China has given jail terms of three years to life to 17 people for their roles in riots in Lhasa last month.

The anti-government riots that broke out March 14 left the Tibetan capital scarred with burned out buildings. China has said that 22 people died in the riots while Tibetan exile groups say many times that number were killed in the violence & following crackdown.

Tibet and the surrounding provinces where protests broke out have been closed to foreigners since the unrest.