China: 20 Sentenced in Terrorism Case

China has sentenced 20 people to up to 15 years in prison for advocating violence and separatism in the western region of Xinjiang, where the central government has clamped down on dissent and restricted religious practices. The state-run newspaper Xinjiang Daily said Thursday that courts in the region had found that the 20 had organized and participated in terrorist groups. The courts said four of them made illegal explosives, the newspaper reported. The report did not cite any violence linked to the defendants. It named only five people, all with Uighur names. Xinjiang is home to a large population of minority Uighurs but is ruled by members of China’s Han ethnic majority. Violence between the groups in recent years has left nearly 200 people dead. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said that the accused used the Internet to obtain government-controlled information and to express political views. He said the terrorist charges and verdicts were politically motivated.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: August 2, 2012