Twenty people were prosecuted Monday on charges of murder, arson, robbery, intentional injury and explosion related to the deadly riot on July 5 in the northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The 20 suspects were involved in 10 cases which left 18 people dead and three others injured, with property losses at nearly 2.3 million yuan (US$337,000), said the People's Procuratorate of Urumqi, the regional capital.

The procuratorate said it has filed public prosecutions to the Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi against the suspects, emphasizing their litigation rights were guaranteed.

The July 5 riot left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2009)