WAN Rejects Chinese request to withdraw Press Freedom Award

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on March 8, 2007 at 4:32 PM

The World Association of Newspapers has rejected a request by the China Newspaper Association (CNA) to withdraw the 2007 Golden Pen of Freedom that was awarded to journalist Shi Tao. Shi was imprisoned after writing about Chinese restrictions on the media and is serving a 10-year sentence.

CNA protested WAN’s decision to award Shi, claiming that he had been legally trialed and sentenced according to Chinese law.

“If the law does indeed make it possible to send a journalist to jail in such a case, the law should be abolished without delay, since it would be in contradiction with every conceivable international standard and convention on freedom of information and human rights," said WAN CEO Timothy Balding upon rejecting the CNA’s request.

“Mr Shi is serving a 10-year sentence on charges of "leaking state secrets" for writing an e-mail about media restrictions in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 2004. The e-mail was picked up by several overseas internet portals -- and also by Chinese authorities, with the assistance of Yahoo,” read WAN’s press release.

For more information on Shi Tao’s case and the exchange between WAN and CNA, click below.

Source: WAN press release