Chinese reporter found accused of extortion gets one year sentence

Chinese reporter found accused of extortion gets one year sentence

Yang Xiaoqing, a reporter for the state-run China Industrial Economy News, was sentenced at the Longhui No. 1 People's Court in Hunan province, his lawyer, Zhang Xingshui said.

She said hundreds of onlookers swarmed the court and blocked police cars to protest the sentence. Some carried signs that said "Corrupt officials should not bully reporters and the people!"

Telephones rang unanswered at the Hunan court Thursday evening, the AP reports.

Yang was detained Jan. 22 and authorities accuse him of concocting reports in order to extort up to 800,000 yuan (US$100,000; Ђ 77,700) from officials in Longhui county, human rights groups have said. Yang pleaded innocent and has insisted that the evidence against him was fabricated.