The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the sentencing of a journalist to
three years jail on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” by a court
in Chengdu, Sichuan
province, on November 21.
Chen Daojun, a former editor at Sichuan Daily and former journalist for a Communist Party internal
newspaper, was jailed for writing three articles which the prosecution argued
were critical of China’s
Government, including one article relating to the unrest in Tibet in March. The articles were
published in Zheng Ming, a Hong
Kong-based magazine.
Chen’s lawyer, Zhu Jiufu, told the IFJ that he argued the
articles were merely expressions of Chen’s point of view and were not intended
to subvert the Government.
Chen was arrested on May 9 after participating on May 4 in a
non-violent demonstration against the proposed construction of a petrochemical
plant in Chengdu.
About 200 people protested against the building of a chemical plant which they
believed might endanger their lives. The Government claimed that the factory met
environmental standards.
Meanwhile, the founder of website 64tiangwang.com, Huang Qi,
remains in detention after being held for three months by police in Chengdu. He has not been
charged. Huang has also been denied visits by his family and his lawyer.
Many journalists and writers remain behind bars for the
crime of “inciting subversion of state power”, including Hu Jia, who was
sentenced on April 3 in a Beijing court to three and a half years’ jail for articles
and interviews critical of the Government’s record on human rights.
“China
must remember that journalism is not a crime,” IFJ
Asia-Pacific said. “China’s Government has too often
jailed journalists, writers or bloggers for doing their jobs.
“The IFJ urges China’s authorities to stop attacking
journalists because of what they write and what they say.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists in
120 countries worldwide