Another Chinese journalist is jailed

Journalist Qi Chonghuai has been sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and extortion after a trial that lasted 12 hours, say his wife and lawyers.

Apparently access to the trial was restricted and reporters were unable to attend the hearing, which included both the trial and sentencing in the same day.

Qi Chonghuai has been detained since 25 June last year, in connection with an article about official corruption in the Tengzhou Communist Party. He has worked as a journalist for various publications and is well known for speaking out about social justice and corruption.

According to PEN, Qi Chonghuai was arrested at his home in Jinan, the capital province of Shandong, in eastern China. He was initially accused of “deception” for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a journalist, before being formally charged with “blackmail” on 2 August last year.

He was accused of taking thousands of yuan from local government officials during the course of reporting several “corruption” stories. As outlined by his lawyers, the people from whom Qi Chonghuai is accused of extorting money are all local officials threatened by his investigative reporting.

His lawyers alleged that during detention “the police slapped him in the face more than 20 times ... they told him they could hit him as much as they liked and could disguise his death as suicide”.

Qi Chonghuai has also said he was subjected to inhumane treatment when two police officers hit his head against the floor during a break in the trial.

At least 26 journalists are in prison in China for simply doing their jobs. They include New York Times researcher Zhao Yan, who is serving three years on a “fraud” charge.

The jailing of yet another journalist is a blow for press freedom and another indication of the Chinese Government’s failure to allow freedom of expression before the Olympics.