By DAN LEVINJUNE 5, 2014
BEIJING — Chinese courts in the northwestern region of Xinjiang sentenced 81 people on terrorism and other charges on Thursday, according to the state broadcaster China Central Television. The sentences are part of a widening crackdown in the region after a spate of deadly violence in China for which the authorities have blamed foreign-backed Islamist separatists.
The accused were convicted by courts in six cities on charges including intentional murder, arson and organizing, leading and participating in terrorist activities. Nine people were sentenced to death, with three of those given two-year reprieves.
Also on Thursday, Xinjiang Net, a state news portal, reported that the regional authorities had detained 29 people suspected of inciting separatism and other crimes in Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital, where a suicide bombing at a market last month killed 43 people.
Last month, Xinjiang officials held a rally in a stadium for the public sentencing of 55 people who had been found guilty of charges including terrorism and separatism.
The mass arrests and sentences underscore the growing challenge to Beijing in the restive region, which is home to the Uighurs, a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority whose members are increasingly resentful of Chinese government policies.