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Reporters Without Borders: Five Falun Gong members jailed for posting "fabricated" news online 20 February 2004 Reporters Without Borders has condemned jail sentences handed down to five
members of the Falun Gong movement on 19 February, ranging from five to 14 years
in prison. They appeared before Court No. 1 in western Chongqing on 19 February accused
of helping to post news on a web site about ill treatment in prison of a student
member of the movement. The international press freedom organisation also called for the release of
all 22 Falun Gong members now imprisoned for posting news on the Internet. "The crackdown on members of this spiritual movement is completely
unjustified," it said. "The five Internet-users were convicted for
posting online what is already very well known to human rights organisations,
that members of Falun Gong are systematically tortured in prison." [...] Lu Zengqi, accused of writing the incriminating document, and Yan Qiuyan, who
was said to have helped him published the article, were both sentenced to 10
years in jail. Li Jian, who reportedly posted the article on a site run by the
movement, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Chen Shumin, head of the company
where Lu Zengqi worked was jailed for 12 years. Yin Yan was sentenced to five
years but without any evidence being given of the part he played. Apart from the five people sentenced on 19 February 2004, 17 members of the
Falun Gong movement are currently in jail for using the Internet. Seven cyberdissidents, Jiang Yuxia, Li Chunyan, Li Yanfang, Lin Yang, Ma Yan,
Huang Kui and Zhang Yuhui, were arrested for posting news on the Net. One cyberdissident, Zhang Haitao, is in jail for creating an Internet site
about Falun Gong. Nine Internet-users, Meng Jun, Dong Yanhong, Liu Wenyu, Wang Xin, Wang Xuefei,
Wang Zhenyong, Yao Yue, Zhang Ji and Quan Huicheng, were simply charged with
downloading and spreading news about the movement and repression of its members. Reporters Without Borders has already drawn attention to repression against
Falun Gong members in its report "The Internet under Surveillance".
This report also explains that the Chinese authorities block access to all sites
that refer to the movement and bans discussion of the subject on online
discussion forums. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9309 Posting date: 2/22/2004
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