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Xinjiang unrest: Death sentences for 5 more
Five more people have been sentenced to death for their roles in bloody ethnic violence in July in Urumqi, the capital of China's western Xinjiang region, a city official said on Thursday.
Five more people have been sentenced to death for their roles in bloody ethnic violence in July in Urumqi, the capital of China's western Xinjiang region, a city official said on Thursday.
The sentences bring to 22 the number of people condemned to die or executed over the unrest, which saw mainly Muslim Uighurs attack members of China's Han ethnic majority, leaving nearly 200 people dead.
Nine people were executed in November, and eight others were sentenced to death earlier this month.
"On Wednesday, 22 people were tried in five cases with five people being sentenced to death and five others sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve," Ma Xinchun, spokesman for the Urumqi city government said.
A death sentence with a two-year reprieve is often commuted to life in prison if the defendant behaves during the two years.
"Eight others were given life in prison and the other four received sentences of 10 years or more," Ma said.
The spokesman refused to give other details, such as the names and ethnicity of the convicted.
Following the initial eruption of violence on July 5, mobs of Han roamed the streets of Urumqi seeking revenge.
The ethnic violence was the worst in China in decades.
