8 Sentenced to Death for Attacks in Western China
BEIJING — A court in western China announced Monday that it had sentenced eight people to death for two separate attacks that Chinese officials called terrorist operations, state news media reported.
The People’s Intermediate Court in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, said an additional five people were given suspended death sentences, which usually means life in prison. One person was sentenced specifically to a life term, and three others were given sentences ranging from five to 10 years.
Ethnic violence has been on the rise in Xinjiang in recent years. State news organizations have frequently reported on details of attacks carried out there by ethnic Uighurs, many of whom resent policies imposed by a government dominated by the Han, the largest ethnic group in China. Han-dominated security forces have in turn killed many Uighurs. In all, hundreds of people have died in clashes this year.
Ilham Tohti, an economics professor, in 2013. He was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday after being convicted of separatism.China Sentences Uighur Scholar to LifeSEPT. 23, 2014
President Xi Jinping addressed a conference in Beijing on dealing with the ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, in northwestern China.China Moves to Calm Restive Xinjiang RegionMAY 30, 2014
Police officers stood guard Thursday in Urumqi, China, after attackers plowed vehicles into a crowded vegetable market and hurled explosives.Attack Kills More Than 30 in Western China MarketMAY 22, 2014
Security personnel gathered near the scene of an explosion on Wednesday outside a railroad station in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region.Assailants Attack Train Station in Restive Western ChinaAPRIL 30, 2014
Those sentenced on Monday all appeared to be ethnic Uighurs, judging from the names printed in the state news reports.
The same court also sentenced seven students of Ilham Tohti, a Uighur academic and frequent government critic, to prison terms ranging from three to eight years on charges of belonging to a separatist group, said Li Fangping, a lawyer for Mr. Tohti, who is serving a life sentence. The sentencing of the students — six ethnic Uighurs and one member of the Yi minority — was not reported by the state news media, but Mr. Li said he learned of the decision on Monday from a lawyer for the students.
Of the death sentences handed down on Monday, two were for a train station attack in April in Urumqi. One person was killed and 79 people were injured in that attack, according to official reports. The attackers brandished knives and set off explosives.
Besides those receiving the death penalty, three people were given suspended death sentences and one person was given five years in prison for that assault.
Six other people were sentenced to death on Monday for an attack in May on a morning market in Urumqi in which 39 people were killed and at least 90 injured. The attackers drove two cars into the market and set off homemade explosives, according to official reports.
For that attack, two people were also given suspended death sentences, one was given life in prison, and two were given 10-year prison terms.
In September, the Urumqi court sentenced Mr. Tohti, a professor of economics who had been living and teaching in Beijing, to life in prison for what prosecutors called separatist activities. Mr. Tohti was widely considered a moderate voice who encouraged dialogue between Uighurs and Han, and the court’s ruling was widely condemned by human rights advocates, diplomats and scholars outside China.
Last month, the court put Mr. Tohti’s students on trial for belonging to a separatist group. The students mainly worked on a website that Mr. Tohti had set up to openly discuss political and social issues. Mr. Li, the lawyer, said in a telephone interview that the sentences of the students were less than what some people had expected. The charges brought against them were aimed at building a case against Mr. Tohti, Mr. Li said.
The Chinese authorities have applied the death sentence liberally to cases in which Uighurs have been charged with deadly attacks. Eight people were executed in relation to an attack in October 2013 in front of the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Two tourists died in that attack. In the case of a knife assault last March on people in a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, three people were sentenced to death, and one person, a pregnant woman, received life in prison. Dozens of other Uighurs have been executed or given death sentences this year.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/world/asia/8-sentenced-to-death-for-terrorist-attacks-in-western-china.html
The People’s Intermediate Court in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, said an additional five people were given suspended death sentences, which usually means life in prison. One person was sentenced specifically to a life term, and three others were given sentences ranging from five to 10 years.
Ethnic violence has been on the rise in Xinjiang in recent years. State news organizations have frequently reported on details of attacks carried out there by ethnic Uighurs, many of whom resent policies imposed by a government dominated by the Han, the largest ethnic group in China. Han-dominated security forces have in turn killed many Uighurs. In all, hundreds of people have died in clashes this year.
Ilham Tohti, an economics professor, in 2013. He was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday after being convicted of separatism.China Sentences Uighur Scholar to LifeSEPT. 23, 2014
President Xi Jinping addressed a conference in Beijing on dealing with the ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, in northwestern China.China Moves to Calm Restive Xinjiang RegionMAY 30, 2014
Police officers stood guard Thursday in Urumqi, China, after attackers plowed vehicles into a crowded vegetable market and hurled explosives.Attack Kills More Than 30 in Western China MarketMAY 22, 2014
Security personnel gathered near the scene of an explosion on Wednesday outside a railroad station in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region.Assailants Attack Train Station in Restive Western ChinaAPRIL 30, 2014
Those sentenced on Monday all appeared to be ethnic Uighurs, judging from the names printed in the state news reports.
The same court also sentenced seven students of Ilham Tohti, a Uighur academic and frequent government critic, to prison terms ranging from three to eight years on charges of belonging to a separatist group, said Li Fangping, a lawyer for Mr. Tohti, who is serving a life sentence. The sentencing of the students — six ethnic Uighurs and one member of the Yi minority — was not reported by the state news media, but Mr. Li said he learned of the decision on Monday from a lawyer for the students.
Of the death sentences handed down on Monday, two were for a train station attack in April in Urumqi. One person was killed and 79 people were injured in that attack, according to official reports. The attackers brandished knives and set off explosives.
Besides those receiving the death penalty, three people were given suspended death sentences and one person was given five years in prison for that assault.
Six other people were sentenced to death on Monday for an attack in May on a morning market in Urumqi in which 39 people were killed and at least 90 injured. The attackers drove two cars into the market and set off homemade explosives, according to official reports.
For that attack, two people were also given suspended death sentences, one was given life in prison, and two were given 10-year prison terms.
In September, the Urumqi court sentenced Mr. Tohti, a professor of economics who had been living and teaching in Beijing, to life in prison for what prosecutors called separatist activities. Mr. Tohti was widely considered a moderate voice who encouraged dialogue between Uighurs and Han, and the court’s ruling was widely condemned by human rights advocates, diplomats and scholars outside China.
Last month, the court put Mr. Tohti’s students on trial for belonging to a separatist group. The students mainly worked on a website that Mr. Tohti had set up to openly discuss political and social issues. Mr. Li, the lawyer, said in a telephone interview that the sentences of the students were less than what some people had expected. The charges brought against them were aimed at building a case against Mr. Tohti, Mr. Li said.
The Chinese authorities have applied the death sentence liberally to cases in which Uighurs have been charged with deadly attacks. Eight people were executed in relation to an attack in October 2013 in front of the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Two tourists died in that attack. In the case of a knife assault last March on people in a train station in the southwestern city of Kunming, three people were sentenced to death, and one person, a pregnant woman, received life in prison. Dozens of other Uighurs have been executed or given death sentences this year.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/world/asia/8-sentenced-to-death-for-terrorist-attacks-in-western-china.html
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