Three Chinese Internet activists have been charged with libel and sentenced to prison for posting information regarding an alleged gang rape and murder. They also exposed the subsequent cover-up of the case by police.
The case involved the death of Yan Xiaoling, a female employee at a KTV bar in Mingqing. She died on the night of Feb. 10, 2008, in what Fan Yanqiong, one of the defendants, described as “the most horrendous” murder case in China.
More than 1,000 people from all over the country came to support the three defendants for their trial in Fuzhou in China’s southern Fujian Province on April 16. Police imposed traffic controls and cordoned off the area near the court on the morning of the trial to keep the crowds under control.
All three activists were pronounced guilty of libel: Fan Yanqiong was sentenced to two years; You Jingyou and Wu Huaying each received a one-year prison term.
Fan wrote an article, published on several major websites on June 23, 2009, titled, “Yan Xiaoling: What Happened to Her is 10,000 Times More Horrendous Than What Happened to Deng Yujiao.” Deng is the Chinese waitress who gained fame and public sympathy for stabbing a government official to death to defend herself from his sexual assault. Due to public pressure, she was found not guilty but was subsequently forcibly admitted to a mental hospital, and her current condition is unknown.
Fan’s article quoted Yan’s mother, Lin Xiuying, saying that, on viewing Yan’s body, she found her daughter’s face distorted, her vagina torn, and deep scratches on her wrists.
The case involved the death of Yan Xiaoling, a female employee at a KTV bar in Mingqing. She died on the night of Feb. 10, 2008, in what Fan Yanqiong, one of the defendants, described as “the most horrendous” murder case in China.
More than 1,000 people from all over the country came to support the three defendants for their trial in Fuzhou in China’s southern Fujian Province on April 16. Police imposed traffic controls and cordoned off the area near the court on the morning of the trial to keep the crowds under control.
All three activists were pronounced guilty of libel: Fan Yanqiong was sentenced to two years; You Jingyou and Wu Huaying each received a one-year prison term.
Fan wrote an article, published on several major websites on June 23, 2009, titled, “Yan Xiaoling: What Happened to Her is 10,000 Times More Horrendous Than What Happened to Deng Yujiao.” Deng is the Chinese waitress who gained fame and public sympathy for stabbing a government official to death to defend herself from his sexual assault. Due to public pressure, she was found not guilty but was subsequently forcibly admitted to a mental hospital, and her current condition is unknown.
Fan’s article quoted Yan’s mother, Lin Xiuying, saying that, on viewing Yan’s body, she found her daughter’s face distorted, her vagina torn, and deep scratches on her wrists.
