Asia-Pacific News

First executions after unrest in north-west China

Nov 9, 2009, 12:52 GMT

Beijing - Nine people were executed in connection with the July unrest in China's far north-west Xinjiang province, the country's state-controlled media reported Monday. The executions were carried out after the Supreme Court in Beijing recently confirmed the death sentences, the China News Service agency reported. No further details were known. News of the executions came to light in the last part of a lengthy report on the ongoing court case in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi. The Munich, Germany-based exile organization the World Congress of Uighurs condemned the death sentences, saying the trials did not confirm to international standards. Murder and arson were among the crimes levelled against alleged participants in the unrest in the majority Uighur Muslim province. Around 200 people lost their lives in the ethnic violence, according to Chinese authorities. Exile Uighur groups however claim that the total dead toll was as high as 800. As of mid-October China, 12 people - including one member of the national majority Han Chinese - were sentenced to death. Three of the death sentences were suspended for two years, after which such sentences are normally commuted to life in prison, subject to good behaviour.

Asia-Pacific News

First executions after unrest in north-west China

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