From AP, via Yahoo News:
A jailed Chinese reporter accused of leaking state secrets has joined a U.S. lawsuit claiming Yahoo Inc. helped the Chinese government convict dissidents, his mother said Sunday.
Shi Tao, who was sentenced in 2005 to 10 years in prison, is seeking compensation from the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company, claiming Yahoo Hong Kong and Yahoo China provided information to the Chinese authorities that led to his arrest. [Full Text]
See also Amnesty’s International’s petition, directed to Yahoo, to “free Shi Tao from prison in China!”
Update: Yahoo has apparently released a statement to the media against China’s arrest of Internet writers, though it doesn’t specifically mention Shi Tao. AP reports:
Yahoo criticized China in a brief statement that didn’t specifically mention the case of jailed journalist Shi Tao, whose mother visited Hong Kong on Sunday. Shi was sentenced to 10 years in 2005 after sending an e-mail about Chinese media restrictions.
The company has acknowledged sharing information about Shi with Chinese authorities.
“Yahoo is dismayed that citizens in China have been imprisoned for expressing their political views on the Internet,” the company said in the statement faxed to The Associated Press, which asked Yahoo to comment on Shi’s lawsuit. [Full text]
