無國界記者（RSF）強烈要求當局釋放病痛纏身的調查記者、2004年無國界記者新聞自由獎得主黃琦，他在六年前遭到逮捕，如持續關押將極可能面臨生命危險。
無國界記者（RSF）東亞辦事處執行長艾瑋昂（Cédric Alviani）表示，“資深中國記者、獨立媒體六四天網創辦人黃琦勇於調查政府貪腐與侵害人權情況，因此遭到當局報覆、自2016年起即監禁至今，更不斷遭受折磨虐待。無國界記者要求當局立即釋放黃琦，以及所有遭到中國監禁的記者和新聞自由捍衛人士”。
59歲的中國調查記者、2004年無國界記者新聞自由獎得主黃琦於其成都市公寓外被捕，至2022年11月28日星期一即屆滿六周年。這名人權新聞網站六四天網的創辦人於2016年獲頒無國界記者新聞自由獎，在經過2年多的任意拘禁與閉門審判後，他於2019年7月29日因“泄露國家秘密”與“為境外提供國家機密”而判處12年徒刑。
在其記者職涯中，黃琦一直致力於報導中國的貪腐與侵害人權案件，如1989年天安門大屠殺與政府對2008年四川大地震的應對等，因而多次遭重判入獄。
健康狀況惡化、體重減輕
黃琦於2016年11月28日被捕時，已患有腎臟病、心臟病與腦積水。2018年，當局罕見地準許律師會面，黃琦的律師發現其健康狀況進一步惡化、體重大幅下降。2020年9月，黃母成功透過視訊探視黃琦，但2022年1月的視訊通話在短短2分鐘後便突遭切斷。
在中國，被監禁的記者幾乎皆曾系統性地遭受虐待、無法就醫：諾貝爾和平獎得主、無國界記者新聞自由獎得主劉曉波與異議部落客楊同彥皆因關押期間無法治療癌癥而於2017年過世，記者的首要西藏消息來源貢卻津巴（Kunchok Jinpa）則於2021年受虐身亡。
無國界記者於2021年發表前所未見的調查報告《中國新聞業大躍退》，揭露北京於全球對新聞界及知情權的打壓行動。
在2022年無國界記者世界新聞自由指數所衡量的180國中，中國排名第175，這座全球最大的記者監獄至少已關押110人，其中11人位於香港。
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges for the release of ailing investigative journalist and 2004 RSF Press Freedom Award laureate Huang Qi, who was arrested six years ago and is at high risk of dying if kept in detention.
“Huang Qi, a seasoned Chinese journalist and the founder of independent media 64 Tianwang, has been detained since 2016 in retribution for his courageous investigations on the regime’s corruption and human rights abuse and was repeatedly subjected to torture and ill treatment. RSF calls for Huang’s immediate release alongside all other journalists and press freedom defenders detained in China.
Monday, 28 November 2022 marks six years since 59-year old Chinese investigative journalist Huang Qi, laureate of the 2004 RSF Press Freedom Award, was arrested outside his apartment in the city of Chengdu. Huang, founder of the 64 Tianwang human rights news website that also won an RSF award in 2016, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 29 July 2019 for “leaking state secrets” and “providing state secrets abroad” following over two years of arbitrary detention and a closed trial.
During his entire career as a journalist, Huang had been actively reporting on corruption and human rights abuse cases in China, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and the government’s response to the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake, and was sentenced to heavy prison terms multiple times.
Health deterioration and weight loss
At the time of his arrest on 28 November 2016, Huang suffered from a kidney ailment, heart disease and hydrocephalus. During a rare visit in 2018, Huang’s lawyer discovered the further deterioration of Huang’s health and significant weight loss. In September 2020, Huang’s mother managed to see Huang through a video call, but a January 2022 meeting was abruptly cut off after merely two minutes.
In China, detained journalists are almost systematically subjected to mistreatment and denied medical care: Nobel Peace Prize and RSF Press Freedom Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and dissident blogger Yang Tongyan both died in 2017 from cancer that was left untreated in detention, while Kunchok Jinpa, a leading source of information about Tibet for journalists, died in 2021 as a result of mistreatment.
In 2021 RSF published an unprecedented investigative report entitled The Great Leap Backwards of Journalism in China, which reveals the campaign of repression led by Beijing against journalism and the right to information worldwide.
China ranks 175th out of 180 in the 2022 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is the world’s largest captor of journalists with at least 110 detained, including 11 in Hong Kong.
Original source:https://rsf.org/en/china-rsf-urges-release-ailing-investigative-journalist-huang-qi-sixth-anniversary-his-arrest
