Аннотация
International Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns a new wave
of jailing and detention of journalists in China.
Qi Chonghuai, a journalist working for China Legal News, and He Yanjie,
a fellow journalist who co-wrote reports with Qi, were sentenced
to jail by a court in Shandong yesterday.
Qi was sentenced to four years and He to two years.
Qi, 42, has been in detention since June 25, 2007, on charges of blackmail.
Qi has worked in the industry for more than 13 years and is known
for his reporting on the alleged corruption of Shandong officials.
China Legal News is a national newspaper owned and controlled by
the Ministry of Justice.
Qi's lawyer, Li Xiongbing, told the IFJ today that the court hearing
was unusually brief, indicating a lack of due process and consideration
of the facts.
Li also accused local police of beating Qi repeatedly during his detention
and barring him from speaking with his wife, Jiao Xia. Li visited
Qi today and said Qi was determined to appeal the case.
Jiao, meanwhile, is under surveillance by Shandong officials and was
unable to speak to the IFJ.
In another case, environmental activist and freelance journalist Chen
Daojun was detained on May 9 on suspicion of "inciting subversion
of state power". Press freedom organisation PEN reported that Chen
was detained during a protest over chemical plants in Pengzhou, 39
kilometres from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the site of this week's
earthquake.
Writer and activist Hu Jia was jailed on April 3 in Beijing on the
same charge of "inciting subversion of state power". On May 3, Zhou
Yuanzhi, a freelance writer and social commentator, was detained
in Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province, in central China.
"The jailing of Qi and He and the new charges against other journalists
in China reveal an apparently increasing clampdown against journalists
and writers in China in the lead-up to the Olympics in August," said
IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park.
"China's central government must rein in local authorities who are
using the courts to silence criticism and dissent."
EN202253
Document NPRESE0020080514e45e0008d
Описание
May08
Линки и ресурсы
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