents have fled the region's forests and mountains in recent years because of insecurity
• Group said to be led by Abdelmalek Gouri, known as Khaled Abou Slimane, 37
• On 14 September, pledged allegiance to Islamic State

18.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus rescue mission for 300 at sea

25 September 2014 Last updated at 11:59

Cyprus has launched a rescue mission for 300 people, thought to be Syrian refugees, stranded off the island's west coast.

Most of the people on the small fishing boat are believed to be women and children.

They were spotted 55 nautical miles (100km) south of the resort town of Paphos. Helicopters are at the scene.

Cypriot authorities said they picked up a radio distress signal as the boat was caught in rough seas.

Coastguard patrol boats and a cruise ship have gone to the scene, Cypriot media report.

This year has seen a dramatic increase in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in overcrowded boats - particularly people fleeing the conflict in Syria. The majority have headed for Italy and Malta.

Libya, racked by unrest and lawlessness, has become a major people-trafficking hub. However, Cyprus lies closer to Syria.

18.20 | 0 komentar | Read More

US hits IS oil targets in Syria

25 September 2014 Last updated at 12:02

The US-led coalition against Islamic States (IS) has targeted oil refineries in Syria during a third night of air strikes against the militants.

The raids - carried out by US, Saudi and UAE aircraft - killed 14 IS fighters and five civilians in eastern Syria, activists said.

The US military said the refineries generated as much as $2 million (£1.2m) per day in revenue for IS.

US President Barack Obama has vowed to dismantle the IS "network of death".

IS has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq in recent months and controls several oilfields. Sales of smuggled crude oil have helped finance its offensive in both countries.

The US has launched nearly 200 air strikes against the militants in Iraq since August and expanded the operation against IS to Syria on Monday.

'Successful strikes'

The US military said the latest strikes, using fighter jets and drones, hit "small-scale" refineries that were producing "between 300-500 barrels of refined petroleum per day".

"We are still assessing the outcome of the attack on the refineries, but have initial indications that the strikes were successful," the US Central Command said in a statement.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that monitors the Syrian conflict, said the strikes killed 14 IS fighters in Deir al-Zour and five civilians in Hassakeh.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Mark Lowen, who is on the Turkey-Syria border, says the Syrian Kurdish refugees "don't want to be here"

Kurdish forces in northern Syria say they have pushed back an advance by IS fighters near the Kurdish town of Kobane, close to the border with Turkey.

Local media said clashes in the area were continuing on Thursday.

IS had besieged the town for several days, taking control of the surrounding villages and forcing more than 140,000 Syrian Kurds to flee into Turkey.

The BBC's Mark Lowen, who is on the Syria-Turkey border, says some of those Kurds are now trying to return to Kobane to fight with the Kurdish militia.

Turkey has been overwhelmed by an estimated 1.5 million Syrian and Iraqi refugees since the conflict in Syria between opposition forces and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began three years ago.

Rebel forces have faced several setbacks in recent months amid offensives against them by both IS fighters and Syrian government forces.

On Thursday, Syria's army said it had retaken the key strategic town of Adra, northeast of Damascus, which had been held by rebels.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a binding resolution compelling states to prevent their nationals joining jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

President Obama chaired the session and said nations must prevent the recruitment and financing of foreign fighters.

The US says more than 40 countries have offered to join the anti-IS coalition.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Barack Obama: IS "must be degraded and then ultimately destroyed"

France said its fighter jets had carried out fresh air strikes in Iraq on Thursday, a day after the beheading of a French hostage in Algeria by an IS-linked group.

The French military has been striking targets in Iraq since last week but has not taken part in anti-IS operations in Syria.

Meanwhile, the UN said on Thursday that IS had publicly killed a rights lawyer in the IS-held Iraqi city of Mosul, after finding her guilty of apostasy in a self-styled Islamic court.

Samira Salih al-Nuaimi was seized from her home last week after allegedly posting critical messages on Facebook on the destruction of places of worship by IS, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq said.

