【09.11.23BBC】China activist Huang Qi sentenced to three years

wyd2008

China activist Huang Qi sentenced to three years
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8373573.stm
Page last updated at 07:13 GMT, Monday, 23 November 2009   By Michael Bristow
Chinese activist Huang Qi has been sentenced to three years in prison for "illegally holding state secrets". Mr Huang was arrested after helping families whose children died during the earthquake in Sichuan in May last year.
The activist's wife, Zeng Li, said the verdict was "revenge" for his involvement in the earthquake cases.
Amnesty International said Mr Huang was a victim of China's "vague" state secrets laws and should be released immediately.
The verdict was delivered at Wuhou District People's Court in Chengdu - although there were few details given about the charge.
School buildings collapsed
According to Amnesty, only the activist's wife and mother were allowed to enter the court to hear the verdict.
"The Chinese government is penalizing someone who is trying to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director.
"Huang Qi should be treated as a model citizen, committed to the rule of law, but instead he has fallen victim to China's vague state secrets legislation."
Mr Huang was taken by the police in Chengdu in June 2008 and has been held in custody since then.
His family and supporters believe he was arrested because he was looking into the collapse of school buildings during the earthquake.
In some places schools were the only buildings to collapse and many believe this was because they were shoddily built. China's central government denies the accusation.
Mr Huang was giving advice the families of five dead children who wanted to bring a legal case against the local authorities.
Human rights groups say the activist has been treated badly while in custody and denied proper medical help.
"According to local sources, the police have interrogated Huang Qi for many hours at a time, sometimes depriving him of sleep," said Amnesty International.
The activist has championed the rights of ordinary people for a decade and has been previously been prosecuted.
He served a five-year sentence for "inciting the subversion of state power" in connection with material published on his website.
He is not the only activist to investigate the Sichuan schools issue - and the only one to be prosecuted for his efforts.
Tan Zuoren called for volunteers to travel to Sichuan to compile a list of pupils who died when their schools fell down. He was tried in August and is awaiting the verdict.

wyd2008

kingskill

又一位写大了的人。