Five jailed for separatism in China

Five people have been jailed in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for inciting separatism and endangering national security.

They have been given sentences between seven to 15 years in jail after the Kashagar Prefecture Intermediate People's Court found them guilty, Xinhua reported citing state-run Xinjiang Daily Friday.

They were convicted of using electronic devices to spread video and audio material to incite separatist activities, illegally setting up preaching sites to spread religious extremism to children and youths, holding lectures to incite ethnic hatred and plotting to commit crimes with controlled knives.

South Xinjiang's Hotan, Kashgar and Aksu are the areas overseas separatist forces attempt to penetrate most, where the majority of the population are Uygur Muslims.