China: Sichuan Earthquake Activist Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

Environmental campaigner and writer Tan Zuoren best known for his work following China’s deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

But on Tuesday, at a court in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province, Tan was sentenced to five years in prison for subversion—for emails he sent about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Amnesty International is demanding Tan’s immediate release. They say the comments he emailed about Tiananmen Square are not the real reason for his imprisonment. They say it’s because of his investigations into the Sichuan earthquake.

[Roseann Rife; Deputy Director, Amnesty International Asia]:
“Amnesty believes that this verdict certainly was tied partly to the work he did in visiting the families and victims of the Sichuan earthquake and tried to document the deaths in the earthquake.“

Supporters say Tan was working on an independent report on the collapse of school buildings during the Sichuan earthquake. 80,000 people died in the quake, more than 5,000 of them children, according to official state statistics.

[Roseann Rife; Deputy Director, Amnesty International Asia]:
“Back during his trial in August, they actually discussed the earthquake and that was brought up in his trial and it’s very unusual now that in the verdict we received today, the earthquake was not mentioned at all, only focusing on Tiananmen. We can only assume the reason for that is because there is actually a lot of public support for the work he did on the earthquake and if they had actually convicted him on that, the backlash would have been too harsh.”

More than a hundred supporters gathered to await the verdict. Local police barred them from entering the courthouse.

[Pu Zhiqiang, Tan Zuoren’s Lawyer]:
“Tan will appeal because he thinks his actions are legal and didn’t break any laws. He thinks his understanding of the law is very different from the court’s.“

Tan’s wife was outside the court.

[Wang Qinghua, Tan Zuoren’s Wife]:
„It’s not about injustice, I feel this is ridiculous, really ridiculous.”

Tan’s brother, Tan Liren, says he supports his younger sibling’s actions.

[Tan Liren, Tan Zuoren’s Brother]:
“My brother has always worked for society and for the country. At that time I didn’t agree with his actions. I think that as a citizen, you can’t change the reality of society. But today, I have to stand up for him and support my younger brother, Tan Zuoren. And now I understand him.”

Tan Zuoren has been detained since August. He was filmed recently speaking from his prison cell.

[Tan Zuoren; Detained Activist]:
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank my friends. I hope they can take care of themselves and protect themselves. And to my family I have only three words: ‘I am sorry.’”

The 56-year-old is one of many activists who have blamed corrupt officials for the poor school construction that led to many deaths during the earthquake.

Foto: NTDTV