Coronavirus: Chinese activists held for posting censored articles to face trial on criminal charges
- Chen Mei and Cai Wei have been in detention since April but case is expected to go to court soon
- Activists ran online project that published material about sensitive issues like #MeToo movement, eviction of migrant workers in Beijing
Chen Mei and Cai Wei were picked up by the police in Beijing on April 19 after publishing articles about the health crisis on GitHub, the world’s largest open-source website.
The two men had been publishing various articles blocked or removed by censors from mainstream Chinese media and online platforms since 2018.
According to Chen Kun, Chen Mei’s older brother, the families of the activists received phone calls from the Chaoyang public security bureau on Friday telling them they had been formally arrested and were being held at the Chaoyang District Detention Centre.
Chen said police told his family the men had each been appointed two lawyers as they had voluntarily applied for legal aid, but he doubted this was true.
“It’s a clear attempt to keep the family’s hired lawyers from intervening,” he said.