The United States and the international community condemn China's decision to put Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti behind bars for life. Tohti was charged of unauthorized political speech that allegedly incited separatism among the Chinese minority, reports said.

The Urumqi court's ruling against Tohti's political speech on Tuesday was the most severe in 10 years, according to reports. It inspired outrage from the international community.

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U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday cited Tohti as a political prisoner as human rights advocates would call it.

"They deserve to be free," Obama said, referring to all political prisoners and calling for Tohti's release.

In addition, human rights advocates questioned the harsh sentence on Tohti. They said they could not think of a similar penalty for merely expressing disappointment and criticisms in China's ethnic policy.

The European Union also commented on the issue, saying it was "totally unjustified," reports said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry representative Hua Chunying on Wednesday commented that Obama's request was irrational.

She said the comment was a "harsh" intervention in the country's internal affairs. She urged the foreign nations to stop interfering.

Furthermore, state-run news agency Xinhua in an article contrasted the court's charges on a Muslim minority activist from America's war against the Islamic militants or Daesh.

"Their accusations against the court's ruling came as the warplanes of the United States and its allies bomb the 'Islamic State' militants in their anti-terrorism war," the article said.

It accused the U.S. of having double standards on terrorism, adding that the villain becomes the hero because of such standards.

The Urumqi court charged Tohti of advocating separatism and inspiring violence among the Uighur ethnic minority through his writings on his website.

Tohti denied all charges and planned to appeal, citing legal issues including unjust detention and withholding a copy of evidence from his lawyers, reports said.

Tagsilham tohti, Urumqi, Barack Obama, Xinhua