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China arrested 1,300 Muslims in 2008: report
China arrested almost 1,300 people for terrorism, religious extremism or other state security charges in the country's Muslim-majority western Xinjiang region last year, state press said Sunday.The vast desert area bordering Central Asia is home to more than eight million members of China's ethnic Uighur population, Muslims who have complained for decades of political and religious repression. The Procuratorial Daily said the arrests came as the government made "maintaining social stability" a priority last year, when Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympic Games in August. A wave of unrest, at times resulting in violence, erupted in Xinjiang ahead of the Olympics. According to state press reports, the unrest was largely fomented by Uighur Muslim separatists. The paper said 1,295 people were arrested on suspicion of endangering state security in the first 11 months of 2008, and that 1,154 were formally charged and faced trials or administrative punishment. Posted by: Fred 2009-01-06 |
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