Caselist - PEN International

36websites such as Epoch Times. Details of trial: Tried on 18 January2010 by the Xinyang City Intermediate People’s Court, the verdict wasannounced on 27 April 2010. Place of detention: Henan No.1 Prison,Kaifeng City, Henan Province. Honorary member of: IndependentChinese PEN Centre (ICPC).Hailaite NIYAZI (aka Hairat or Gheyret Niyaz)D.o.b.: 1960 Profession: Freelance journalist and former editor of thewebsite Uighur Online (www.uighurbiz.net). Date of arrest: 1 October2009 Sentence: 15 years in prison Expires: 30 September 2024 Detailsof arrest: According to PEN’s information, Hailaite Niyazi was takenfrom his home in Tianshan District, Tacheng Prefecture, Xinjiang UyghurAutonomous Region (XUAR), on 1 October 2009. It is believed that hisarrest stems from critical interviews given to foreign media followingthe unrest which broke out in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang UyghurAutonomous Region, on 5 July 2009. Details of trial: The prosecutionreportedly used as evidence essays written by Niyazi highlightingmounting ethnic tension in the region prior to the riots, and interviewshe gave to Hong Kong media after the violence. Niyazi was convictedby the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court on charges of ‘endangeringnational security’ on 23 July 2010. He is appealing the sentence. Place ofdetention: Changji Prison, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, XUAR,PR China. Professional details: Hailaite Niyazi is a former reporterand columnist for Xinjiang Economic Daily and Xinjiang Legal News.Until June 2009 he edited and managed uighurbiz.net, the website ownedby the academic, writer and Uyghur PEN member Iham Tohti, himselfarrested in July 2009 and held for six weeks for allegedly ‘promotingseparatism’. Honorary member of: Independent Chinese PEN. [Update#1 to RAN 56/09]Dilishat PAERHAT (aka Dilixiati Paerhati):Profession: Editor of the Uighur-language website Diyarim.comDate of arrest: 7 August 2009 Sentence: 5 years in prison Expires:6 August 2014 Details of arrest: Reportedly taken from his home inUrumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR),by unidentified men on 7 August 2009. Paerhati had been previouslyarrested on 24 July 2009 and interrogated for eight days about the 5 July2009 unrest in Urumqi before being released without charge. Accordingto relatives, the website Paerhati edits is a social networking site, whichincludes information on local amenities, and has a message board. Someof the organisers of the Urumqi protests reportedly used this messageboard to publicise their demonstration. Paerhati’s relatives said that whenhe saw these messages, he deleted them and reported the incident to thepolice. Details of trial: Reportedly tried by the Intermediate People’sCourt of Urumqi and sentenced to five years in prison for ‘endangeringstate security’ on 21 July 2010. Two other men who ran Uighur-languagewebsites were tried and convicted in separate trials on the same day,also for ‘endangering national security’. Nureli, who administered thewebsite Salkin, was sentenced to five years in prison and Nijat Azat whoran the website Shabnam received an eight-year prison sentence. Littlemore is known about these two cases. Treatment in prison: Held at anunknown location without access to family visits since his arrest. Fearedto be at risk of ill-treatment in prison.QI ChonghuaiD.o.b.: 7 February 1965. Profession: Journalist. Date of arrest: 25 June2007 Sentence: Four years in prison, with an additional eight years addedon 9 June 2011. Expires: 24 June 2019. Details of arrest: Reportedlyarrested from his home in Jinan, the capital province of Shandong, easternChina, on 25 June 2007 following the publication of an article allegingcorruption in the Tengzhou Communist Party, which was published inJune 2007 on the Xinhuanet website. Qi was charged with blackmail andextortion on 2 August 2007 for allegedly accepting bribes from localofficials whilst researching the article. Qi was held incommunicado forthe first two months of his detention, and claims to have been repeatedlyassaulted and threatened by security guards throughout his elevenmonthpre-trial detention. The case was turned back to the police inmid-February 2008 for lack of evidence. Details of trial: The trial on 13May 2008 at the People’s Court of Tengzhou City, Shandong Province,reportedly did not comply with international standards of fairness. Theappeal was rejected without any hearing by the Intermediate People’sCourt of Zaozhuang City on 24 July 2008. Update: On 9 June 2011 Qiwas sentenced to a further eight years in prison, two weeks before the endof his four-year sentence for extortion and blackmail. It was widely believedthat he has been additionally sentenced for letters smuggled out of prisonin 2009 alleging ill-treatment in prison. Place of detention: TengzhouPrison, Tenzhou City, Shandong Province. Treatment in prison: Qi hasreportedly been subject to repeated severe beatings and ill-treatment