2014 prison census - China: Dong Rubin

Dong was detained in Kunming city, Yunnan province, on accusations of misstating his company's registered assets, according to statements from his lawyer. On July 23, 2014, he was sentenced by Wuhua Court in Kunming to six years and six months in prison on charges of illegal business activity and creating a disturbance, according to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

Dong, who runs an Internet consulting company, had used the name "Bianmin" on his microblog to criticize authorities and raise concerns about local issues. He also used the microblog to campaign in 2009 for an investigation into the death of a young man in police custody. Authorities had initially said it was accidental but later admitted the man had been beaten to death, according to news reports. In 2013, Dong raised safety and environmental concerns about a state-owned oil refinery project planned near the city of Kunming and expressed support on his microblog for a protest against the project by Kunming residents in May 2013.

Dong predicted his own arrest when he wrote on his microblog, which had about 50,000 followers, that strangers had raided his office in late August and taken away three computers. "What crime will they bring against me?" Dong wrote. "Prostituting, gambling, using and selling drugs, evading tax, causing trouble on purpose, fabricating rumors, running a mafia online?"

Dong's friend, Zheng Xiejian, told Reuters in September 2013, "If they want to punish you, they can always find an excuse. They could not find any wrongdoing against Dong and had to settle on this obscure charge."

Although Dong is not a professional journalist, CPJ determined that he was jailed in connection with his news-based commentary published on the Internet. Authorities detained scores of people starting in August 2013 in a stepped-up campaign to banish online commentary that, among other issues, casts the government in a critical light, according to Chinese media and human rights groups. Many were released, but some were still being held on criminal accusations.

Dong was being held in the Detention Center of Wuhua District, Kunming City, Yunnan province. According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, during his trial Dong said that before the trial began he was chained to a chair and interrogated for seven to eight hours at a time for more than 70 days. He is in frail condition, the Hong Kong-based group stated.