Two-day trial ends for Uygur academic

The two-day trial of Ilham Tohti, a Uygur economics professor at Beijing's Minzu University who was indicted on a charge of separatism and accused of being involved in secession activities, has ended in a court in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The court did not say when a verdict will be announced.

Tohti's family appointed two lawyers to defend him at the trial, which started on Wednesday and was conducted in Mandarin instead of Uyghur at Tohti's request, according to the court. Tohti's wife was present at the trial, during which the court was heavily guarded and sealed off by police.

Tohti's case was turned over to the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court by prosecutors at the end of July after police in Urumqi said there was conclusive evidence linking Tohti to secessionist activities in January.

Tohti used a website he set up, "UighurOnline", to spread rumors and separatist thought, as well as to misrepresent events to instigate ethnic hatred and calls for "Xinjiang independence", the Urumqi Public Security Bureau said in a statement January.

He also told students that "Uygurs need to use violence to protest", according to the statement, adding that he called those who have carried out terrorist attacks "heroes" and instigated students to hate and even "overthrow" the government.

Police said Tohti used his status as a teacher to draw or lure people to form a group connected with key members of the overseas East Turkestan Islamic Movement that is listed as a terrorist group and sanctioned by the United Nations. Tohti's group also helped to organize and send people abroad to carry out separatist activities, police said.