Thirty-three men accused of taking part in an uprising in the eastern Uzbek province of Andijan in May have received jail sentences ranging from 12 to 17 years after closed trials, Uzbekistan's supreme court said Monday.
"The defendants were found guilty of carrying out premeditated murders in aggravating circumstances, terrorist acts, mass riots and a range of serious and very serious crimes," a written statement from the court said.
The verdicts from two trials in the Uzbek capital Tashkent bring to 58 the total number of people sentenced behind closed doors over the mass bloodshed in Andijan in what human rights groups say is a brutal crackdown by Uzbek authorities.
Twenty-five men were sentenced last week in closed proceedings to between 12 and 22 years in jail, while 15 other defendants received sentences ranging from 14 to 20 years last month after proceedings dismissed by critics as reminiscent of Stalin-era show trials.
Russian news agencies earlier reported Uzbek authorities had charged a total of 121 people over the Andijan uprising, which would mean 48 are still awaiting trial.
Uzbek authorities say 187 people were killed in the May 13 violence in Andijan, blaming it all on the actions of Islamic insurgents who took over parts of the city.
But witnesses and human rights groups say hundreds of people died after Uzbek troops opened fire on unarmed civilians who took to the streets to demonstrate against the government.