 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 endured abuse at the hands of court policemen during his early detention, and is currently being held in Tengzhou Prison. |
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