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Cyber-dissident Gets 6 Years in Prison
By: Priyanka Pradhan   |   Mar 20,2007
Cyber-dissident Zhang Jianhong, who is also known by the pen-name of Li Hong, was sentenced today to six years in prison by a court in Ningbo, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, China.

Zhang, a member of the Chinese branch of the independent writers association PEN, was arrested in September 2006, charged with 'incitement to subvert the state's authority' for calling for political reform in articles posted on the Internet. Two other cyber-dissidents who were arrested six months ago, Chen Shuqing and Yang Maodong, are still awaiting trial.

According to the New China news agency, Zhang was convicted of writing 'articles defaming the Chinese government and calling for agitation to overthrow the government.'

The court said it was showing clemency to the defendant, who posted around 100 articles on the Internet from May to September 2006, because he expressed remorse during the trial.

Zhang founded the literary website Aiqinghai.net in August 2005 and was its editor until the authorities shut it down in March 2006. He also wrote regularly for sites such as Boxun and The Epoch Times. He already spent a year and a half in a reeducation-through-work camp for 'counter-revolutionary propaganda' after participating in the 1989 pro-democracy movement.

According to a statement by NGO for press freedom, Reporters Without Borders, "This verdict is sadly yet another example of the judicial system being used by the political authorities. It is outrageous that cyber-dissidents get severe prison sentences just for the views they express. Yet again, they are being made to pay a heavy price for their commitment. After Zhang’s conviction, we fear that the same fate is in store for Chen and Yang."

Chen's case has been sent back to the police for further investigation. A member of the banned China Democracy Party (CDP), he was charged on 17 October 2006 with 'incitement to subvert the state's authority.' He was already detained for four months in 1999 for helping to create the CDP.
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