Wang Xiaoning, China dissident jailed on Yahoo information, freed

GlobalPost

Wang Xiaoning, the Chinese dissident jailed for 10 years after he was convicted of state subversion on information provided by US Internet giant Yahoo, has been released, the BBC reported today.

The 62-year-old was freed from a Beijing prison in the early hours of today.

Activist group Human Right in China confirmed Wang had been released.

His wife, Yu Ling, told the Agence France-Presse that Wang was “in a good mental and physical state.”

Wang was detained in 2002 after distributing statements online via email and Yahoo forums calling for democratic reform in China and criticizing one-party rule.

He was later convicted after prosecutors presented information to the court that they had received from Yahoo identifying Wang as the author of the statements.

Yahoo, which drew international condemnation for cooperating with Chinese authorities in the investigation of Wang and other dissidents, released a statement today.

The statement did not mention Wang, but it called on democratic governments around the world to lobby for the release of individuals jailed for expressing political opinions.

“Yahoo! condemns political suppression wherever and however it occurs, and we are committed to efforts like the Global Network Initiative that bring together companies, human rights groups and other stakeholders to actively promote free expression and privacy on the Internet,” the statement said, according to the New York Times.

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