Those behind the spate of recent syringe stabbings in China’s Muslim-majority Xinjiang region may face the death penalty, said the Chinese government on Sunday.
The last week has seen renewed unrest in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, following outcry over a number of the stabbing incidents. On Thursday and Friday, tens of thousands of Han Chinese, China’s majority ethnic group, protested and clashed with police, calling on the government to improve safety. At least five people were killed and 14 injured in the protests.
Following the outpouring of anger, the government has promised to come down on those behind the attacks. Beijing on Saturday also unexpectedly sacked the Communist Party chief of Urumqi, Li Zhi, to placate the protesters. More than 530 people have in recent weeks been reportedly stabbed with syringes. Fears that the syringes carried HIV-tainted needles led to mass panic, though officials have said none of those admitted for treatment was found to be infected and they were only treated for stab wounds.
Tension
Xinjiang, in China’s far west, has seen tension between Han Chinese and native Uighurs, a minority group in China. In July, mass riots in Urumqi claimed at least 197 lives and injured more than 1,600.
Officials on Sunday detained four Uighur teenagers in connection with the stabbing incidents, while 21 others are in police custody. Authorities said most of the syringe stabbing victims were Han Chinese, suggesting the attacks may have been racially motivated and reflected lingering tensions following July’s riot.
Those found guilty would face the death penalty if convicted, a notice by a municipal intermediate court in Urumqi said on Sunday, according to State-run Xinhua news agency. The notice said attackers “may be sentenced to three years and more in prison, or life imprisonment, or even the death penalty if convicted.”
It said the attacks constituted “the crime of deploying dangerous substances to harm others as described in China’s penal code, which is punishable by death if the consequence is grave.”
The government has also said rioters behind the July 5 violence would face the death penalty, if convicted. So far, 83 people have been formally arrested in connection with the July riots, while authorities have issued warrants for 196 others.
It still remains unclear when the riot trails will commence and what charges those arrested will face. Legal experts said if the rioters are charged with terrorism or separatism, they would likely face heavier punishments, including the death penalty.
A recent report in the China Daily newspaper said more than 200 people would soon stand trial for the July riot, and that 718 others had been detained.
Trial
But the government, unusually, denied the State-run newspaper’s report. Officials said no date for the trial had been fixed and only 83 people had been arrested.
China administers the death penalty for a variety of crimes, including economic offences, and executes more people than any other country.
Human rights groups have in the past called for greater transparency in the judicial system, and have now urged authorities to ensure a fair trial for all those detained since July.
