Friday, April 4, 2008

Hu Jia gets 3.5 years

Hu Jia, Chinese blogger, environmentalist and HIV activist gets 3.5 years. Guardian reports:
This morning, the Beijing Number One Intermediate People's Court found him guilty of "inciting subversion of state power" in articles he posted on the internet and in interviews with foreign reporters.
Reporters Without Borders observed:
In jailing this resolute individual, the government is silencing a spokesman for the victims of repression, one who would have had the courage to talk to the thousands of foreign journalists coming to Beijing to cover the Olympics. The list of Olympic Games prisoners is getting longer while the International Olympic Committee remains desperately silent
Let's let Hu Jia have the last word here:
In an article on his blog dated 10 September 2007, Hu Jia says: "Everyone should know that the country that is about to host the Olympics is one without democratic elections, freedom of religion, independent courts or independent unions. It prohibits protests and labor strikes. It is a state that carries out widespread torture, discrimination, and employs a large secret police system. It is a nation that violates human rights standards and human dignity, and is not ready to fulfil its international obligations.*
Looks like China has just proved Hu Jia correct.
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More: GV's Kennedy (poem will make you cry); RSF article; Amnesty, Guardian (photo will make you cry)
* In an article on his blog dated 10 September 2007. (Amnesty)

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