A senior judge in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has urged regional courts to crack down on terrorists with a heavy hand and without mercy, local media reported on Tuesday.

Nayim Yasen, president of the autonomous region's high court, said on Monday that what terrorists had done in a succession of brutal attacks show they had behaved against the most fundamental human rights and basic ethics, according to xinjiangnet.com, a major news website in the region.

Courts should show no mercy toward those who played a leading role in the attacks, he said, adding that public security can only be guaranteed by deterring terrorists.

Thirty-five people died in a terrorist attack in Lukqun township, Turpan prefecture, on June 26. Two days later, a riot broke out in Hotan prefecture.