CHINESE JOURNALIST GETS FOUR YEARS PRISON, OSTENSIBLY FOR FRAUD AND
EXTORTION
Media Blab, (May 16 May 2008)Аннотация
MEDIA BLAB NEWS BITES
A court in Tengzhou, in the eastern province of Shandong, imposed
a four-year prison sentence on journalist Qi Chonghuai on May 13
on charges fraud and extorting money. Qi, who spent 11 months in
pre-trial detention, used to work for Fazhi Zaobao (Legal Rule Morning
Post), a newspaper owned by the justice ministry.
One of his lawyers, Li Xiongbing, who pleaded for his acquittal in
court, said that this decision violates press freedom.
"Coming just a few months before the Olympic Games, this sentence
is yet another example of the Chinese government's lack of tolerance
for critical writers and journalists."
Aged 42, Qi had worked for 13 years as a journalist for Fazhi Zaobao
and other media outlets, and often wrote about corruption in political
and financial circles. He was arrested on June 25 last year after
posting an article about Communist Party corruption in Tengzhou on
a forum on Xinhuanet, the website of the official news agency. He
was formally charged with "fraud and extorting money" on August 2.
Nine days before Qi's arrest, a friend of his, freelance photographer
Ma Shiping, was arrested for the same reason, but it was claimed
he had posted a photo of an official building online without being
officially accredited as a photographer.
A member of the staff at Tengzhou Daily, which used to employ Ma,
said: "He dared to say what the accredited reporters did not dare
write. He dared to say the truth."
One of Qi's former colleagues at Fazhi Zaobao, journalist He Yanjie,
was given a two-year prison sentence by the same court in connection
with his work for the newspaper. Both journalists are being held
in Tengzhou prison.
Document NBBLAB0020080516e45g00008
Описание
May08