Uyghur Activist Dr. Dilnur Reyhan to Face Trial in France Amid Transnational Repression Concerns

Prominent Uyghur Activist Faces French Court

Dr. Dilnur Reyhan, a distinguished French-Uyghur scholar and activist who serves as the president of the European Uyghur Institute, is scheduled to stand trial on October 13 in a court outside Paris. The charges against her are for the criminal offense of 'degradation of property belonging to others'. This legal action stems from a protest in September 2022 where Reyhan allegedly threw red paint on a banner belonging to China's embassy in France.

Incident Details and Reopened Case

The complaint against Dr. Reyhan was filed by three employees of the Chinese embassy in Paris. They alleged minor damage, including a reported €25 shoe-cleaning fee. French prosecutors initially dismissed the complaint in 2023. However, the case was unexpectedly reopened on appeal a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to France in May 2024. This reopening has drawn criticism from human rights advocates who view it as a concerning development.

Allegations of Transnational Repression

Dr. Reyhan and various human rights organizations contend that her prosecution is part of a broader pattern of transnational repression by the Chinese government, aimed at silencing critics abroad. Reyhan stated during a March hearing, 'For the Chinese embassy, the aim is not to win or lose the case, but to impose a psychological and financial cost to silence criticism.' She further emphasized, 'I should not be prosecuted by the French courts but, instead, protected against China's attempts to silence me.' Human Rights Watch and others have highlighted that the Chinese government has escalated its harassment of critics and diaspora members beyond its borders.

Context of Uyghur Human Rights

The protest led by Dr. Reyhan in 2022 was a direct response to the Chinese government's alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs in northwest China. International rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have documented extensive violations, such as:

• Mass arbitrary detention and imprisonment
• Torture and enforced disappearances
• Mass surveillance
• Cultural and religious persecution
• Separation of families
• Forced labor

Many of these acts have been concluded by human rights organizations to amount to crimes against humanity. The trial of Dr. Reyhan underscores the ongoing tension between freedom of expression in democratic nations and the alleged efforts by authoritarian states to extend their influence and suppress dissent globally.