China executes nine over Xinjiang riots

China has executed nine people convicted of violent crimes during ethnic rioting in the western Xinjiang region in July, the first to be put to death over the unrest, Reuters reported, citing the China News Service. Almost 200 people died in the rioting between Uighurs and Han Chinese in the worst ethnic violence seen in decades in the majority Muslim region. The nine were executed after a judicial review by the country’s supreme court. Twenty people were indicted on Monday on charges related to the deaths of 18 people, destruction of property and other crimes during the rioting. The violence left 197 people, mostly Han Chinese, dead and more than 1,600 wounded, according to official figures. In July’s rioting, Uighurs and Han Chinese fought in the regional capital of Urumqi, after Uighurs took to the streets in protest against attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in southern China.