Only 8% of Lhasa rioters sent to jail

Only 76 of the 953 people detained for their involvement in last year's Lhasa riot received prison sentences, and the rest have all been released, a top official of the Tibet autonomous region said on Friday.

Those who were convicted received sentences ranging from less than five years to life, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the autonomous region's government, told reporters at a panel discussion during the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

Most of those jailed were found guilty of theft, robbery, arson, disrupting public services or attacking government agencies, Puncog said. Only a few were convicted of "endangering national security".