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Beijing: dissident sentenced to 9 months for "obstructing traffic"
A Beijing court has decided the punishment for the 56 year old Wang Lihong, well loved and known on the web for her fight for human rights. The alleged crime occurred in April 2010.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A court in China this morning sentenced Wang Lihong - a retired entrepreneur of 56 – to 9 months in jail for "obstructing traffic" and "creating problems" during a social protest in the province Eastern Fujian in 2010. The sentence, though relatively "light", demonstrates once more the terror that the central government has of social protests, which are growing more numerous and widespread in the country.
Wang had joined dozens of other people who, in April of 2010, travelled to Fuzhou to protest the trial and conviction of three bloggers who helped a mother to discover the murderer of her son. During her trial, her lawyer asked "why, if the events took place at that time, was she only arrested now". The dissident is much loved by the Chinese democratic community, who protested strongly against the sentence. Among her supporters, there are many Western governments and the artist Ai Weiwei, who was also recently released.
Often known to use the Internet to pursue their denunciations, after the verdict, Wang asked her son to "thank web users for her part." Her case, some dissidents say, "perfectly represents the fear that the leaders have of those who struggle for justice." By now social protests touch nearly 100 thousand every year in China.