China will prosecute the former editor-in-chief of the official Communist Party publication in the violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang on charges of corruption after he expressed doubt about government policies, the paper said Monday.

Hundreds in Xinjiang have died in the last few years in unrest blamed by the government on Islamist militants.

Rights groups and exiles say controls on the religion and culture of the Muslim Uighur people who call the region home are more to blame for the violent outbreaks. China denies any such repression takes place.