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Uygur ex-head of Xinjiang education department gets suspended death sentence
- Sattar Sawut found guilty of separatism and taking bribes linked to publication of ‘problematic’ school textbooks, court says
- Five other Uygurs given heavy sentences, while former head of Xinjiang department of justice gets suspended death sentence in separate case
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The former head of the Xinjiang education department has been handed a suspended death sentence and five other Uygurs given hefty prison terms for their roles in writing and publishing of a number of school textbooks deemed “problematic” by local authorities, according to state media reports.
Sattar Sawut was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being found guilty of separatism and taking bribes, Xinhua quoted a top judge in the region as saying on Tuesday.
The charges were built around Sawut’s role in writing and publishing of Uygur-language textbooks that were used in primary and secondary schools in Xinjiang for 13 years but in 2016 were deemed by the regional government to be inciting ethnic hatred and “separatist thoughts”.
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His deputy at the education department and two publishers of the books were each given life sentences, while two editors from the same publishing house were also found guilty, but their sentences were not specified. None of the other defendants were named.
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The report did not say when the sentences were handed down, but Sawut had been under investigation since 2017.
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