China imprisons ex-journalist for 15 years to 'punish him for his political speech,' activists say

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A Chinese former journalist has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on allegations that he attacked China’s ruling Communist Party, activists say.

Chen Jieren, who has worked at several propaganda outlets for the Communist Party, was convicted Thursday of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery,” according to court documents posted online.

Chen Jieren appearing in police-recorded footage.  (CCTV)

The charges accuse Chen of posting “false” and “negative” information online “to hype relevant cases under the guise of providing legal advice.”

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders watchdog said Chen is being punished “for his political speech on WeChat and other social media platforms,” and called for his release.

Chen had worked at the state media outlets China Youth Daily, Beijing Daily and People’s Daily. After getting fired, he reportedly published online commentaries and investigative reports on social media.

The charges against Chen come amid international criticism that China is smothering free speech during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Earlier this year, China kicked out more than a dozen correspondents from the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal for their coverage of the outbreak in China.

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China justified its actions as retaliation over new rules the Trump administration placed on Chinese reporters, including a 100 reporter cap from five state-run media outlets.

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.