Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/article/1095691/beijing-court-jails-10-illegally-detaining-petitioners
China

Beijing court jails 10 for illegally detaining petitioners

A 2009 file photo of a man standing in the corridor of a former 'black jail' in Beijing, China. Photo: AP

A Beijing court has sentenced 10 people to up to 18 months in jail for illegally detaining petitioners from another city, state media reported on Sunday, in a rare case of the judiciary taking on the shadowy men who operate on the margins of the law.

Those convicted were hired by authorities from Changge city in central Henan province to stop petitioners airing their grievances in Beijing, the People’s Daily said on its website, citing a Beijing newspaper.