4 get life for Kashgar terrorism

Four people have been sentenced to life in prison for crimes including organizing, leading and taking part in terrorist groups and advocating ethnic hatred in Kashgar prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

A total of 109 others received different sentences on the same day, the regional politics and law committee said in a media release.

China fights terrorism and violent attacks

The 113 defendants involved in 69 cases were tried by courts in Kashgar city and 10 counties on Wednesday, according to the release published late on Sunday.

According to evidence, at the end of May, Ablimit Mettohut bought two axes and two chopping knives from Memetyusup Yidires who runs a kitchenware shop in Kashgar.

Ablimit Mettohut and an accomplice used the axes and knives to carry out a terrorist attack in front of a hospital, leaving two people dead and one injured.

Police traced the murder weapons to Memetyusup Yidires, who tried to hide the fact that he had been selling large numbers of restricted knifes. He also tore the registry form to hide the buyers' identities. He was imprisoned for 10 years for harboring criminals.

Three others were also sentenced to 10 years for not reporting terrorist activities or for hiding fugitives.

Two others were given life sentences for organizing people to watch terrorist videos and to promote ethnic hatred since 2012. They also organized physical training and plotted terrorist attacks.

China launched a one-year nationwide campaign to crack down on terrorism after attackers killed 39 people in the regional capital of Urumqi in May.

Courts in Xinjiang, described as the main battleground of the campaign, are required to conduct quick trials for those suspected of being involved in terrorist-related crimes.

The central government has also decided to reward people who provide valuable information about terrorist activities.

Five people from Asku, a city in southern Xinjiang's Aksu prefecture, received a reward of 170,000 yuan ($27,374) on Saturday for their bravery when facing a an attacker who stabbed and injured two women in front of a hotel in Aksu city on Friday, Xinjiang Daily reported on Monday.

The alleged attacker was caught by police who arrived within two minutes. Two people were slightly injured.

On June 24, 30 people received a reward totaling 350,000 yuan for taking on young attackers influenced by religious extremism and who were armed with axes in the city of Hotan on June 15.