Chinese Prisons and Their Revolving Doors for Journalists

Sometimes we fear this page may become the Chinese Journal of Prisons. To our comprehensive collection of cases of journalists and writers being sent to jail, there are two more to add.

Here is WAN's letter to President Hu Jintao pleading for the release of Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie.

According to the letter, "Qi, who works for China Legal News in Shandong province, was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and extortion on May 13. Freelance journalist He, who was a co-defendant in the trial, received a sentence of two years in prison. Access to the trial was limited, and reporters were not allowed to attend."

On the other hand, the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), reports that writer Zhou Yuanzhi was released on May 15 after being detained and interrogated at an unknown location under the Residential Surveillance Law.

WiPC adds that Zhou "remains under heavy restriction, including being forbidden from traveling beyond his home city without police authorization, being prohibited from communicating with strangers, and being banned from publishing. These restrictions could last up to six months, during which time Zhou could be formally detained and questioned at any time."

These are just a few more pieces of evidence that China is miserably failing to fulfill its promises to improve significantly its human rights record in exchange for being awarded the hosting of the Olympics Games.