Posted
November 25th, 2008
by
English PEN strongly protests the three-year prison sentence handed down to dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ in his online articles.
According to our information, freelance journalist Chen Daojun was handed down a three-year imprisonment sentence and three years’ deprivation of political rights on 11 November 2008 by the Intermediate People’s Court of Chengdu. Chen was arrested on 9 May 2008 and charged with “inciting subversion of state power”. At some point during Chen’s detention, the charge of “inciting subversion” was dropped and replaced by “inciting succession” for reasons which remain unclear to PEN. At his trial which took place on 5 November 2008 and lasted two and a half hours, no verdict was reached. However, on 11 November 2008 it was announced that he had been convicted of ‘inciting subversion’ in three of his articles published in overseas Chinese websites and a Hong Kong-based magazine. The articles in Chinese language can be found on the following links:
1) Misgovernment Drives People to Revolt – My Respect to the Tibetans Struggling Heroically (http://2newcenturynet.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_7713.html), comment on the March 2008 protests for Tibet;
2) What to Do After the Seventeenth Congress?
(http://www.newcenturynews.com/Article/gd/200711/20071117100747.html), comment on the Chinese Communist Party congress in Nov 2007;
3) The Backgrounds of the Anti-West Chinese (http://www.fireofliberty.org/article/7867.asp), comment on the Chinese demonstrations against France and the US in April 2008.
Chen Daojun, aged 40, is a freelance dissident writer from Jintang Township, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. He is believed to be targeted for several articles in support of anti-government protesters in the Tibetan Autonomous Region following unrest which broke out in the region in March 2008.
For the previous WiPC alert on Chen Daojun’s case, please click here.
Please send appeals:
- Protesting the sentence imposed on dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun;
- Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
Appeals to:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China.
Mr. Meng Jianzhu
Minister of the Public Security
East Chang’an Avenue 14
100741 Beijing
P.R. China
Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals:
Her Excellency Mrs. Fu Ying
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
49 – 51 Portland Place
London W1B 1JL
Originally posted with the url: www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/chinadissidentwriterchendaojunsentenced/
