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在线翻译:
szdaily -> China -> 
Xinjiang busts separatist criminal group
    2021-04-08  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

AUTHORITIES in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday revealed that they had busted a separatist criminal group in the educational sector.

The group’s leader was Sattar Sawut, former director of the Xinjiang education department and former head of the region’s leading group on basic-education curriculum reform. They incorporated ethnic separatism, violence, terrorism, and religious extremism content into minority-language textbooks. These books had been used for 13 years. It had grave consequences, said Wang Langtao, vice president of the Xinjiang regional higher people’s court, at a press conference.

Sattar Sawut took advantage of compiling and publishing ethnic language textbooks for primary and secondary schools to split the country, starting in 2002. He instructed others to pick several people with separatist thoughts to join the textbook compilation team, the court found.

Sattar Sawut strongly demanded incorporating content that preached ethnic separatism, violence, terrorism and religious extremism into the textbooks to split the state, the court found.

The investigation also found that 84 texts preached ethnic separatism, violence, terrorism, and religious extremism in the 2003 and 2009 editions of the textbooks.

Under the influence of the textbooks, several people (already convicted) participated in terrorist attacks in Urumqi on July 5, 2009, and April 30, 2014, respectively, or became key members of a separatist group headed by former college teacher Ilham Tohti, the court found.

Sattar Sawut also took advantage of his government posts to accept bribes worth 15.05 million yuan (US$2.3 million), the court said.

Sattar Sawut was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve after being found guilty of crimes of separatism, taking bribes and several other crimes.

Sattar Sawut pleaded guilty to the crimes and did not file an appeal against the verdict.

The court also revealed another former government official Shirzat Bawudun’s crimes of separatism, terrorism.

Shirzat Bawudun was the former head of the public security bureau of Moyu County of Hotan and the former head of the Xinjiang regional department of justice, said Wang Langtao, according to the court.

The court found that Shirzat Bawudun colluded with the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a U.N.-listed terrorist group, offered help to separatists and religious extremists, and collaborated with overseas separatist forces.

In May 2003, as head of the public security bureau of Moyu, he met with Tahir Abbas, a key member of ETIM, who came back to Moyu from abroad, plotting “national independence.” Shirzat Bawudun also promised at the meeting that he would try his best to help.

Shirzat Bawudun also instigated others to join ETIM and provided 1.2 million yuan and property obtained from his bribery to ETIM. He also carried out illegal religious activities at his daughter’s wedding. He accepted bribes totaling 11.12 million yuan.

Shirzat Bawudun was convicted for “splitting the country.”

He also committed crimes including defecting to the enemy, illegally providing information to foreign forces, participating in a terrorist group and aiding terrorist activities. He also used extremism to undermine law enforcement, gathered crowds to disturb the social order, took bribes, and abused his power, the court said.

Shirzat Bawudun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, deprived of his political rights for life, and stripped of all personal property.

He pleaded guilty and did not appeal. (Xinhua)

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