BLOGGER JIA XIAOYIN RELEASED BY POLICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SHANGHAI 000027


DEPT FOR EAP/CM, AND DRL
NSC FOR LOI, KUCHTA-HELBLING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/14/2034
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR SOCI TINT CH
SUBJECT: BLOGGER JIA XIAOYIN RELEASED BY POLICE

REF: A. (A) 08 SHANGHAI 527

B. (B) 08 SHANGHAI 437

C. (C) 08 SHANGHAI 514

D. (D) 08 SHANGHAI 448

E. (E) 08 SHANGHAI 522

F. (F) 08 SHANGHAI 471


CLASSIFIED BY: CHRISTOPHER BEEDE, POL/ECON CHIEF, US CONSULATE
SHANGHAI, DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)


Summary
--------------


1. (C) Shanghai police released blogger Jia Xiaoyin from jail on
January 13, six months after he was arrested for "spreading
rumors" about the Yang Jia trial and charged with libel. The
case had been widely criticized in the legal community because
of the lack of a legal basis for charging libel in this type of
case. Consulate contacts said Shanghai prosecutors and police
deliberated over Jia's case for several weeks before deciding to
release him, and legal contacts in Suzhou, Jia's hometown, said
as recently as January 9 that they doubted Jia would be released
anytime soon. End Summary.


Suzhou Blogger Released
--------------


2. (C) On January 13, Shanghai police quietly released Jia
Xiaoyin, the 23-year-old Suzhou blogger who was arrested in July
2008 for stating in his blog that the murder of six police
officers by Yang Jia was justifiable (see reftels). According
to Jia's lawyer, Zhang Peihong, Jia was released after
prosecutors withdrew the libel charges against him, ending Jia's
six-month ordeal.


3. (C) The case had provoked outrage from advocates for internet
freedom and the legal community. Zan Aizong, an independent
Zhejiang journalist who has his own blog, told Poloff on
December 2 that Jia's case is "completely fabricated" by the
Shanghai police because of police officers' anger about Jia's
blog (Ref A). Jia's defense attorney, Zhang Peihong, had first
questioned the legality of the charges against Jia in October,
stating that under Chinese law, a government agency (in this
case, the police) cannot be a victim of libel (Ref B).


A Decision Several Weeks in the Making
--------------


4. (C) Tong Zhiwei, a law professor at the East China University
of Politics and Law, who followed the libel case closely and
whose law journal published a series of articles discussing the
case and calling for Jia's release from prison, said he started
hearing in mid-December that the charges against Jia might soon
be dropped by the prosecutor.


5. (C) As recently as January 9, however, legal contacts in
Suzhou, Jia's hometown, expressed doubt about his future. Tang
Haiyan, the President of the Suzhou Bar Association, and Suzhou
University Law Professor Zhu Zhongyi both said that although
there was no legal basis for a libel charge against Jia, they
were not optimistic that he would be released.


Comment
--------------


6. (C) Jia's case has received considerable attention in East
China, especially among young people who frequently post blogs
on the internet. At this point, it is unclear if Jia's release
represents a victory for the legal process in Shanghai because
the prosecutor was unwilling to charge Jia with libel, or if the
Shanghai police felt that after six months in jail, Jia had
"learned his lesson" for "spreading rumors." There also is a
possibility that Shanghai officials were concerned that a guilty
verdict in this case would have led to protests, which the
municipal government would like to avoid in the current climate.
Post will continue to meet with contacts to analyze the outcome
of this significant case and its impact on internet freedom and
the legal process in East China.


CAMP