Country of Origin: East Turkistan (Xinjiang, China)

Main focus: Uyghur Rights Advocacy, Human Rights, Political Lobbying

Follow on: Muck Rack, Twitter and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project

Mehmet Tohti, a Uyghur Canadian activist born in Kashgar, China, has dedicated over a decade of his life to advocating for the rights of Uyghurs. Initially studying and teaching biology at Kashgar University, Mehmet left China at 26 due to worsening conditions for Uyghurs.

In Canada, Mehmet has taken up leadership roles in the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, based in Ottawa. His achievements include lobbying the Canadian House of Commons to declare China's treatment of Uyghurs a genocide and advocating for boycotts of products produced in China by Uyghur slave labour.

On 1 February 2023, Canada's parliament unanimously called for the urgent resettlement of 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims to protect them from Chinese oppression. The effort was supported by all sides of the house, marking a significant victory for Uyghur rights.