A Chinese court has jailed the webmasters of three Uighur-language Internet sites who were detained following deadly ethnic unrest in China's Xinjiang region last year, Radio Free Asia said Thursday.

The men, members of Xinjiang's mainly Muslim Uighur ethnic minority, were jailed for terms ranging from three to 10 years on charges of "endangering national security," RFA said, quoting the brother of one of them.

The report follows the sentencing last week of Uighur journalist Gheyret Niyaz to 15 years in jail on similar charges.

Niyaz was arrested after speaking to overseas media about Chinese policies in the restive northwestern region following the July 2009 violence, in which Uighurs clashed with members of China's majority Han ethnic group.

The violence left nearly 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to the Chinese government.

RFA identified the three men sentenced as Dilshat Perhat and Nureli and Nijat Azat, citing Perhat's brother Dilmurat Perhat, who lives in Britain.

He said his brother had received five years in prison, while Nureli and Nijat Azat received three years and 10 years, respectively.

They were the heads, respectively, of the Uighur websites Diyarim, Salkin, and Shabnam -- three of the most popular Uighur-language sites, which were blocked in China following the deadly unrest.

The trio were sentenced during closed trials last week in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi, the report said.
AFP was not immediately able to reach officials at the Urumqi court for comment.

Dilxat Raxit, Europe-based spokesman for the overseas World Uighur Congress, condemned the verdicts in an email to AFP.

"Uighurs face a serious threat to their Internet freedom," Raxit said.

"The international community urgently needs to provide protection for Uighur political dissidents, independent journalists, and bloggers who face a growing threat of imprisonment."

China cut off access to the Internet in Xinjiang amid the 2009 violence, saying it was being used by some to instigate the unrest.

It has only been partially restored, but many Uighurs say dozens of websites in their Turkic-based language remain shut down in a continuing security and media crackdown on the vast region.

China's roughly eight million Uighurs have long resented what many allege is Chinese political, religious and economic oppression, as well as unwanted Han immigration to Xinjiang.

(Source: AFP)