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China sets prison terms for 3 Uighur Web managers |
CPJ
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New York, August 2, 2010—Three Uighur-language website
managers were sentenced Friday to prison terms of three
to 10 years after being found guilty under broad charges
of “endangering state security.” The men had been jailed
after ethnic rioting in July 2009 in Urumqi, capital of
the far-western, predominantly Muslim, Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region.
Nijat Azat, who managed the website Shabnam, was
sentenced to a 10-year prison term; Dilixiati Paerhati,
whose ran the website Diyarim, was given a five-year
term; and the webmaster of Salkin, who goes by the
single name Nureli, was sentenced to three years.
The sites, all of which have been shut down by the
government, had run news articles and discussion groups
concerning Uighur issues. In its coverage, The New York
Times cited friends and family members of the men as
saying they were prosecuted for failing to quickly
delete content that openly discussed the difficulties of
life in Xinjiang and, in one case, for allowing users to
post messages publicizing the protests that turned
violent in July 2009.
“One year after the rioting that swept through parts of
Urumqi and Xinjiang, China is silencing Uighur voices,”
said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “These
sentences should be overturned by the court system
immediately.”
The rulings came just days after another Uighur
journalist and website manager was sentenced to a
lengthy prison term on antistate charges. Gheyret Niyaz
was sentenced to 15 years in prison on July 23,
according to news reports. All of the court proceedings
were conducted behind closed doors, according to the
media reports.
On Friday, the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights
Defenders published a letter signed by many well-known
Chinese activists protesting the 15-year prison term
given to Gheyret Niyaz.
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