Kashgar court sentences 12 to death over bloody attack in Yarkand, Xinjiang
Kashgar court issues sentences over July incident that left dozens dead
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 5:00am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 14 October, 2014, 5:00am
Agence France-Presse in Beijing
CCTV footage of the Yarkand attack in July. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Kashgar's intermediate court yesterday condemned 12 people to death and gave another 15 suspended death sentences in connection with a July attack in Xinjiang , the regional government's Tianshan portal said.
Thirty-seven civilians and 59 "terrorists" were killed and another 13 civilians wounded in the July 28 attack on a police station and government offices in Shache county, also known as Yarkand, state media said.
The incident was the bloodiest in Xinjiang since rioting involving members of the Han majority and the Uygur minority left around 200 people dead in the capital Urumqi in 2009.
The sentences bring the number of death sentences passed for Xinjiang-related violence to almost 40 since June, with 21 executions publicly announced.
"In adjudicating the case, the court fully implemented the criminal policy of combining justice with mercy," Tianshan said.
In addition to the 15 given a suspended death sentence, nine people were sentenced to life in prison and 20 were given sentences ranging from four to 20 years, according to Tianshan.
China Central Television ran footage last night from the sentencing, showing several defendants standing in court wearing bright orange prison vests and with their heads shaved.
Prosecutors showed images of large vehicles and axes they said were used in connection with the attack.
Overseas-based Uygur exile groups have cast doubt on the government's version of events in July, saying Beijing's security forces used submachine guns and sniper rifles, leading to "huge casualties".
Access to information in Xinjiang is strictly controlled by the authorities and reports can often not be independently verified.
Beijing has blamed a series of recent violent attacks on separatists from Xinjiang. Rights groups accuse Beijing of cultural and religious repression, which they say fuels unrest in the region bordering Central Asia. The sentences are the latest in a series of harsh punishments by the authorities.
Last month a court in Kashgar sentenced to death two teenagers for the killing of the government-appointed head of the country's biggest mosque. The imam, Jume Tahir, was killed two days after the Yarkand incident.
