Minsheng Guancha | Imprisoned in China | November 16, 2016

Job:Editor, Publisher/Owner
Medium:Internet
Beats Covered:Human Rights, Politics
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Charge:Anti-state
Length of Sentence:Not Sentenced
Reported Health Problems:No

Police detained Liu Feiyue, the editor and founder of the human rights news website Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, known in China as Minsheng Guancha, on November 16, 2016, according to his website.

On November 24, 2016, Minsheng Guancha reported that police in Suizhou city in China's central Hubei province told Liu's family that the journalist had been "criminally detained" and could be sentenced for subversion of state power, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Liu's family had not received written notification of his detention from police, the outlet reported

As the founder of a human rights news website, Liu has been a target of past police harassment and surveillance, and during politically sensitive events he has been detained or placed under house arrest, according to news reports. It was unclear if recent reports on the site led to his arrest. Liu was held briefly in October 2016 ahead of a gathering of the Chinese Communist Party Congress, according to reports. Authorities in China often detain writers and dissidents during national events or anniversaries such as of the Tiananmen Square protests to prevent them disrupting the events or speaking to the media.

Minsheng Guancha was founded in 2006 and, according to its website, focuses "on the lives of the underclass." It reports on issues that state-controlled media outlets in China are often prohibited from covering, such as political protests, detentions of activists and writers, police abuse, and other human rights violations.

According to Liu's lawyer Wen Donghai, Liu is physically and mentally in good health. "Of the two accusations Liu faces, 'subversion of state power' and 'leaking state secrets,' the latter bears harsher punishment, which could lead to life sentence," Wen told CPJ. He said he visited Liu on September 19, 2017. Wen and Yan Xin, another lawyer for Liu, submitted a letter to the Suizhou Municipal People's Procuratorate in September 2017 calling for Liu to not be prosecuted for the crime of leaking state secrets.

CPJ's calls to the Suizhou Public Security Bureau for further information went unanswered. As of late 2017, Liu was being held at the No. 1 Detention Center in Suizhou, Hubei province, according to Minsheng Guancha, and Liu's other lawyer Yan Xin.

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