 Journalist detained June 25, 2007, following the publication on the Xinhuanet web site of an article alleging official corruption in the Tengzhou Communist Party. Qi was formally charged with “blackmail” on August 2, 2007, and his case was handed to the Tengzhou People’s Procuratorate on November 2, 2007—one month later than the law permits. He was tried by the Tengzhou City Court in Shandong Province on May 13, 2008. Immediately following the 11-hour proceedings, Qi was convicted of “extortion and blackmail” and sentenced to four years in prison. He was subjected to abuse at the Tengzhou City Detention Center, where he was held until his appeal was rejected. Qi is now being held in Tengzhou Prison, where he has documented beatings and other abuse by fellow inmates and where he is forced to perform hard labor in coal mines run by the prison without adequate food, water, or rest. |
| |
 |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
