The following is a partial translation of the "Ilham Tohti Separatism Case" as it appears in Volume 119 of the "Reference to Criminal Trial" [刑事审判参考] published by the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese version was created by scanning in the relevant pages, and may contain errors due to inaccuracies in the OCR process.
A. BASICS OF THE CASE
Defendant Ilham Tohti, male, Uyghur, born October 25, 1968. Arrested February 20, 2014.
The People's Procuratorate of Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region charged defendant Ilham Tohti with the crime of separatism and filed a public prosecution with the Intermediate People’s Court of Urumqi.
Defendant Ilham Tohti and his defense counsel argued that Ilham Tohti did not have the intention to split the country, the alleged separatist criminal syndicate did not exist, and Ilham Tohti's remarks were criticisms of the government and were academic opinions.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Urumqi found through a public trial that in January 2006, defendant Ilham Tohti created the "Uyghur Online" website in Beijing and served as its webmaster. In July 2008, Ilham Tohti established the Beijing Tulan Online Consulting Co., Ltd. and served as its legal representative. The "Uyghur Online" website was a web portal under the company's control. After that, Ilham Tohti used the "Uyghur Online" website as a platform and used his position as a lecturer at the Central University for Nationalities to confuse, entice, and coerce some ethnic minority students to join the website, and positioned himself as the leader of the separatist criminal syndicate. Under the leadership of Ilham Tohti, the criminal syndicate organized, planned, and implemented a series of criminal activities to split the country with the purpose of dividing the country.
1. For a long time defendant Ilham Tohti used his position as a lecturer at the Central University for Nationalities to spread the idea of ethnic division through lectures, slandering and attacking China's Xinjiang-related policies, and inciting the use of violence against the government.
2. For a long time defendant Ilham Tohti and member of his criminal syndicate used the "Uyghur Online" website as a platform to organize and conspire to write, edit, translate, and reprint articles with content that incited separatism. Ilham Tohti was responsible for the review and publication of articles on the "Uyghur Online" website, and he wrote or directly manipulated and instructed group members to write, translate, and reprint more than 100 inflammatory articles and publish them on the "Uyghur Online" website.
3. Since 2009, defendant Ilham Tohti called on members of his criminal syndicate to link up with foreign institutions and individuals involved in the Xinjiang issue. In order to achieve their goal of separatism they echoed each other and attacked the Chinese government in an attempt to internationalize the Xinjiang issue. In order to evade oversight, Ilham Tohti instructed others to move his "Uyghur Online" website server from China to somewhere abroad. He hyped up Xinjiang-related issues and high profile events by accepting interviews with overseas media. He instructed others to translate articles and reports from overseas media websites about the Chinese government's Xinjiang-related policies. At the same time, foreign media also used "Uyghur Online" articles, reports, news, and data to attack the Chinese government's Xinjiang-related policies and hype up Xinjiang-related issues.
4. Since 2009, defendant Ilham Tohti and members of the criminal syndicate have maliciously fabricated and distorted the truth, incited ethnic hatred, encouraged Uyghurs to confront the government, and sought to excuse violent terrorist activities. After "4.23" and other violent terrorist incidents occurred, Ilham Tohti instructed group members to write and reprint articles on the "Uyghur Online" website to distort the facts such as the cause of the violent terrorist incidents. On April 24, 2013, an ordinary case of assault among ethnic and Han students occurred at the Central University for Nationalities. After learning about the case, Ilham Tohti instructed the group members to distort the facts and wrote articles such as "A Group of Han Students Assaulted Uyghur Students at the Central University for Nationalities," maliciously creating ethnic tension.
5. Since 2010, defendant Ilham Tohti has fabricated social questionnaire survey reports without setting up a research team or distributing questionnaires and conducting interviews, and publicly published survey reports on the "Uyghur Online" website with false data, fabricating bogus public opinions supporting Xinjiang's independence and a "high degree of autonomy."
