July 2009 Ürümqi riots
Protest events in Xinjiang, China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A series of violent riots over several days broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000 Uyghurs,[12] began as a protest, but escalated into violent attacks that mainly targeted Han people. According to Chinese state media, a total of 197 people died, most of whom were Han people or non-Muslim minorities,[10][7] with 1,721 others injured[8] and many vehicles and buildings destroyed. Many Uyghurs disappeared during wide-scale police sweeps in the days following the riots; Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented 43 cases[13] and said figures for real disappearances were likely to be much higher.[14]
July 2009 Ürümqi riots | ||||
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Part of the Xinjiang conflict | ||||
Date | 5–8 July 2009 | |||
Location | Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China | |||
Caused by | Anger over the Shaoguan incident | |||
Parties | ||||
Lead figures | ||||
Number | ||||
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Casualties | ||||
Death(s) | 197+[6][7] | |||
Injuries | 1,721[8][9] | |||
Arrested | 1,500+[10] | |||
Charged | 400+[11] |
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 乌鲁木齐七五骚乱 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 烏魯木齊七五騷亂 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Ürümqi 5 July riots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Official name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 乌鲁木齐七五打砸抢烧杀严重暴力犯罪事件 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 烏魯木齊七五打砸搶燒殺嚴重暴力犯罪事件 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Ürümqi 5 July violent criminal incident of beating, smashing, looting, and burning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Uyghur | بەشىنچى ئىيۇل ۋەقەسى | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | 5 July incident | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rioting began following the Shaoguan incident, where false accusations of rape of a Han woman by Uyghur men led to a brawl between ethnic Han and Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, resulting in the deaths of two Uyghurs who were both from Xinjiang.[15] The Chinese government claimed that the riots were planned from abroad by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and its leader Rebiya Kadeer.[16][1] Kadeer denies fomenting the violence in her fight for Uyghur self-determination.[17]
Chinese media coverage of the Ürümqi riots was extensive and was compared favourably by foreign media to that of the unrest in Tibet in 2008.[18] When the riots began, telephone and internet connections within Xinjiang were cut off. In the weeks that followed, official sources reported that over 1,000 people were arrested and detained;[10] Uyghur-run mosques were temporarily closed.[19] The communication limitations[20] and armed police presence remained in place as of January 2010.[21] By November 2009, over 400 individuals faced criminal charges for their actions during the riots.[11] Nine were executed in November 2009.[22] According to China News Service, they were executed for crimes such as murder or arson.[22] By February 2010, at least 26 had received death sentences.[23]