Author:
Publication: BBC News
Date: September 6, 2009
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8240651.stm
China has warned anyone found guilty of syringe
attacks that led to protests in the western city of Urumqi could face the
death penalty, state media reports.
Harsh punishment would be meted out to those
who carried out stabbings with hypodermic needles, the Xinhua news agency
said.
Twenty-five people have reportedly been held
over the attacks in the capital of north-western Xinjiang region.
Chinese officials have blamed Uighur Muslim
separatists for the incidents.
At least five people have died this week in
ethnic unrest triggered by the stabbings, with thousands of angry Han Chinese
staging daily mass protests.
Heavy security presence
The Xinhua report, citing a notice from the
municipal court, said penalties for those who stabbed others with syringes
containing poisonous or harmful substances would range from three years in
jail to the death sentence.
Correspondents said Urumqi was calmer on Sunday, although the security presence
was still heavy.
Riot police have withdrawn from positions
around the city and state television showed local officials visiting residents
and hearing grievances.
On Saturday, Urumqi Communist Party leader
Li Zhi and Xinjiang provincial police chief Liu Yaohua were both sacked as
Beijing sought to bring the crisis under control.
China's Public Security Minister, Meng Jianzhu,
has said the syringe attacks were a continuation of unrest in July in which
200 people - mostly Han Chinese - were killed in ethnic riots.
Xinjiang's population is evenly split between
Uighurs and Han Chinese - the country's majority ethnic group. But Han make
up three-quarters of Urumqi's population.
