Chen Qitang,un attivista dei diritti umani che usava lo pseudonimo di Tianli, è stato segretamente condannato a due anni e mezzo di prigione dalla corte di Doshan, nel sud-est della provincia di Guangdong, in Cina, il 31 dicembre scorso con l’accusa di falsa impersonificazione e frode. Sua moglie, Zhang Yueqin, è venuta a conoscenza dell’arresto di suo marito solamente ieri quando ha telefonato alla corte. Segue l’articolo in inglese

Chen Qitang, a human rights activist who used the pen-name of Tianli, was secretly sentenced to two and a half years in prison by a court in Foshan, in the southern province of Guangdong, on 31 December on trumped-up charges of impersonation and fraud. His wife, Zhang Yueqing, discovered this only yesterday when she phoned the court.

“We call for the release of Chen, who has been held for more than a year in the utmost secrecy,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The charges brought against him are baseless and show that local authorities in China have the power to detain citizens at their will.”

Chen was arrested on 26 October 2007 after he posted information online about land seizures by the local authorities in Foshan and helped Foshan residents draft legal documents with the aim of recovering confiscated land.

Reporters Without Borders points out that article 35 of the Chinese constitution says: “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.”

(Fonte: DossierTibet, 7 gennaio 2009)