Ilham Tohti, the Uighur professor who was charged by the Chinese government as a separatist and sentenced to life in prison, will be appealing his verdict, Tohti's lawyer revealed Wednesday.

Tohti's lawyer, Li Fangping, who was interviewed by Reuters via telephone, noted that although there was a slim chance that his client's sentence would be reduced, Tohti would like to appeal in order to express how much he is dissatisfied with the sentence imposed on him.

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In the appeal statement, Fangping cited examples of wrongdoings that were allegedly enforced on his client during his detention. The appeal will be formally submitted in two days.

The 44-year-old Tohti was accused of urging agitators to rebel against the Chinese government through inflammatory blogs he posted on his website. He was also accused of allegedly organizing a group in his classes in order to fight for the rights of the people of Xinjiang. 

A terrorist attack in Beijing earlier this year which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians was also linked to the Uighur scholar.

Islamist militants from Xinjiang are said to have carried out the attacks in order to establish their independent state which is reportedly to be called "East Turkestan." 

Despite being accused of associating with rebels and having a part in these attacks, Tohti claims that he is innocent and is simply vocal through his blog posts about his opinions on letting Uighurs exercise their rights.

Tohti was a professor at the Minzu University in Beijing and his lectures were centered on ethnic minority studies.

Meanwhile, Tohti is said to be in better spirits, according to his lawyer who spoke with him a day ago. According to Fangping, Tohti said that the night after the ruling was announced was the first time in months that he had slept well.

TagsUighur Professor, Xinjian, separatist, Independent State, life sentence, appeal, Terrorist, terrorist attacks, East Turkestan