AI: No death penalty for Uigher protesters

BEIJING, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Amnesty International urged China's Supreme Court to review the death sentences five people received stemming from violence following a crackdown in July.

Five of 13 people already sentenced by a court in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region received the death penalty while two others received sentences of life in prison, the human rights organization said Thursday in a release. Five cases were scheduled to be tried Friday.

The arrests and charges were in connection with deadly violence that erupted after a police crackdown on Uigher protesters July 5 in Urumqi. The demonstrators were protesting the authorities' failure to take action following the deaths of Uighur migrant workers during a riot in another province.

"We urge the Court to ensure that the defendants who are to be tried (Friday) receive a fair trial, legal counsel of their choice and are not subject to the death penalty," said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific deputy director.

Nine people were executed last month in connection with the unrest.

Since the July unrest in Xinjiang, thousands of people of people have been detained and dozens brought to trial.

"Last month's executions followed fast on the heels of the sentences from the Intermediate Court, calling into question the care with which the Supreme Court reviewed these cases," Rife said. "Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, but the lack of transparency and fair trials in these cases is outrageous."