Six more get death penalty

• Source: Global Times
• [02:39 October 16 2009]
• Comments

Dilshat Reshit, a spokesman of the World Uygur Congress (WUC), said the death penalties handed down to Han criminals are only out of the government's political will to demonstrate equality, adding that "all the Uygurs who stood trial so far have been denied a fair hearing."

However, local authorities said that the two trials were fair practices that accord with laws and were carried out under public supervision.

"Nearly 500 people attended the public hearing of Thursday's trials, including defendants' families, plaintiffs' families, members of the provincial People's Congress, citizen representatives and the Chinese media," Wang Wenhua, deputy secretary of the regional committee of political and legislative affairs in Xinjiang, told the Global Times.

He said each defendant was allocated a lawyer to protect the rights of defense and appeal, and the evidence would also be released later.

Public prosecutors presented testimonies of witnesses, autopsy reports and other evidence at the court, and played videos of crime scenes, according to Xinhua.

To some extent, the sentencing of the mobs has offered general relief to most of the people in Xinjiang.

Shi Jinyang, a middle-age local taxi driver, said he believes that the harsh sentences are helpful to maintain order and stability in post-riot Xinjiang.

"Local people have longed for the sentencing for quite a while, and the rulings are justified and convincing," he told the Global Times, suggesting that the government continue to play tough in ensuring stability following the harsh punishment.

Ai Shanjiang, 33, a Uygur van driver in Kashgar, said those rioters deserve capital punishment, "otherwise, those criminals may continue to wreak havoc on society."

Li Zhifeng, an official at the Stability Maintenance Office in Xinjiang, said the number of armed forces has not been reduced, but they have more mobility, he said. The Internet is still blocked, but the local network within the Xinjiang district is unimpeded.

Guo Qiang and Zhang Han contribute to this story