Protester alleging abuses is sent to a labour camp
Shanghai has sentenced a woman to 18 months of re-education through labour after she posted articles on the internet alleging authorities physically abused petitioners, a US human rights group said.
Ma Yalian had posted articles on several domestic and overseas websites, including dajiyuan.com and chineselawyer.com.cn, since last year, accusing Shanghai authorities of causing her physical injury, New York-based Human Rights in China said.
The Shanghai government calls the accusations false and labels Ms Ma a nuisance. Police could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Ms Ma has petitioned the city government for several years over her eviction for a development project. She claims police broke both her legs while she was serving a year in detention in 2001.
In recent months, Shanghai has detained for varying periods of time at least 13 people involved in disputes with the government over forced relocation for property projects, the group said.
The group said Ms Ma's sentence stemmed from an article in which she described the experiences of herself and others trying to petition the National People's Congress and the central government's main complaints office in Beijing. The article details alleged physical and mental abuse.
The mainland considers re-education through labour to be less serious than a prison term. Detainees work at a reform institution for sentences which typically range from one to four years.
Several protests were staged in Shanghai last year over evictions before the authorities acted by detaining the ringleaders and offering higher compensation to others.
