Nine executed over Xinjiang riots

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Chinese authorities have executed nine people in connection with the ethnic riots in Xinjiang earlier this year, regional reports say.

Nearly 200 people were killed in July during unrest between ethnic Uighurs and members of China's Han majority in the regional capital, Urumqi.

The nine men were convicted of crimes including murder and arson, according to the state-owned China News Service.

The reports do not say whether those executed were Uighurs or Han.

But if the executions were in line with previous statements by the Xinjiang government, the group consisted of eight Uighurs and one Han.

A spokesman for the Xinjiang government said the executions had been carried out after a review by the Supreme Court.

Uighur activist Dilxat Raxit condemned the executions, saying they were motivated by politics and the need to appease Urumqi's Han community.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8350360.stm