Xinjiang plane hijackers sentenced to death

URUMQI - A court in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday sentenced three men to death and another man to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of attempting to hijack an aircraft in June.

The Intermediate People's Court in Hotan Prefecture ruled at the first instance that the men were guilty of organizing, leading or participating in a terrorist group, hijacking the aircraft and attempting to detonate explosives on the aircraft.

Musa Yvsup and Arxidikali Yimin, the leaders of the group who plotted the hijacking, and Eyumer Yimin, a major participant in the planning, were sentenced to death, according to a statement from the court.

Alem Musa, who played a minor role in the plane hijacking and willingly pleaded guilty after being arrested, received a life sentence, said the statement.

All the defendants confessed the above crimes at the court.

On June 29, six people attempted to hijack Tianjin Airlines' flight GS7554 after it took off from Hotan Airport and was 1,400 km away from its destination, the regional capital city of Urumqi. They used converted metal crutches and explosives they carried in disguise, the statement said.

They loudly shouted religious extremist cries, hit the cockpit door and physically and verbally assaulted the flight crew and passengers, according to the statement which quoted court testimony.

They were stopped by crew members and passengers while they were trying to detonate explosive devices, and two of the other hijackers, Ababaykeri Ybelayim and Mametali Yvsup, were injured in the fighting and later died despite medical treatment.