Coalition growing

On Wednesday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the British military was also ready to "play its part" in the fight against IS.

The UK Parliament has been recalled to discuss plans for air strikes against IS on Friday.

The Dutch government has also said it is deploying six F-16 fighter to join the US-led air campaign.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

In 60 seconds: What does Islamic State want?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, Western journalists and aid workers
• The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
• The US has been launching air strikes on IS targets in north-eastern Iraq since mid-August

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sierra Leone widens Ebola quarantine

25 September 2014 Last updated at 12:12

Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma has widened a quarantine to include three more districts in an attempt to curb the spread of Ebola.

Port Loko and Bombali in the north and Moyamba in the south are in effect to be sealed off immediately.

Nearly 600 people have died of the virus in Sierra Leone and two eastern districts have been isolated since the beginning of August.

The move follows a three-day nationwide lockdown that ended on Sunday night.

New figures released by the UN World Health Organization show that 2,917 people have died in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, with Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea worst affected.

During Sierra Leone's three-day curfew, more than a million households were surveyed and 130 new cases discovered, the authorities say.

President Koroma said the move had been a success but had exposed "areas of greater challenges", which was why other areas were being quarantined.

Only people delivering essential services can enter and circulate within areas under quarantine.

According to AFP news agency, the extension of the indefinite quarantine means more than a third of Sierra Leone's 6.1 million population now finds itself unable to move freely.

Skills shortage:

• Liberia with a 4.2m population: 51 doctors; 978 nurses and midwives; 269 pharmacists

• Sierra Leone with a 6m population: 136 doctors; 1,017 nurses and midwives; 114 pharmacists

Source: Afri-Dev.Info

Ebola drains weak health systems

In a televised address, the president acknowledged that the isolation would "pose great difficulties" for people.

"[But] the life of everyone and the survival of our country take precedence over these difficulties," he said.

According to WHO, the situation nationally in Sierra Leone continues to deteriorate with a sharp increase in the number of newly reported cases in the capital, Freetown, and its neighbouring districts of Port Loko, Bombali, and Moyamba, which are now under quarantine.

Country	Existing bed capacity	Newly funded beds	Extra beds required
Source: WHO, 24 September 2014
Guinea	180	0	40
Liberia	315	440	1,550
Sierra Leone	323	297	532

Despite efforts of deploy more health workers and open new Ebola treatment centres in the worst-affected countries, there was still a significant lack of beds in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with more than 2,000 needed, WHO said.

The situation in Guinea appeared to be stabilising, with up to 100 new confirmed cases reported in each of the past five weeks, but it was still of grave concern, it said.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no proven vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

Ebola virus: busting the myths

A new BBC World Service special Ebola programme with the latest news about the outbreakIt goes out at 19.50 GMT each weekday.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

India Mars mission arrives in orbit

24 September 2014 Last updated at 08:16

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Applause broke in the control room out as the probe entered Mars's orbit

India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth country to do so.

The Mangalyaan robotic probe, one of the cheapest interplanetary missions ever, will soon begin work studying the Red Planet's atmosphere.

A 24-minute engine burn slowed the probe down enough to allow it to be captured by Mars' gravity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country had achieved the "near impossible".

Speaking at the mission control centre in the southern city of Bangalore he said: "The odds were stacked against us. Of 51 missions attempted in the world only 21 have succeeded. We have prevailed."

Only the US, Europe and Russia have previously sent missions to Mars, but India is the first country to succeed on its first attempt.

The latest US satellite, Maven, arrived at Mars on Monday.

US space agency Nasa congratulated its Indian counterpart, the Indian Space and Research Organization (Isro), on Wednesday's success.

"We congratulate @ISRO for its Mars arrival! @MarsOrbiter joins the missions studying the Red Planet," the agency tweeted.

At the scene: Sanjoy Majumder, Bangalore

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Archive video: A closer look at the Mars orbiter

From early in the morning, there was an atmosphere of excitement and tension at the Indian Space Agency's Mission Tracking Centre in Bangalore.

