China sentences 39 for inciting violence in Xinjiang

China has sentenced 39 people to up to 15 years in jail for taking part in "terrorist activities" and inciting violence in the Muslim-dominated restive Xinjiang province, which has seen several deadly attacks by Islamist militants fighting for the independence of the region.
The "guilty" were sentenced in 16 separate trials since March 31 for "spreading videos that incited violence, organising and taking part in terrorist activities, advocating ethnic hatred and illegally manufacturing firearms", said Yu Huitang, spokesman of Xinjiang Regional Higher People's Court.
Six courts handed down the sentences yesterday, a report said, including one in the western county of Aksu which has seen a number of violent clashes in the past year.

The heaviest sentences, of 14 and 15 years, went to two suspects accused of encouraging "holy war", the report said.
Yu said the sentences are a warning to those who have religious extremist thoughts and intend to incite violence.
China has recently witnessed a surge in the number of terror attacks, causing deaths and serious losses, state-run Xinhua news agency reported without identifying those who were sentenced in the latest court proceedings.

Most of them reportedly belonged to Muslim Uygur community from northwestern Xinjiang province.
Xinjiang, home to the Turkish-speaking Uygurs, has seen an increase in violent clashes and attacks which China blamed on the al-Qaeda backed East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) seeking independence for the region.

China has tightened security in the resource-rich province bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Afghanistan to deal with widespread unrest arising out of the protests by the native Uygurs over settlements of Han Chinese from other parts of China.
While Xinjiang has witnessed a host of attacks stated to be from the banned ETIM, militants from the province were blamed for recent knife attacks at railway stations in Kunming, Urumqi and Guangzhou.
In the latest cases, three people were killed and 79 injured in an attack on April 30 at a railway station in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital.
Earlier in March, assailants killed 29 civilians and injured another 143 at a railway station in the southwestern city of Kunming.

A police investigation found evidence linking the crimes to Xinjiang separatists.
Yu said separatists from home and abroad have resorted to Internet communication methods and mobile storage devices to incite activities and added authorities in Xinjiang have launched a concerted campaign against these activities.