Xinjiang riot trials set to begin

More than 200 people are expected to go on trial this week for their involvement in the riots in Xinjiang province last month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing state media. Approximately 197 people died and more than 1,700 people were injured in clashes between the dominant Han and minority Uighur ethnic groups in July. Court officials with the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court confirmed the trials would be held but did not give a date as to when the trials would begin. According to state media, more than 3,300 pieces of physical evidence had been collected, including bricks and clubs stained with blood, as well as 91 video clips and 2,169 photographs. It is unknown how many of those charged are Uighur and how many are Han, but state media said 170 Uighur and 20 Han lawyers had been assigned to suspects. Most of those arrested were said to be from either the provincial capital Urumqi or the southern city of Kashgar.