6. At the beginning of 2013, defendant Ilham Tohti arranged for members of the criminal syndicate to collect materials on the religious situation in Xinjiang, and he himself wrote the "Summary of Typical Cases of Deprivation and Violation of the Freedom of Religious Belief of Xinjiang Uyghur People," which libeled the Chinese government as engaging in long-term repressive suppression and restriction of religious freedom in Xinjiang, and infringing on legal religious rights. In order to internationalize the Xinjiang issue, in March of the same year, Ilham Tohti assigned members of the syndicate to go abroad to participate in international conferences, and submitted and promoted the "Summary of Typical Cases of Deprivation and Violation of the Freedom of Religious Belief of the Xinjiang Uyghur People," which aggressively attacked China's ethnic and religious policies.
7. After the "June 26" Shaoguan Incident in 2009, defendant Ilham Tohti used the Internet to hype the incident, and on the "Uyghur Online" website IlhamTohti published articles such as "The 6.26 Incident and the Myth of Multi-ethnic Harmonious Coexistence," attacking the government, distorting the truth, and inciting ethnic hatred. "Uyghur Online's" inflammatory articles and Ilham Tohti’s inflammatory remarks influenced Mai Doe, Ai Doe, and others to assemble illegal gatherings, and played a definite role in the occurrence of serious violent crimes such as beatings, smashings, looting, and burning during the "7.5" incident in Urumqi.
On September 23, 2014, the Intermediate People’s Court of Urumqi found defendant Ilham Tohti guilty of separatism in the (2014) Wu Intermediate Criminal First Instance No. 100 Criminal Judgment, and sentenced him to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property.
After the verdict in the case of first instance was announced, defendant Ilham Tohti did not accept it and filed an appeal.
The High People's Court of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region held a trial and rejected the appeal in the (2014) Xin Criminal First Intermediate Final No. 172 criminal ruling, upholding the original sentence, and on November 21, 2014, the verdict was sent to Ilham Tohti and the second-instance criminal ruling was served.
B. DECISION RATIONALE
Article 26(2) of the Criminal Law stipulates: "A criminal syndicate is a more or less permanent criminal organization composed of three or more persons for the purpose of jointly committing crimes." Ilham Tohti aimed to split the country and used the "Uyghur Online" website as a platform, and used his position as a university lecturer to confuse, entice, and coerce some ethnic minority students to join the website, gradually forming a relatively stable organization. The organization was headed by Ilham Tohti, with clear internal divisions and relatively stable core members. They engaged in separatist activities over an extended period of time, which complies with the criminal law's provisions on criminal syndicates.
According to Article 103(1) of the Criminal Law, the crime of separatism refers to the act of organizing, planning, and implementing the separation of the country and undermining national unity. In this case, Ilham Tohti organized and led a separatist criminal syndicate to spread ethnic separatist thoughts through lectures and the Internet, and attacked China's ethnic and religious policies. He connected with relevant overseas institutions and individuals in an attempt to internationalize the Xinjiang issue. He fabricated social questionnaire survey reports and forged bogus public opinions supporting Xinjiang’s independence and "high degree of autonomy." He used individual cases to spread rumors, create incidents, and incite ethnic hatred. He sought to excuse Xinjiang-related violent terrorist cases, expressed solidarity with and support for violence and terrorism, incited violence and ethnic hatred, and created ethnic opposition. Ilham Tohti possessed the subjective criminal intent to divide the country and undermine national unity. Objectively, he organized and led a criminal syndicate to plan and implement a series of criminal activities to divide the country. This conforms to the elements of the crime of separatism and constitutes the crime of separatism.
Freedom of speech is certainly a constitutional right, but freedom of speech is not absolute, and in any event it may not be abused. While China's Constitution grants citizens the freedom of speech and the right to criticize and petition to state agencies and their staff, it also stipulates that the exercise of rights and freedoms of citizens shall not harm the interests of the nation's social collective and the legitimate freedoms and rights of other citizens, and it stipulates that citizens have the obligation to maintain national unity and the unity of all nationalities in the country. For every citizen, maintaining the unity of the country is both a practical matter and the bottom line of the law. Defendant Ilham Tohti’s teaching content and online articles either used topics to create contradictions, or fabricated rumors to distort facts. This seriously affected ethnic unity and harmed the unity of the country. It went beyond the legitimate exercise of rights and the freedom of speech, divided the country in the name of speech and academic criticism, and must be resolutely punished in accordance with the law.
