Court upholds sentences from Urumqi riots

BEIJING, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Chinese appeals court Friday upheld sentences for 21 people convicted of murder and other crimes stemming from the deadly July 5 ethnic riots in Urumqi.

The appeals court rejected appeals made by 15 men and approved the penalties for six defendants who did not appeal their verdicts, China Daily reported.

Nine defendants were sentenced to death.

The riots in the capital of Xinjiang-Uighur province between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese left at least 197 people dead and more than 1,600 people injured.