The Buzz | Former governor of China’s Xinjiang sentenced in bribery

The former governor of China’s tense northwestern region of Xinjiang was sentenced to life in prison on charges of taking bribes, becoming one of the highest-profile ethnic minority politicians to fall in an ongoing anti-corruption campaign.
Nur Bekri had been among China’s most politically successful members of the Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic minority, more than one million of whom have been detained in political re-education camps in recent years.
State media reports said Bekri was sentenced yesterday and showed pictures of him standing in the dock.
A statement on the official microblog of the People’s Highest Court said Bekri had been sentenced by the Intermediate People’s Court in the northeastern city of Shenyang and had stated he would not appeal.
It said Bekri had accepted 79.1 million yuan ($11.23 million) in bribes while serving in his various positions between 1998 and 2018 in return for helping companies and individuals obtain government contracts, promoting their products or offering other illicit services.