Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Wang Shurong
Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Wang Shurong, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c92afa.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
64 Tianwang | Imprisoned in China | February 08, 2016
Job: | Internet Reporter |
Medium: | Internet |
Beats Covered: | Corruption, Human Rights, Politics |
Gender: | Female |
Local or Foreign: | Local |
Freelance: | No |
Charge: | Anti-state |
Length of Sentence: | 5 years to <10 years |
Reported Health Problems: | Yes |
Police detained Wang Shurong, a volunteer journalist for the human rights news website
64 Tianwang, on February 8, 2016, according to the Hong Kong-based group Chinese Human Rights Defenders and China Political Prisoner Concern. Wang was sentenced to six years in jail for "undermining public security" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" on April 21, 2017.
Wang's most recent story for 64 Tianwang, published two days before her arrest, was about six petitioners from Sichuan being violently detained in Beijing city by Sichuan government officials, according to Radio Free Asia.
Wang was on her way to petition against the inaction of local government in Sichuan when police detained her along with other petitioners, according to Radio Free Asia. Wang, 68, has been campaigning for human rights issues in China since 1965, according to her lawyer Lin Qilei's report on the New Citizens Movement website. Both Lin and Pu Fei, another 64 Tianwang, told CPJ that the Ya'an city government targeted Wang due to her previous reporting on local government scandals.
On June 4, 2017, Ya'an Intermediate People's Court rejected Wang's appeal and upheld the original verdict and sentence. Lin told CPJ that Wang loudly condemned the court's decision after hearing the verdict and that officials pressured Wang's sister to not talk to media outlets.
As of late 2017, Wang was being held at Chengdu women's prison in Sichuan province. CPJ's attempt to call the Ya'an Security Bureau for further comment on Wang's case in late 2017 went unanswered.