Political Prisoner

[Zhu Yufu] In the statement (in Chinese), the Beijing-based dissident Zha Jianguo denounced the heavy prison term given to Zhu Yufu, the Zhejiang based dissident who was sentenced to seven years in prison and three years of deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power.” Zha cited a saying attributed to Alexander Dubček, the Czech reformist leader during Prague Spring: “They may crush the flowers, but they can’t stop the spring.”

[Zhu Yufu] On February 10, 2012, the Zhejiang based dissident was sentenced to seven years in prison and three years of deprivation of political rights. The verdict states that he committed the following crimes: First, he operated as a member of the illegal China Democratic Party to fundraise for political prisoners and their families; second, he published, via overseas websites and media outlets, speech that attacked and slandered China’s state power and socialism; and third, he sent, via the Internet, information that he wrote to incite the public to gather illegally to subvert state power.

[Chen Wei] Sichuan dissident Chen Wei, recently sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment on for "inciting subversion of state power," was taken to prison before meeting with his family, a meeting that the authorities had promised to grant. Wang Xiaoyan, Chen's wife, said that not being able to see Chen Wei “was extremely devastating to us psychologically.” She and their nine-year-old daughter firmly believe that Chen Wei is innocent.