H. E. Mr. Li Peng
Premier
Office of the Premier
Beijing
People’s Republic of China

Vienna, 14 December 1995

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors and media executives from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in 85 countries, strongly condemns the sentencing of the journalist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Wei Jingsheng to 14 years in prison.

China’s leading pro-democracy campaigner was arrested on 1 April 1994 and interrogated by the security forces until 5 April, when he was placed under house arrest at an undisclosed location. On Wednesday, 13 December 1995, Wei was convicted by a Beijing court of “conspiring to subvert the government.” He was sentenced to 14 years in jail and three years’ probation.

Wei, who has spent much of his adult life in prison, was first arrested in 1979 and sentenced to 15 years in prison “for counter-revolutionary propaganda and agitation” in connection with an article he had written. He was released in September 1993, after serving most of his sentence. During his half year of freedom before his arrest in April 1994, Wei spoke openly for democracy and human rights, writing for international publications and granting interviews to foreign correspondents.

We are informed that 19 other journalists are currently imprisoned in China and that there has been an intensification of arbitrary detentions and harassment of pro-democracy activities in recent months.

IPI believes that Wei Jingsheng is being detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of opinion and expression. We condemn his trial as political persecution and strongly urge that he and the other journalists still in detention are released immediately and unconditionally.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director