Case History: Li Bifeng
On 19 November 2012, human rights defender and poet Mr Li Bifeng was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by Shehong County People's Court in Sichuan province on charges of 'contract fraud'.
Li Bifeng has previously served two terms in prison on account of his activities in defence of human rights. It is believed he has been targeted because of his association with fellow human rights defender and writer Mr Liao Yiwu , who fled China in 2011.
In 1998 Li Bifeng was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for 'economic fraud' on charges which were apparently concocted as punishment for his reporting on labour activism and strikes by textile workers in Mianyan city, Sichuan province. This reporting included issuing an open letter on 16 July 1997 to international labour organisations requesting them to intercede on behalf of the striking workers following a violent crackdown. In 1990 Li Bifeng was jailed for five years for 'counter-revolutionary crimes' as a result of his participation in the 1989 protest movement.
On 19 November 2012, human rights defender and poet Mr Li Bifeng was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by Shehong County People's Court in Sichuan province on charges of 'contract fraud'.
Li Bifeng has previously served two terms in prison on account of his activities in defence of human rights. It is believed he has been targeted because of his association with fellow human rights defender and writer Mr Liao Yiwu , who fled China in 2011.
The charges of 'contract fraud', which have been described as groundless by Li Bifeng's lawyers, reportedly relate to a property transaction with an alcohol company whereby Li Bifeng, as a businessman, undertook to sell apartments on Hainan Island. According to his wife, Ms Jiang Xia , once the apartments were sold, he was sued by the company for fraud. The company claims that it is owed two million yuan as a result of the sales agreement.
Li Bifeng is a close friend of Liao Yiwu who secretly fled China in 2011 after being denied an exit visa 17 times. Liao Yiwu, now based in Germany, reports that Li Bifeng was targeted because the Chinese authorities believe he provided the financial support that made possible Liao Yiwu's escape from China, which Liao Yiwu has denied. Li Bifeng was detained on 12 September 2011, two months after Liao Yiwu went into exile in Germany.
