U.S. NGO Calls for Release of Journalist Zhao Yan in Open Letter to PRC President Hu

March 18, 2005

On March 17, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued an open letter to PRC President Hu Jintao calling for the release of Zhao Yan, a Chinese employee of the New York Times who was detained in September 2004. According to the letter:

Today marks the six-month anniversary of the imprisonment of Zhao Yan, a news assistant at The New York Times who has been held incommunicado and without charge or trial since September 17, 2004. The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores Zhao's ongoing detention, which violates international law and the 2004 amendment to the Chinese Constitution safeguarding human rights.

The CECC staff previously prepared a summary of the events relating to Zhao's detention to date.