Uighur dissident is questioning China's official explanation of last Monday's jeep crash in Tian'anmen Square. The Chinese government says the incident was a terrorist attack staged by what it called Uighur separatists. It says flags imprinted with religious slogans were found in their burnt vehicle. Yet Ilham Tohti, who is a professor at Beijing's Minzu University, has doubts. Whatever the truth, Tohti now fears the authorities in his western homeland of Xinjiang will use the incident as a pretext to step up what he says is the harsh repression of his people. In Monday's incident, a jeep ploughed through crowds before crashing in front of the iconic Tian'anmen Gate. The three people in the vehicle were killed along with two bystanders. Dozens more were injured. While no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, China has blamed a little known group called the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. Five people, identified with typically Uighur names, have been arrested as suspected conspirators. The US removed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement from its terrorist watch list because of doubts that it even exists in any organized manner.

• published: 04 Nov 2013
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