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Legal Action
October 30
Wang Dan, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Wang, a former student leader, pro-democracy activist, and frequent contributor to overseas publications was sentenced to 11 years in prison for conspiring to subvert the government. He had already been in detention at an undisclosed location since May 1995. Wang's offenses consisted of publishing articles in the overseas press that were deemed objectionable by Beijing and receiving donations from overseas human rights groups. Foreign reporters were barred from the courtroom during his trial, and the domestic press was prohibited from reporting on the trial. On Nov. 10, the Beijing Higher People's Court took 10 minutes to reject his appeal. He was immediately sent to a prison in remote Jinzhou, in Liaoning province, 500 kilometers northeast of Beijing. Wang had previously been jailed for three-and-a-half years after he led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
For more information contact asiaweb@cpj.org