25 Dec 2009

Death penalty sentences imposed

9:17 am on 25 December 2009

A court in the Xinjiang region of China has sentenced a further five people to death for their role in deadly ethnic riots in July.

The sentences bring the number of people condemned to die over the riots to a total of 22.

Five more were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence often commuted to life in prison.

Nine people were executed last month over the riots, in which almost 200 people were killed. Most of the victims were reported to be Han Chinese.