Online journalist and writer to be tried for covering demonstration

Reporters Without Borders is very worried about the state of health of online journalist and writer Huang Xiaomin, who has been detained since March 2009 in the southwestern province of Sichuan and is due to be tried on 1 February. “We urge the authorities to drop the charges against him and free him at once,” the organisation said. Huang Xiaomin was arrested by the Jinniu district public security bureau in connection with his coverage of a 23 February demonstration outside the intermediate people’s court in the provincial capital of Chengdu for the release of cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the creator of the Tianwang website and human rights network, who has been unjustly detained since June 2008. A contributor to several independent websites, Huang Xiaomin is accused of “disturbing the social order” although all he did was take photos of the dozen or so protesters. He has been held since April in a detention centre in the city of Leshan. His family has never been given a copy of any arrest warrant. “It is unacceptable that Huang Xiaomin is being kept in prison despite having serious health problems,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The judges must take account of his poor health and the fact that he did nothing violent in the course of exercising his right to free expression.” His sister, Huang Xiaoqin, is very concerned as he was already suffering from a stomach ulcer prior to his arrest and prison conditions do not permit proper treatment of his condition. The lack of appropriate medical care could lead to serious complications. She has not received any news of him for some time aside from the fact that the judicial authorities are scheduled to begin examining his case on 1 February. Around 100 journalists and cyber-dissidents are currently detained in China.