2 Tibetans executed in China over riots last year

Loyak received the death penalty for setting fire to a motorcycle dealership in Dechen township in Lhasa's Dagze county on March 15 last year, which led to the deaths of five people, Xinhua said. Many Tibetans only go by one name.

The court spokesman, who was not named, told Xinhua that only the two defendants' executions can appease the public's anger.

Xinhua gave few details on the two, but U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia's Tibetan service said Lobsang Gyaltsen was 28 and was from a poor family in Lubuk township in Lhasa. Loyak was 30.

Lobsang Gyaltsen was allowed a visit by his mother before he was executed, it said.

"I have nothing to say, except please take good care of my child and send him to school," he was quoted as telling her.

China says Tibet has historically been part of its territory since the mid-13th century, and the Communist Party has governed the Himalayan region since 1951. Many Tibetans say they were effectively independent for most of their history.

More than 950 people were detained and 76 were sentenced following last year's riots, according to state media, but the government has never given a complete accounting, and details of punishments continue to trickle out.

Officials at Lhasa's public security bureau and People's Court have repeatedly said they have no information on the executions.

British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis condemned the executions in a statement Friday.

"We respect China's right to bring those responsible for the violence in Tibet last year to justice. But the U.K. opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, and we have consistently raised our concerns about lack of due process in these cases in particular," he said.

Lewis also called on China to urgently review the cases of others sentenced to death.

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