Scientists, many of them women and several of them young, were seated in front of their computer monitors tracking the progress of Mangalyaan.

Giant screens above their heads fed a steady stream of data, graphics and sequence of operations. The first whoops broke out when Mangalyaan successfully fired up its liquid engine, the first in a series of critical moves to make sure that the spacecraft was able to launch into the planet's gravitational pull.

Then there was an agonising 20 minutes, when Mangalyaan disappeared behind Mars and beyond contact.

But there was no mistaking the moment, when the scientists all rose as one, cheered, clapped, hugged each other and exchanged high fives - ­ confirmation that Mangalyaan was now on an elliptical orbit around Mars.

After PM Modi's congratulations, they poured out into the open and the bright sunlight, beaming as they took in the adulation.

"Thrilled to be a part of history," one young scientist told me. "It's like hitting a golf ball from Bangalore to London and getting it into the hole in one go," deputy operations director, BN Ramkrishna said. "It's got to be that precise."

'Better than cricket'

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

PM Narendra Modi: "We have dared to reach out into the unknown"

Mr Modi congratulated the scientists and said: "Today all of India should celebrate our scientists. Schools, colleges should applaud this."

"If our cricket team wins a tournament, the nation celebrates. Our scientists' achievement is greater," he said.

The total cost of the Indian mission has been put at 4.5bn rupees ($74m; £45m), which makes it one of the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever. Nasa's recent Maven mission cost $671m.

The Mangalyaan probe will now set about taking pictures of the planet and studying its atmosphere.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Archive: People in India told the BBC what they thought of the mission

One key goal is to try to detect methane in the Martian air, which could be an indicator of biological activity at, or more likely just below, the surface.

Nasa has put four robot rovers on Mars since 1997 - the latest and biggest of them all, the one-tonne vehicle known as Curiosity, landed on the Red Planet in August 2012. Unlike Curiosity, the Indian probe will not land on Mars.

Mangalyaan - more formally referred to as Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) - was launched from the Sriharikota spaceport on the coast of the Bay of Bengal on 5 November 2013.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

French lament 'jihadi' arrest fiasco

24 September 2014 Last updated at 11:15

A senior French minister has criticised Turkey after plans to arrest suspected jihadis returning from Syria collapsed when they were put on the wrong flight.

As security agents waited at a Paris airport, the three suspects were flown to Marseille in southern France, where they left the airport unchallenged.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said there had been a "mix-up".

Two of the suspects are linked to Islamist mass killer Mohamed Merah, who died in a police siege in 2012.

The three men are believed to belong to a jihadist recruiting network and are considered dangerous by the French security services, French media report.

Imad Djebali, a childhood friend of Merah, was jailed for four years for terrorism in 2009 while Abdelouahed Baghdali, who is married to Merah's sister Souad, is known to police for his links to an Islamist school.

The third man, Gael Maurize, is known to French intelligence for his "implication in a jihadist network", French media say.

According to Le Monde newspaper, the three left for Syria in February to join the Islamic State (IS) group but became disillusioned and surrendered to Turkish border police at the end of August, asking to be repatriated to France. They were detained for three weeks for "violations of the right to abode".

Captain's decision

On Tuesday, the captain of the plane due to fly the three men from Istanbul to Paris refused to allow them aboard because they lacked the necessary Turkish documents.

Instead, Turkish police put them on the next flight to France, bound for Marseille, without informing their colleagues in France, Le Monde reports.

Amid confusion over their whereabouts on Tuesday afternoon, some French media reported that they had actually arrived in Paris and had been arrested.

In reality, they left Marseille airport unhindered and were free to wander the city's main avenue, the Canebiere.

When the French authorities realised what had happened, arrest warrants were issued for the three men, Le Monde reports.

Mr Le Drian said on Wednesday that the Turkish police's decision to change flights was "unfortunate".

He told France Info radio that the incident has been largely due "to the lack of good collaboration with the Turkish services".

"This mix-up shows that we have to strengthen relations, methods and actions with the Turkish authorities," the minister said.

