Amnesty International called today (Wed.) on the Chinese authorities to release more than 30 people who are currently jailed for using the Internet to express their views or share information. Two of the imprisoned have died in custody. One has been sentenced for 11 years for downloading articles from Chinese democracy websites abroad. Other cases can be found here. "Everyone detained purely for peacefully publishing their views or other information on the Internet or for accessing certain websites are prisoners of conscience," Amnesty said.
"In late August China blocked access to the Google Internet search engine for a brief period, diverting users to local Chinese search engines instead. In recent weeks, Beijing has shifted tactics again, opening up some previously blocked Web sites, but making it impossible for users to open documents on those sites that relate to China. The Ministry of State Security has reportedly installed tracking devices on Internet service providers to monitor individual email accounts and all Internet cafes are required to register and inform the police about their customers".
Amnesty's report can be found here.