BEIJING: A journalist who worked for some of China’s most powerful state newspapers has been jailed for 15 years after being accused of attacking the ruling Communist Party, according to court documents.
Chen Jieren was convicted Thursday of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery”, a court in central Hunan province said in an online statement.
The charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” is a catch-all that Chinese authorities often use against people who criticise the regime.
The verdict against Chen comes as China’s leadership faces international scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with questions over whether authorities covered up crucial information that could have prevented it from spreading across the globe.
Chen, who once worked for People’s Daily, the party’s main mouthpiece, was found guilty of posting false and negative information online, the statement said.
“The defendant published false information on blogs, WeChat public accounts, WeChat moments, and other We-media to hype relevant cases under the guise of providing legal advice,” it said.
The court said Chen worked as part of an “evil force”, along with his ex-wife and three other people that illegally accrued 7.3 million yuan (US$1 million) from the business.
The Chinese Human Rights Defenders watchdog said Chen’s conviction was “apparently to punish him for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms”, and called for his immediate and unconditional release.
It said he had been sacked from several state media outlets, including China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily, and People’s Daily.
Since then he had published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media, including WeChat and Weibo channels, it said.
The group accused Chinese authorities of denying Chen a fair trial.
Agence France-Presse