In China, writer sentenced to six years in prison for critical articles
New York, March 20, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled
that freelance writer and former Web site editor Zhang Jianhong was
sentenced Monday to six years in prison by a court in Ningbo, in the
eastern province of Zhejiang.
Zhang was arrested in September 2006 and charged the following month with
"incitement to subvert the state's authority" for calling for political
reform in articles posted online. He founded the literary Web site
Aiqinghai in August 2005 and was its editor until authorities shut it down
in March 2006 for illegally publishing news.
"It is outrageous that China continues to jail its own citizens for their
critical reporting and commentary, even as it gears up to host the Olympic
Games in 2008," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "We call for this
sentence to be overturned and for Zhang Jianhong to be released
immediately."
Zhang, who wrote for overseas Chinese-language Web sites under the pen name
Li Hong, was accused of writing 60 articles that "slandered the government
and China's social system to vent his discontent with the government,"
according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Ningbo Intermediate People's Court convicted the journalist on Monday of
"inciting subversion of state authority," a crime that usually results in
sentences no longer than five years. His six-year term is to be followed by
one year's deprivation of political rights. Zhang's lawyer Li Jianqiang
told reporters today that he believed Zhang's severe sentence was
retribution for a U.S. State Department's annual human rights report, which
mentioned his case, and that he is appealing the sentence.
The journalist had written commentary calling for political reform in China
and had reported on allegations that the Chinese government illegally
procured organs from living prisoners. Zhang's final article prior to his
September 2006 detention decried human rights abuses by the Chinese
government and called Beijing's hosting of the Olympic Games in 2008 a
scandal.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit
http://www.cpj.org
