Group: Yahoo Helped Jail Third Chinese Journalist

Internet search behemoth Yahoo helped to jail Chinese journalist Jiang Lijun, 40, in 2003 by assisting law-enforcement authorities within the country to identify him, Reporters Without Borders reports.

The news is based on the court verdict from Lijun’s case, which the journalist advocacy group obtained from the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights association that translated the document, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The case is the third in which Yahoo has been accused of cooperating with the Chinese government in investigations of its citizens, and it follows the highly publicized jailing of journalists Shi Tao and Li Zhi, Reporters Without Borders reports.

“Little by little we are piecing together the evidence for what we have long suspected, that Yahoo is implicated in the arrest of most of the people that we have been defending,” the press freedom group said.

The verdict confirms that Yahoo Holdings told the Chinese government that the e-mail account ZYMZd2002 had been employed by Lijun and another activist, according to Reports Without Borders.

On Nov. 18, 2003, Lijun was found guilty of “subversion” and ordered to serve four years in prison for allegedly planning to use “violent means” to push democracy, Reporters Without Borders reports. Chinese law enforcement officials believe the man was the ringleader of a group of cyberdissidents, according to Reporters Without Borders.

For related news coverage, read Yahoo May Face Penalty Over Jailed Journalist and Group: Yahoo Played Key Role In Jailing Journalist.

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