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| Teenager Arrested in Killing of Imam in Western China | |
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| BEIJING — Chinese authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man from a village near the oasis city of Kashgar, in far western China, accusing him of inspiring and planning a fatal attack last month on the imam of the nation’s biggest mosque, according to state news media reports. | BEIJING — Chinese authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man from a village near the oasis city of Kashgar, in far western China, accusing him of inspiring and planning a fatal attack last month on the imam of the nation’s biggest mosque, according to state news media reports. |
| Reports from Chinese journalists in Xinjiang, the vast western region that includes Kashgar, said late Sunday that the police had detained the suspect, Aini Aishan, a member of the Uighur ethnic minority, while he was in the city of Khotan, another oasis settlement east of Kashgar. The arrest took place just two days after a fatal knife or ax attack July 30 on Jume Tahir, 74, the Uighur imam of the historic yellow-walled Id Kah Mosque. | Reports from Chinese journalists in Xinjiang, the vast western region that includes Kashgar, said late Sunday that the police had detained the suspect, Aini Aishan, a member of the Uighur ethnic minority, while he was in the city of Khotan, another oasis settlement east of Kashgar. The arrest took place just two days after a fatal knife or ax attack July 30 on Jume Tahir, 74, the Uighur imam of the historic yellow-walled Id Kah Mosque. |
| The killing of the imam underscored the increasingly bloody nature of the ethnic conflicts in Xinjiang. This year, a growing number of terrorist-style attacks has shaken the region and cities elsewhere in China. The assaults have been linked to tensions between Uighurs, who mostly follow Sunni Islam, and Han, who make up the country’s dominant ethnic group. | The killing of the imam underscored the increasingly bloody nature of the ethnic conflicts in Xinjiang. This year, a growing number of terrorist-style attacks has shaken the region and cities elsewhere in China. The assaults have been linked to tensions between Uighurs, who mostly follow Sunni Islam, and Han, who make up the country’s dominant ethnic group. |
| The imam was a divisive figure among Uighurs because he was seen by some as a supporter of policies imposed by the central and regional governments, which are run by Han. In recent years, surging violence between Uighurs and Han has troubled Xinjiang, most notably a riot in the regional capital, Urumqi, in 2009 in which at least 200 people were killed, many of them Han. That led to an intense crackdown on Uighurs by Han-dominated security forces. | The imam was a divisive figure among Uighurs because he was seen by some as a supporter of policies imposed by the central and regional governments, which are run by Han. In recent years, surging violence between Uighurs and Han has troubled Xinjiang, most notably a riot in the regional capital, Urumqi, in 2009 in which at least 200 people were killed, many of them Han. That led to an intense crackdown on Uighurs by Han-dominated security forces. |
| Official state media reports this summer have said that more than 200 “terrorist suspects” were arrested in May alone, and that many had been inspired by jihadist videos. The reports have also disclosed severe sentences for many suspects, including death and life imprisonment. | Official state media reports this summer have said that more than 200 “terrorist suspects” were arrested in May alone, and that many had been inspired by jihadist videos. The reports have also disclosed severe sentences for many suspects, including death and life imprisonment. |
| The imam was attacked by three men at 6:58 a.m. outside the Id Kah Mosque, after finishing sunrise prayers, the state media reports said. Two men were shot dead at the scene by police officers. One suspected assailant, Nurmemet Abidili, 19, was detained. | The imam was attacked by three men at 6:58 a.m. outside the Id Kah Mosque, after finishing sunrise prayers, the state media reports said. Two men were shot dead at the scene by police officers. One suspected assailant, Nurmemet Abidili, 19, was detained. |
| An article from Urumqi in China Daily, an official English-language newspaper, said Sunday that Mr. Aishan had shown Mr. Abidili “terrorist videos” and taught him about “religious extremism” after Mr. Abidili, 19, had called Mr. Aishan in January to ask him how to learn more about Islam. | An article from Urumqi in China Daily, an official English-language newspaper, said Sunday that Mr. Aishan had shown Mr. Abidili “terrorist videos” and taught him about “religious extremism” after Mr. Abidili, 19, had called Mr. Aishan in January to ask him how to learn more about Islam. |
| The two young men are from Kazilesu, near Kashgar. Mr. Aishan had worked at construction sites in Khotan since graduating from junior high school in his hometown in October 2012. In January 2013, the article said, he came into contact with a “local religious extremist group” from which he obtained “violent terrorist videos as well as prohibited religious publications so he could preach to other people.” | The two young men are from Kazilesu, near Kashgar. Mr. Aishan had worked at construction sites in Khotan since graduating from junior high school in his hometown in October 2012. In January 2013, the article said, he came into contact with a “local religious extremist group” from which he obtained “violent terrorist videos as well as prohibited religious publications so he could preach to other people.” |
| Months later, Mr. Abidili armed himself with an ax and attacked the imam in Kashgar with two other men, the reports said. One televised prison interview with him, which aired Sunday on a Xinjiang news program, showed him saying, “I thought killing the imam would be a grand achievement and would make us more influential.” | Months later, Mr. Abidili armed himself with an ax and attacked the imam in Kashgar with two other men, the reports said. One televised prison interview with him, which aired Sunday on a Xinjiang news program, showed him saying, “I thought killing the imam would be a grand achievement and would make us more influential.” |
| The state news reports were impossible to verify independently on Monday. The Chinese prison system has been criticized for human rights abuses, including the use of torture to extract confessions. A person answering the telephone at the police headquarters in Urumqi declined to comment, saying all the relevant information was in the television news program. | The state news reports were impossible to verify independently on Monday. The Chinese prison system has been criticized for human rights abuses, including the use of torture to extract confessions. A person answering the telephone at the police headquarters in Urumqi declined to comment, saying all the relevant information was in the television news program. |
| Xinjiang Daily, a regional state-run newspaper, published a long article that said Mr. Abidili had talked after his arrest about learning the concept of jihad from Mr. Aishan. “It was the first time I had heard of jihad,” he said. “I was very excited. I wanted to do something big.” | Xinjiang Daily, a regional state-run newspaper, published a long article that said Mr. Abidili had talked after his arrest about learning the concept of jihad from Mr. Aishan. “It was the first time I had heard of jihad,” he said. “I was very excited. I wanted to do something big.” |
| The Xinjiang television news segment ran short video clips of Mr. Aishan, in blue prison garb, sitting in a cell and talking to a reporter. He was thin and had a shaved head. His wrists were clamped to a table by curved metal bars. | The Xinjiang television news segment ran short video clips of Mr. Aishan, in blue prison garb, sitting in a cell and talking to a reporter. He was thin and had a shaved head. His wrists were clamped to a table by curved metal bars. |
| The article said that the pregnant wife, parents and older brother of Mr. Aishan repeatedly told him to stop going to mosques not sanctioned by the state, but that he defied them. The end of the article quoted Mr. Aishan saying: “I know that my parents and wife are in a lot of pain right now. If I had another chance, I would listen to them, take care of my parents and be a good person.” | The article said that the pregnant wife, parents and older brother of Mr. Aishan repeatedly told him to stop going to mosques not sanctioned by the state, but that he defied them. The end of the article quoted Mr. Aishan saying: “I know that my parents and wife are in a lot of pain right now. If I had another chance, I would listen to them, take care of my parents and be a good person.” |