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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China sentences 17 for alleged involvement in Tibet riots |
| 2008-04-29 |
| A Chinese court sentenced 17 people, including six monks, to jail Tuesday for their alleged roles in deadly riots in the Tibetan capital, in the first trial concerning last month's unrest, state media reported. The sentences were handed down the same day that the Tibetan government-in-exile announced that it believes 203 Tibetans were killed in Beijing's crackdown after the riots. The number is nearly 10 times China's official toll. It could not be independently confirmed. The Intermediate People's Court of Lhasa announced the sentences - which ranged from three years to life in prison - at an open session, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. ... China has said that 22 people died in the riots and that they were mostly Han Chinese, the country's predominant ethnicity. Tibetan exile groups have maintained that many times that number were killed in both the initial unrest and the ensuing crackdown, mostly Tibetans. In addition to the 203 killed, more than 1,000 people were wounded and more than 5,715 were still in detention, said Tibetan government spokesman Thubten Samphal. The figures were taken from a combination of the government's own sources, Tibetan exile groups and official Chinese media, he said. |
| Posted by:ed |