Twenty people were sentenced in the Xinjiang region of China on charges of terrorism and separatism, reported China's state media - People's Daily - on Thursday.
All twenty are believed to be Uighurs - Muslim, Turkic speaking people who consider Xinjiang to be their home.
The People's Daily report, said,
"A vast amount of evidence shows that the accused criminals carried out a lot of preparatory work in planning violent terror activities and set up a formal terror organisation,"
"Some members of the terror organization made explosives and carried out test explosions."
However, Dilxat Raxit, spokesperson for the exiled World Uyghur Congress, said China was using terrorism to bring charges against Uighurs who are campaigning for their rights.
"The aim is to terrorise Uighurs into abandoning their rights," he said.
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