[AFTERWARD]
[Deliberately Omitted]
(Written by: Chen Xinjun, Second Criminal Court of the Supreme People's Court
Edited by: Wang Xiaodong, Second Criminal Court of the Supreme People's Court)
伊力哈木•土赫提分裂国家案,
一、基本案情
被告人伊力哈木•土赫提,男,维吾尔族,1968年10月25日出生。2014年2月20日被逮捕。
新疆维吾尔自治区乌鲁木齐市人民检察院指控被告人伊力哈木•土赫提犯分裂国家罪,向乌鲁木齐市中级人民法院提起公诉。
被告人伊力哈木•土赫提及其辩护人以伊力哈木•土赫提不具有分裂国家故意,指控的分裂国家犯罪集团不存在,伊力哈木•土赫提的言论是对政府的批评,属学术观点等进行辩解、辩护。
乌鲁木齐市中级人民法院经公开审理查明:2006年1月,被告人伊力哈木・土赫提在北京创建“维吾尔在线”网站并任网站站长。2008年7月,伊力哈木•土赫提成立北京图兰在线咨询有限公司并任法定代表人,“维吾尔在线”网站为该公司下属门户网站。之后,伊力哈木・土赫提以“维吾尔在线”网站为平台,利用其中央民族大学讲师的身份,盡惑、拉拢、胁迫部分少数民族学生加入该网站,形成了以其本人为首要分子的分裂国家犯罪集团。该犯罪集团在伊力哈木•土赫提的领导下,以分裂国家为目的,组织、策划、实施了一系列分裂国家的犯罪活动。
1.长期以来,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提以分裂国家为目的,利用其中央民族大学讲师的身份,通过授课活动,传播民族分裂思想,诋毁、攻击我国涉疆政策,煽动以暴力手段对抗政府。
2.长期以来,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提及其犯罪集团成员以“维吾尔在线”网站为平台,有组织、有计划地撰写、编辑、翻译、转载含有煽动分裂国家内容的文章。伊力哈木•土赫提负责“维吾尔在线”网站文章的审核与发表,其撰写或直接操纵指使集团成员撰写、翻译、转载100余篇煽动性文章,在“维吾尔在线”网站发表。
3.2009年以来,被告人伊力哈木-土赫提及其犯罪集团成员与境外有新疆问题国际关机构和个人相勾连,遥相呼应,大肆攻击我国政府,图谋使新疆问题国际化,以实现分裂国家的目的。为逃避监管,伊力哈木-土赫提指使他“维吾尔在线”网站服务器由中国境内迁往境外;通过接受境外媒体采访等方式炒作涉疆问题及热点事件;指使他人从境外媒体网站上翻译中国政府涉疆政策的文章和报道。同时,境外媒体也通过转发、使用“维尔在线”的文章、报道、新闻或数据来攻击中国政府的涉疆政策,炒作涉疆问题。
4.2009年以来,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提及其犯罪集团成员恶意杜撰、歪曲事实真相,煽动民族仇视,鼓动维吾尔群众对抗政府,为暴力恐怖活动制造借口。“4·23”等暴力恐怖案件发生后,伊力哈木•土赫提指使集团成员在“维吾尔在线”网站撰写、转载文章,歪曲暴恐案的起因等事实。2013年4月24日,中央民族大学校内发生一起普通的民汉两学生互殴案件,伊力哈木•土赫提知悉该案件后,指使集团成员歪曲事实真相,撰写《中央民族大学发生汉族学生群殴维吾尔学生事件》等文章,恶意制造民族矛盾。
