From Angry Chinese Blogger blog:
According to Xinhua, China’s state run media agency, seven men have been formally arraigned for trial over the murder of journalist Lan chenzhang, who was beaten to death on 10 January, 2007, while he was investigating illegal coal mines in Hunyuan country, Shanxi province.
The men include mine owner Hou Zhenrun and six others. The charges against them include 6 counts of “intentionally causing physical hurt to others”, and one count of harboring suspects. Their trial commenced on Sunday at the Intermediate People’s Court in Linfen, Shanxi.
The trial that almost wasn’t
Although the murder of any journalist in the line of duty is notable, Lan’s case was made all the more prominent due to the way that it was handled by local authorities, whom sought to suppress news of the incident, and to cast ungrounded insinuations on Lan. Causing widespread outrage by, effectively, accusing Lan of inciting his own slaying. [Full Text]
