China to put Urumqi rioters on trial In August

The first groups of Uighurs arrested in the aftermath of the Urumqi riots will go on trial next month, according to state media.

Police issued photos and names of 15 people wanted for their part in the most deadly disturbances in China for two decades - all but one of the suspects are Uighurs and two are women.

A further 253 people were detained on Thursday in Urumqi, the capital of the far-western province of Xinjiang. Before the most recent round of arrests, the police had already detained over 1400 people for their part in the July 5th riots.

The authorities claim members of the Uighur ethnic Muslim minority randomly attacked Han Chinese across Urumqi. The violence prompted two days of reprisals, as Han residents of the city took to the streets seeking revenge. Almost 200 people died and over 1600 were injured in what was the worst ethnic unrest in China for decades.

Uighurs in Urumqi and in exile claim that the authorities have detained far more people than the official number. On Wednesday, Rebiya Kadeer, the US-based leader of the World Uighur Congress, said that 10,000 people had disappeared since the riots. Residents in Uighur neighbourhoods in Urumqi have described armed police going from house to house and taking away all males under the age of 50.

But a spokeswoman for the Xinjiang government denied that mass arrests had taken place. Hou Hanmin said the claim by Mrs Kadeer was so groundless, "it was not even worth a counter-reaction."

The Urumqi Public Security Bureau issued a statement telling those wanted by the police, "not to hope that they would be lucky enough to get away with it." The statement said those who surrendered voluntarily within ten days would be given lenient treatment and offered rewards to anyone with information on the suspects.

Beijing claims that the violence was orchestrated by Mrs Kadeer. Uighurs in Urumqi, though, say the riot was sparked by a mass fight between Han and Uighur workers in a factory in southern Guangdong Province in late June, which left at least two Uighurs dead. Guangdong officials announced yesterday that 15 people would face charges for their part in the fight.

Source: Telegraph.
Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5946113/China-To-Put-Urumqi-Rioters-On-Trial-In-August.html.