China rights website founder arrested for leaking state secrets, says Amnesty
Huang Qi received an award from Reporters Without Borders in November
The founder of one of China’s few websites dedicated to reporting human rights abuses has been formally arrested for leaking state secrets, Amnesty International said on Thursday – the latest blow in a broad crackdown on activists.
Huang Qi ran the website “64 Tianwang”, named in part for the bloody June 4, 1989, crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, for nearly two decades.
Its headlines – such as “Village officials stab campaigner” and “Gangsters detain protester” – are rarely seen in ordinary Chinese media, and the content is blocked on the mainland.
The site was awarded the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize in early November. Twelve years ago, Huang received RSF’s “Cyber-Dissident Prize”.
Just weeks after receiving the most recent prize, Huang was detained by police in his hometown of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, according to Amnesty, in his third detention this year.