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SHANGHAI, CHINA - CHINA has released most of the 1,315 people detained in the wake of Tibet's deadly riots because their offences were minor, a senior official said.
Courts in Tibet have so far sentenced 42 people for crimes including arson, robbery and gathering to assault state organisations, Xinhua news agency on Friday quoted Mr Palma Trily, executive vice-chairman of Tibet's government, as saying.
A further 116 people are in custody awaiting trial, and 1,157 have been released, the official said.
Mr Palma Trily was speaking after human rights group Amnesty International alleged in a report on Thursday that more than 1,000 people were still detained without charge in Tibet in the wake of the riots.
China said that report had 'not a shred of credibility'.
Of the 42 people sentenced, 30 were jailed in April for terms ranging from three years to life, according to Chinese authorities. A second batch of 12 people was sentenced late this week, Xinhua said, without specifying their crimes or sentences.
Chinese authorities say 19 people died in the anti-Chinese rioting which flared in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on March 14-15.
The speaker of the self-proclaimed Tibetan parliament-in-exile said on Friday that the Chinese security crackdown in response to the rioting had killed at least 209 anti-government protesters. -- REUTERS
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