Three Uighurs have received jail sentences of up to 15 years for their role in a spate of needle stabbings that provoked rioting in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, Reuters reported. The Intermediate Court of Urumqi, in Xinjiang’s capital, announced Saturday that Yilipan Yilihamu, 19, had been convicted of “spreading false dangerous substances” after he was accused of using a pin to jab a woman while she bought fruit at a roadside stall. Yilipan was given a sentence of 15 years. In a separate trial, Muhutaerjiang Turdi, a 34-year-old man, and Aimannisha Guli, a 22-year-old woman, were convicted for robbery, having used a syringe to threaten and rob a taxi driver. They have been jailed for 10 years and seven years, respectively. No one has died from the claimed needle stabbings, but there were five fatalities last week during violent protests in which local people called for the resignation of Xinjiang’s Communist Party chief.
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