byprison guards and fellow in-mates throughout his detention, including oneattack in May 2009 which he claims left him unconscious for three days.This particularly harsh treatment at the hands of prison guards appears tobe a response to Qi’s attempts to report on the appalling prison conditionsat Tengzhou. Letters smuggled out of prison document that he has beenforced to work over ten hours a day in a coal mine, without adequatefood, water or rest, and his health has seriously deteriorated. Healthconcerns: Qi reportedly suffers from a number of ailments resulting fromforced labour and poor treatment in prison, including pneumoconiosis,a lung infection caused by inhaling coal dust. He also claims to havesuffered permanent injuries to his left thumb, knees and waist, andhas difficulties walking. He has also been denied access to his family,leading to heightened concerns for his well-being. Professional details:Qi Chonghuai has been a journalist for 13 years before his arrest. From2004-6, he worked for various publications, including the ShangdongZhoukan (Shandon Weekly), the Renmin Gong’an Bao (People’s PublicSecurity News), and the Zhongguo Anquan Shengchan Bao. In June 2006,he started work as director of the newspaper Fazhi Zaobao (Legal SystemMorning News), which ceased publishing in December 2006 and wasreformed with its existing staff as the Fazhi Ribao (Weekend edition of theLegal System Daily). He has also worked as special correspondent withthe Fazhi Zhoubao (Legality Weekly) and the Jizhe Guancha (JournalistObserver), and is known for his reporting on corruption and social injusticein Shangdong province. He is said to have been repeatedly warned by theauthorities to cease such reporting prior to his arrest. Honorary memberof: Independent Chinese PEN Centre.SHI TaoD.o.b: 25 July 1968 Profession: Journalist and poet. Member ofIndependent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC). Date of Arrest: 24 November2004. Sentence: 10 years’ imprisonment. Expires: 25 November 2014Details of Arrest: Arrested at his home in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province,northwest China, by police from Changsha National Security Bureau,southern China. They also confiscated his writings, computer and otherpersonal belongings. According to Xinhua, the government run newsagency, he had been found guilty of posting online his notes basedon a government document that was read out at an editorial meetingof Dangdai Shang Bao (Contemporary Trade News) in April 2004.Details of Trial: Shi Tao was sentenced on 30 April 2005 to ten years’imprisonment and two-year deprivation of political rights for “revealingstate secrets”. Information supplied by the Internet Service ProviderYahoo! Inc. was used to convict him. The sentence was upheld on appealon 2 June 2005. He was not allowed to attend the appeal hearing, andhis mother has applied for a review of the appeal on procedural grounds.Professional Details: Shi Tao has worked as a freelance journalist forseveral newspapers including the Changsha-based daily Dangdai ShangBao (Contemporary Trade News), which he left in May 2004 in orderto return to his home city of Taiyuan. He has also written a number ofarticles, including political commentaries, for online forums, in particularthe overseas Chinese web site Min Zhu Lun Tan (Democracy Forum). Hehas published several books of poetry. Recipient of the Committee toProtect Journalists (CPJ) International Press Freedom Award 2005. Placeof Detention: Yinchuan Prison, Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui AutonomousRegion. Other information: Recipient of CPJ’s 2005 International PressFreedom Award, PEN America’s 2006 Freedom to Write Award, WAN’s2007 Golden Pen of Freedom. Honorary member of: Sydney, German,Canada, New Zealand, Swiss Italian, Swiss German, American, English,San Miguel, Independent Chinese PEN Centre, Scottish and USA PEN.TAN ZuorenD.o.b.: 15 May 1954 Profession: Literary editor, freelance writer andenvironmentalist. Date of arrest: 28 March 2009 Sentence: Five-yearprison sentence Expires: 27 March 2014 Details of arrest: Reportedlydetained by police in Chengdu City, province of Sichuan, on suspicionof subversion. On the day of his arrest, Tan’s home was raided by theauthorities and his books and writings were siezed. He is believed to beheld for his investigation into the deaths of school children when schoolbuildings collapsed after the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008. Details ofTrial: He was sentenced on 9 February 2010 for ‘inciting subversion ofstate power’. The verdict was announced in a five-minute hearing at theChengdu Intermediate Court. His wife and a number of Tan’s supporterswere not allowed to enter the court-room. The five-year convictionincludes a further three-year suspension of Tan’s political rights. An appealagainst the conviction has been announced. The sentence was upheld onappeal on 9 June 2010. Place of detention: Ya’an Prison, MingshanCounty, 625100 Ya’an City, Sichuan