French indignation at Tuesday's events was reflected in media headlines like "The incredible non-arrest of three French jihadists" in Le Figaro.

Some 350 French citizens are now fighting in Syria while some 180 recently returned from there to France. Le Monde reports.

France joined US-led air strikes on IS targets in Iraq last week. Since then militants in Algeria have abducted a French tourist, Herve Gourdel, and are threatening to kill him if the French do halt their air campaign.

Mohamed Merah was killed in a police siege after a string of gun attacks in the Toulouse area of south-western France, which left seven people dead including an adult and three children at a Jewish school in the city.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Air strikes target IS near Turkey

24 September 2014 Last updated at 11:27

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

A jihadi fighter in Syria surveys the damage caused by Monday's air strikes

New air strikes have targeted Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, hitting areas close to the border with Turkey.

Syrian activists reported strikes around the Kurdish town of Kobane, which has been besieged by IS fighters for several days.

Witnesses saw two military aircraft approaching from Turkey but Turkish officials denied its airspace or bases were used in the attack.

The US-led coalition expanded its raids against IS into Syria on Monday.

But the aerial bombardment near Kobane, which happened at about 01:00 local time (22:00 GMT), has not been confirmed by the US or any coalition member.

Turkish military sources said neither its air force nor the US airbase at Incirlik in southern Turkey had been used.

Overnight, US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed it had conducted two more strikes in Syria, hitting two IS vehicles in Deir al-Zour in the east of the country.

IS has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq, and the US has launched nearly 200 air strikes in Iraq since August.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

''I'm grateful... to America and her partners,'' one refugee told the BBC

Meanwhile, the BBC understands that the UK Parliament will be recalled on Friday to discuss Britain's possible role in air strikes on IS targets.

Speaking on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said an international coalition was needed to "destroy" IS, adding that it was a fight "you cannot opt out of".

The Dutch government is also considering military action and will hold a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss deploying four F-16 fighter jets.

Refugee crisis

The IS advance in northern Syria has created a refugee crisis in neighbouring Turkey.

Aid agencies said some 130,000 Kurdish refugees, most of them from Kobane, crossed the border at the weekend.

Turkey had initially refused to take part in military action against IS, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled a possible change in policy on Tuesday.

"We will give the necessary support to the operation. The support could be military or logistics," he told reporters in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly meeting.

Correspondents say Turkey may be willing to get more involved after it secured the release of 49 Turkish hostages who had been held by IS militants in northern Iraq.

The BBC's Mark Lowen, who is on the Syria-Turkey border, says Kurds still in Kobane reported a significant increase in shelling by IS militants on Wednesday morning.

A Kurdish military commander told Reuters news agency that IS boosted its forces after the air strikes, sending extra fighters and tanks to the outskirts of Kobane.

'Long battle ahead'

On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby said the US strikes in Syria had disrupted IS but warned that the right against them would take years.

"It's going to take a serious effort by all involved. We do believe that we're talking about years here," he told the BBC.

US President Barack Obama hailed the support of Arab nations in air strikes against IS on Monday, saying: "This is not America's fight alone."

The US said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar had all "participated in or supported" the strikes.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, Western journalists and aid workers
• The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
• The US has been launching air strikes on IS targets in north-eastern Iraq since mid-August

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nato sees Russia pullback in Ukraine

24 September 2014 Last updated at 11:29

Nato says it has observed a "significant" withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Ukraine, but adds that some forces still remain there.

Lt Col Jay Janzen says it is difficult to determine the number of soldiers in Ukraine, as pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings.

Moscow denies arming the rebels and sending Russian troops to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

More than 3,200 people have been killed in clashes that erupted in April.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tiger kills student at Delhi zoo

23 September 2014 Last updated at 11:51

A white tiger has attacked and killed an Indian student at Delhi zoo, officials and witnesses say.

Zoo manager Riaz Khan said the young man "leapt over the railing into the tiger enclosure". Initial reports described him as a schoolboy.

Television pictures showed the student crouching against a wall while the tiger stood near him.

