China: Xinjiang journalists arrested, others sentenced

Earlier this year, China arrested two ethnic Kazakh journalists in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, while journalist and activist Sophie Huang Xueqin was sentenced to more than five years in prison on June 14. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns China’s legal attacks on the media and calls for the swift release of all detained journalists.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, an organization funded by the U.S. Congress, two journalists working for China's state-run Xinjiang TV were arrested earlier this year. Their current whereabouts and status are unknown. Kairat Domalin and Kuandyk Koben were reportedly taken into custody in April, with no clear reasons for their arrest.

In a separate incident, imprisoned journalist and prominent #MeToo activist Sophie Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison on June 14 for “inciting subversion of state power.” Huang, who has been in pretrial detention since September 2021, has seen a significant deterioration in her health since her arrest at Guangzhou airport nearly three years ago. According to Huang’s supporters and imprisoned labor rights activist Wang Jianbing, the journalist would also be deprived of her political rights for four years and face a fine of CNY100,000, or about USD13,750. The sentence takes into account time already served.

Meanwhile, on July 1, the National Press Club of the United States announced in a press release that the detention of journalist and writer Dong Yuyu had been extended until at least September 27, 2024, after he was arrested in February 2022 on charges of espionage during a meeting with a Japanese diplomat. The journalist was tried in July 2023, with no verdict in the case.

The IFJ said: “There can be no free media when journalists can disappear for months, with no information about their fate or health. As journalists and media workers in China continue to be arrested and detained in opaque conditions, the constitutional right to freedom of the press is being violated. The IFJ condemns the arrests and prolonged detention of Chinese media workers and calls for their immediate release.”