Province. Other information: Hehad reportedly planned to publish his findings on the Sichuan earthquakeinvestigation in an independent report on the first anniversary of theearthquake, 12 May 2009. Tan is chief editor of the cultural magazineWen Hua Ren and the founder of an environmental organisation ‘GreenRivers’. He has also published many articles and blogs online. Otherinformation: Recipient of the 2011 Hellman/Hammett award. (RAN10/10 – 23 February 2010)WANG XiaoningD.o.b.: 7 January 1950 Profession: Internet writer and dissident. Date ofarrest: 1 September 2002 Sentence: 10 years in prison. Expires: 31 August2012 Details of arrest: Arrested on 1 September 2002 and charged on30 September 2002 with subversion for articles published on-line between2000 and 2002. Details of trial: Sentenced to ten years in prison and twoyeardeprivation of political rights on 25 July 2003 by the Beijing MunicipalFirst Intermediary People’s Court. Thought to be specifically charged forarticles published in the on-line journals Democratic Reform Free Forumand Current Political Commentary between 2000 and 2002. The journalsreportedly included articles written by Wang under his real name and penname advocating democratic reform and criticising the authorities. Thejournals were reportedly distributed by email through Yahoo! groups thatWang established anonymously in mainland China and Hong Kong. Wangpublished his articles on a number of web sites in China and overseas. Wangwas also accused of advocating the establishment of the ‘China Third RoadParty’ and communicating by email with the leader of the China SocialDemocratic Party, which is banned in China. Place of detention: BeijingNo 2 Prison, Postbox 2357-16, Chaoyang District, 100121 Beijing City.Treatment in prison: Reportedly tortured. Honorary member: IndependentChinese PEN Centre.YANG Tongyan (aka Yang Tianshui)D.o.b.: 12 April 1961 Profession: Dissident writer and member ofIndependent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC). Date of arrest: 23 December2005 Sentence: 12 years in prison Expires: 22 December 2017 Detailsof arrest: Reportedly detained without a warrant on 23 December 2005in Nanjing. Yang was held incommunicado at Dantu Detention Centre inZhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, without access to his family until his trial.Details of trial: Convicted of subversion for posting anti-governmentarticles on the Internet, organizing branches of the (outlawed) ChinaDemocracy Party and accepting illegal funds from overseas. Sentencedby the Zhenjiang intermediate court in eastern China’s Jiangsu provinceat a three-hour trial on 16 May 2006. Yang Tongyan is known for hiscritical writings published on dissident news websites such as Boxun.com and Epoch Times. Health concerns: Yang suffers from a number ofillnesses including intestinal tuberculosis, diabetes, kidney inflammationand high blood pressure. His health is reportedly worsening in prison dueto lack of medical care, and he has been reportedly hospitalised since mid-September 2009. His family are appealing for medical parole. Place ofdetention: Nanjing Prison, Ningshuang Road 9, Box 1215-12, NanjingCity, Jiangsu Province. Previous political imprisonment/problems:He spent a decade in prison from 1990 to 2000 on “counter-revolution”charges for his involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy protests. Hewas also previously held incommunicado from 24 December 2004 - 25January 2005. Other information: Recipient of Independent ChinesePEN Centre’s 2006 Writer in Prison Award, and the 2008 PEN/BarbaraGoldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Honorary Member of: PEN Canada,Italian PEN.Nurehamet YASIND.o.b.: 6 March 1974. Profession: Freelance Uighur writer. Date ofarrest: 29 November 2004. Sentence: 10 years in prison. Expires: 30November 2014. Details of arrest: Nurmehamet Yasin was arrested inKashgar on 29 November 2004 for the publication of his short storyWild Pigeon (Yawa Kepter), which was first published in the bi-monthlyUighur-language Kashgar Literature Journal, issue No. 5, November2004. Authorities also confiscated Yasin’s personal computer containingan estimated 1,600 poems, commentaries, stories, and one unfinishednovel. Yasin’s story was widely circulated and recommended for one ofthe biggest Uighur literary websites in the Uighur Autonomous Region foroutstanding literature award. It also attracted the attention of the Chineseauthorities, who apparently consider the fable to be a tacit criticism oftheir government in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Details oftrial: After a closed trial in February 2005 at which he was not permitteda lawyer, Yasin was sentenced by the Maralbesh Country court to 10years in prison for “inciting Uighur separatism” in his book Wild Pigeon(Yawa Kepter). The Kashgar Intermediate Court upheld his sentenceon appeal, and Yasin was transferred on 19 May 2005 to Urumchi No.1 Jail, where he remains detained. Place of detention: Xinjiang No.1 37