By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China –  After helping families whose children died during the earthquake in Sichuan in May last year, Huang Qi, a veteran dissident, was sentenced to three years in prison. He was arrested after raising awareness about poorly built schools which collapsed and killed thousands of children during China‘s massive earthquake last year. Huang was taken by the police in Chengdu in June 2008 and has been held in custody ever since. 

The verdict was delivered at the close of a 10-minute hearing at Wuhou District People’s Court in the city of Chengdu. Very few details about the charge were released, although activist’s wife and mother were allowed to enter the court to hear the sentence, and were present when Huang was given the maximum jail term for this crime. 

There is great concern that Huang was imprisoned for illegally holding state secrets in what some believe is an attempt by the Chinese government to squelch such information. Amnesty International said Huang was a victim of China’s “vague” state secrets laws, and that he should be released immediately. “The Chinese government is penalizing someone who is trying to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific director.

 Photograph of Huang Qi. Image Courtesy of Times Online.  

The government linked its charge against Huang in connection to the human rights Web site he founded. He was detained in 2008 after he made several posts on his blog that criticized the government’s response to the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province a month earlier and killed about 90,000 people.  

According to one news source, Huang had also spoken to foreign media outlets about parents’ accusations that their children had been crushed in badly built schools. The government has attempted to quash such complaints, fearing the contentious issue could undermine the admiration and goodwill it earned for the massive rescue effort it led, boosted by volunteers and international aid.

Zeng, Huang’s wife, said the Wuhou district court in the western city of Chengdu gave no details about the state secrets charge, an ill-defined accusation often used by Communist leaders to clamp down on dissent and imprison activists. As a result of the charge, authorities were able to bar Huang from seeing his lawyer, and forbid the photocopying of court documents, according to Amnesty International. 

This current bout with authorities is not the only time that Huang has been imprisoned for voicing his opinion. He previously served a five-year sentence for “inciting the subversion of state power” in connection with material published on his website.  

Huang is not the only activity to investigate the Sichuan schools issue and is also not the only one to be prosecuted for his actions – or words.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – China activist Huang Qi sentenced to three years  – November 23, 2009 

Yahoo! World News – China activist who spoke out on quake gets 3 years – November 23, 2009 

ABC News – China Activist Who Spoke out on Quake Gets 3 Years  – November 23, 2009 

The Guardian – China jails earthquake activist – November 23, 2009