5.2010年以来,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提在既未组建课题组,也未进行调查问卷和访谈的情况下,杜撰社会问卷调查报告,并在“维吾尔在线”网站以虚假数据公开发表调查报告,伪造支持新疆独立和“高度自治”的虚假民意。
6.2013年年初,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提安排犯罪集团成员收集新疆宗教情况的材料,由其本人撰写《新疆维吾尔族宗教信仰自由权利被剥夺、遭侵犯典型案例概述》,污蔑中国政府长期对新疆宗教自由高压压制,限制合法宗教权利。为使新疆问题国际化,同年3月,伊力哈木•土赫提指派集团成员出境参加国际会议,提交并宣讲了《新疆维吾尔族宗教信仰自由权利被剥夺、遭侵犯典型案例概述》,大肆攻击我国民族宗教政策。
7.2009年“6·26”韶关事件后,被告人伊力哈木,土赫提利用互联网炒作该事件,“维吾尔在线”网站伊力哈木•土赫提专栏发表《6.26事件和多民族和谐共处的神话》等文章,攻击政府,歪曲事实真相,煽动民族仇恨。在“维吾尔在线”煽动性文章和伊力哈木•土赫提煽动性言论的影响之下,买某、艾某等人策划、实施了非法聚集,对乌鲁木齐“7.5"打砸抢烧严重暴力犯罪活动的发生起到了一定作用。
2014年9月23日,乌鲁木齐市中级人民法院以(2014)乌中刑一初字第100号刑事判决,认定被告人伊力哈木•土赫提犯分裂国家罪,判处无期徒刑,剥夺政治权利终身,并处没收个人全部财产。
一审宣判后,被告人伊力哈木•土赫提不服,提出上诉。
新疆维吾尔自治区高级人民法院经审理,以(2014)新刑一终字第172号刑事裁定,驳回上诉,维持原判,并于2014年11月21日向伊力哈木•土赫提宣判、送达了二审刑事裁定书。
二、裁判理由
《刑法》第二十六条第二款规定:“三人以上为共同实施犯罪而组成的较为固定的犯罪组织,是犯罪集团。”伊力哈木•土赫提以分裂国家为目的,以“维吾尔在线”网站为平台,利用其大学教师身份,盖惑、拉拢、胁迫部分少数民族学生加入该网站,逐渐形成较为稳定的组织。该组织以伊力哈木•土赫提为首,内部分工明确,骨干成员较为固定,长期从事分裂国家活动,符合刑法关于犯罪集团的规定。
根据《刑法》第一百零三条第一款的规定,分裂国家罪是指组织、策划、实施分裂国家、破坏国家统一的行为。本案中,伊力哈木•土赫提组织、领导分裂国家犯罪集团,通过授课、网络传播民族分裂思想,攻击我国民族宗教政策;与境外有关机构和个人相勾连,图谋使新疆问题国际化;杜撰社会问卷调查报告,伪造支持新疆独立和“高度自治”的虚假民意;借个案造谣生事,制造事端,煽动民族仇恨;为涉疆暴力恐怖案件制造借口,声援和支持暴恐行为,煽动暴力及民族仇恨,制造民族对立。伊力哈木•土赫提主观上具有分裂国家、破坏国家统一的犯罪故意,客观上组织、领导犯罪集团策划、实了一系列分裂国家的犯罪活动,符合分裂国家罪的构成要件,已构成分裂国家罪。
言论自由固然是宪法性权利,但言论自由不是绝对的,更不能滥用。我国《宪法》赋予公民言论自由和对国家机关及其工作人员批评、建议挖出权利的同时,规定公民在行使权利和自由的时候不得损害国家的社会集体的利益和其他公民合法的自由和权利,并规定公民有维护国家统、全国各民族团结的义务。对于每一个公民而言,维护国家统一,既是实并务,也是法律底线。被告人伊力哈木•土赫提的授课内容和网络文章或者借题发挥、制造矛盾,或者编造谣言歪曲事实,严重影响民族团结,亚元害国家统一,已经超越了正当行使权利和言论自由的法律界限,是以言论白由、学术批评之名行分裂国家、破坏统一之实,必须坚决依法严惩。
【编后语】
[Deliberately Omitted]
(撰稿:最高人民法院刑二庭陈新军
审编:最高人民法院刑二庭王晓东)
