September 24th 2014
Hubei, Wuhan
While reporting about the democracy movement and local elections, four people who had agreed to be interviewed by a journalist working for a European newspaper were hindered from doing so.
One interviewee was taken from his home to another town and forced to stay there overnight. Another interviewee in the same town, whom the reporter was able to meet, was repeatedly called by police and threatened with arrest if he didn’t cooperate with them. A well-known dissident was prevented from leaving home to meet the journalist. In the fourth case, a women’s rights activist was prevented from leaving home to meet the journalist and was warned not to have contact with foreigners and not to “collaborate with the enemy.”