China ignores a request of the German Federal Government and the EU to clarify the violent deaths of 24 people in Xinjiang

As long as the People's Republic of China refuses to disclose and investigate the reasons behind the violence in the unsettled region of Xinjiang, China's struggle against terrorism will lack credibility. This critical statement was made by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) on Thursday, after three Uyghurs had been sentenced to death and another to 25 years in prison for alleged politically motivated violence. "Until this day, it is still not clear what crimes the Uyghurs committed exactly, although the Human Rights Commissioner of the German Federal Government, Markus Loening, and the European Union had requested an explanation," criticized the STP's Asia-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday.

The defendants had been arrested on June 26, 2013, following the violent deaths of 24 people in Lukchan. "Our human rights organization condemns any violence in Xinjiang and we are committed towards a peaceful implementation of the basic human rights for everyone living in the unsettled region," said Delius. "But we are still waiting for the Chinese authorities to offer a plausible explanation for the violent deaths of the 24 people."

In their ruling, the judges of the Turpan Prefecture Intermediate People's Court mentioned "religious extremist and terrorist activities", accusing the defendants of homicide and arson. The defendants are supposed to have founded a terrorist organization, bought petrol and knifes in order to attack police stations, government offices and a market. However, there are no detailed explanations concerning the course of events and the circumstances of the victims' deaths. It is uncertain how many people were shot by the security forces during the alleged attack of the Uyghurs against the police stations.

Immediately after the incidents, the Chinese authorities imposed an information blackout. A member of the news agency Agence France Presse was not allowed to visit the crime scene – and reports about the incidents were taken off the internet very soon. According to eyewitness reports, there had already been raids, house searches and arbitrary arrests in the region before, which led to a tense safety situation, because the local Muslim Uyghurs were outraged.

Two other Uyghurs had already been sentenced to death on August 12, 2013. They had been blamed of killing 21 people in a firefight on April 12.