Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of essayist Chen Daojun, who was sentenced today by a people’s court in Chengdu, in the western province of Sichuan, to three years in prison and three years’ loss of political rights for “inciting subversion of state authority” in three articles posted online.

“Chen Daojun is guilty only of expressing his views on Chinese politics,” Reporters Without Borders said. “He is the second cyber-dissident to be convicted this year by a Chengdu court, following Huang Qi, who was arrested on 10 June because of his online articles criticising the management of humanitarian aid after the 12 May earthquake in Sichuan. By jailing Internet users in this fashion, the authorities have once again shown they are unable to handle criticism.”