More death sentences after Xinjiang riots

CHINA RIOTS: Blood-stained women comfort each other in Xinjiang, after locals took to the streets, burning and smashing vehicles and confronting security forces.

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The Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi also sentenced two others to life in prison.

China announced last month that nine Uighurs had been executed for taking part in the ethnic rioting that left nearly 200 people dead in July. It was China's worst ethnic violence in decades.

The five identified in the official Xinhua News Agency's report on Thursday had names indicating they were Uighurs, and it said the cases were heard in the Uighur language.

Uighurs are a Turkic Muslim ethnic group linguistically and culturally distinct from the Han, and many resent Beijing's heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, their traditional homeland.

Hundreds of people were rounded up after the riots, in which Uighurs attacked members of China's Han ethnic majority on July 5, only to face retaliatory attacks two days later.

Of the five sentenced to death on Thursday, Memeteli Islam was accused of killing a police officer by smashing him in the back of the head with a brick.

Mamattursun Elmu and Memeteli Abburakm were accused of attacking a minibus and kicking a man and woman inside until they died. Mamattursun Elmu was also charged with setting fire to a grain distribution centre that killed five people.

Helil Sadir was accused of killing a bystander with a beer bottle and kicks to the face, and Kushiman Kurban was found guilty of stabbing a bystander to death.

China blames the rioting on overseas-based groups agitating for broader rights for Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Five months after the violence, Xinjiang remains smothered in heavy security, with internet access cut and international direct dialing calls blocked.

- AP