Always in Reach
Human Rights Researcher to Discuss 'Silencing Across Borders' Oct. 27 at Ohio Wesleyan
DELAWARE, Ohio – Human rights researcher Muetter Tohti will present "Silencing Voices Across Borders: China's Repression of the Uyghur Diaspora" when she presents Ohio Wesleyan University's 2026 Corinne Lyman Lecture on International Studies.
Tohti will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Benes Rooms of OWU's Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Tohti's research focuses on preserving evidence, examining patterns of state repression, and advancing accountability for abuses affecting Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim communities in the region.
"What happens when leaving your country does not mean escaping its government?" asks Tohti, who was born in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. "For many Uyghurs abroad, speaking publicly, attending a protest, or contacting relatives can carry consequences for family members thousands of miles away. Exile offers physical distance, but not necessarily safety or freedom from fear."
In her lecture, Tohti will examine "how Beijing extends repression beyond China's borders through surveillance, threats, and pressure on relatives, and how these practices reshape everyday life, family relationships, and political participation within the Uyghur diaspora," exploring "both the personal costs of speaking out and the ways Uyghurs continue to resist. It also asks what meaningful protection requires from host governments and institutions when crossing a border does not put repression out of reach."
Tohti holds an LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Human Rights Law with Criminal Justice from the University of Kent and a Bachelor of Science in Political Economy from the University of Bergen in Norway. She is a member of the China Studies team at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, where she contributes to research on human rights, state policy, and systems of repression in China.
Previously, Tohti worked with the Citizen Lab, the University of Sheffield, and the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database. Her work across these roles has included legal analysis, field documentation, evidence preservation, and survivor-centered advocacy.
Ohio Wesleyan's Lyman Lecture Series is named in honor of Corinne Lyman, a retired OWU professor of Politics and Government. She created Ohio Wesleyan's International Studies Program in 1979 and chaired it for 20 years until retiring in 1999. Learn more about the program at owu.edu/InternationalStudies.
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