The US State Department has condemned China for handing down a life sentence to Uyghur academic Rahile Dawut.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller posted on X: "We condemn the reported life sentence handed down by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) following secret court proceedings of Professor Rahile Dawut, an anthropologist and expert on Uyghur folklore and traditions."

"Professor Dawut and other Uyghur intellectuals, including Ilham Tohti, have been unjustly imprisoned for their work to protect and preserve Uyghur culture and traditions. Professor Dawut’s life sentence is part of an apparent broader effort by the PRC to eradicate Uyghur identity and culture and undermine academic freedom, including through the use of detentions and disappearances," he said.

He asked China to immediately end the genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang and to abide by its international commitments to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Chinese authorities have jailed a prominent Uyghur academic for "endangering state security", media reports said.

US-based rights group Dui Hua Foundation said it was previously informed by a Chinese official that Rahile Dawut was tried in December 2018, one year after her detention, for the crime of “splittism” — a crime of endangering state security — by an intermediate people’s court in Xinjiang.

She was convicted and appealed the sentence.

The most recent information confirmed that her appeal was subsequently rejected by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region High People’s Court, read a statement issued by Dui Hua Foundation.

Although there has been speculation that Professor Rahile Dawut was given a long sentence, this is believed to be the first time that a reliable source in the Chinese government has confirmed the sentence of life imprisonment, the foundation said.