MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

For peaceful purposes …

By Neil Connor, AFP – “A court in China’s restive Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang sentenced three men to death on Tuesday after they were found guilty of trying to hijack an aircraft and detonate explosives, state media said.

The men, along with a fourth who received a life prison term, were among a group of six that tried to seize the aircraft after it had taken off from Hotan in the northwestern region and were thwarted by passengers and crew, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a court statement.

The other two gang members died in the struggle, which also resulted in injuries to 24 crew members and passengers, the statement said.

They were confronted after they tried to ‘detonate explosive devices’, the statement from the Intermediate People’s Court in Hotan Prefecture said, adding that ‘converted metal crutches and explosives’ were used in the hijacking.

The men attempted to commandeer the Tianjin Airlines flight 1,400km away from its destination, the regional capital city of Urumqi.

They were influenced by religious extremists and ‘loudly shouted religious extremist cries’ on board the aircraft, the Xinhua report said, citing court testimonies.

‘They decided to blow up the aircraft and die along with all the other passengers,’ it added.

Ringleaders Musa Yvsup and Arxidikali Yimin, along with Eyumer Yimin, who played a major part in the attempted hijack, were sentenced to death.” Read more.

Flashback: China: Rioters Shout ‘Allah is the Only God’ While Hacking People to Death – “Police shot down 14 rioters who attacked a police station in Hotan city of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Monday, a Communist Party official in Hotan said Wednesday. The official, who declined to be named, said the attack left four people dead, including an armed police officer, a security guard, a woman and a teenage girl. At least three others were injured… Shouting frantic religious slogans like ‘Allah the only God’, the rioters ran to the top floor and police opened fire to stop them …” Read more.