An eyewitness said he was leaning over the barricade which was "very low" and may have fallen inside the enclosure.

"Around 1.30 pm, we were in the reptiles area when we heard loud screams," eyewitness Himanshu told CNN-IBN news channel.

"I ran to the tiger enclosure where we saw that a white tiger had caught the student by his neck and he was writhing in pain. Some children threw small sticks and stones at the tiger.

"He suffered for the next 10-15 minutes but nobody helped him."

Himanshu said the police "came very quickly", but could not save him.

White tigers are a rare variant of the customary orange Bengal sub-species and and owe their colour to a recessive gene.

Considered an endangered species, they are found in south and east Asia, particularly India.

Today, they are found exclusively in captive programmes where the limited numbers are interbred to maintain the distinctive fur colour.

A number of the white tigers found in zoos have health issues, such as eyesight problems and some deformities.

The last known free-ranging white tiger is known to have been shot in 1958, before which sporadic sightings in the wild were made in India.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More

China jails Uighur academic for life

23 September 2014 Last updated at 10:40

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Damien Grammaticas says the severity of the sentence has shocked many

A court in China has found a prominent Uighur scholar guilty of separatism and jailed him for life, his lawyer says.

Ilham Tohti had spoken out on China's policies towards the Muslim Uighur minority in the restive Xinjiang region, but had denied being a separatist.

Correspondents say China is taking a tougher line amid rising Xinjiang-linked violence.

Amnesty International has called the verdict "deplorable".

The EU, US and the United Nations have all previously called for his release.

The Urumqi People's Intermediate Court found Tohti guilty after a two-day trial that ended last week. It also ordered all of Tohti's money and property seized.

His lawyer, Li Fangping, told BBC Chinese that he would be filing an appeal.

"He told us that no matter the verdict, he will not be angry nor seek revenge. No matter whether he is in jail or if he is freed in the future, he will still advocate for dialogue between Uighurs and Han Chinese," he said.

Carrie Gracie, China Editor, BBC News

"I won't give in." The last words Ilham Tohti uttered before police dragged him from a courtroom to start a life sentence for attempting to divide China.

Calling for independence is illegal and always punished severely when the offender belongs to China's minority Uighur community. But what is so extraordinary about the sentence is that Ilham Tohti was not an independence activist, far less a terrorist, but an outspoken advocate of building bridges between the two communities.

Until his arrest in January he was an academic at a university in the capital and a member of the Communist Party. In his academic essays and on the website he ran, he insisted that Xinjiang should remain part of China and frequently expressed revulsion against growing violence employed by Uighurs against the state.

But he likewise criticised the mounting police crackdown in Xinjiang, complaining that punitive policies were radicalising young Uighurs and convincing them that the battle was not between China and terrorists, but between China and Islam.

Today's life sentence is a message that amid the battle to contain Xinjiang's surging violence, there is no longer room in China for an outspoken moderate.

'Deplorable'

In recent years Xinjiang has seen rising tensions between Uighurs and Han Chinese migrants, and observers say the sentence could further stoke tensions.

Tohti was detained in January after he criticised Beijing's heavy response to a suicide car attack near Tiananmen Square carried out by Uighurs from Xinjiang.

Prosecutors at the trial alleged he was engaging in separatist activities including promoting independence on his website, according to his lawyers.

A spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress said Tohti was being persecuted.

"China has sent a clear message...thoroughly disappointing all those who hope to use the legal process or reasonable proposals to change the status quo of Uighurs," said Dilxat Raxit in an emailed statement to Reuters news agency.

Uighurs and Xinjiang

• Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
• They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
• China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
• Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
• Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture

Who are the Uighurs?

Human rights group Amnesty International said the verdict was an "affront to justice" and full of legal shortcomings.

"His legal team were refused access to evidence and they were unable to meet Tohti for six months. One of Tohti's lawyers was also forced to quit the case following political pressure," the group said.

Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer for Tohti, told the BBC that several foreign embassies were not allowed into the court to witness the proceedings.

18.19 | 0 komentar | Read More