(From AFP)
Rights groups have condemned China after a Beijing-based journalist went missing, linking his disappearance to an unusual open letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation.
Jia Jia, a freelance journalist, has not been seen since Tuesday, his lawyer said, without giving further details.
Amnesty International said a close friend of Jia told the group he disappeared some time after going through customs at Beijing airport when about to board a flight to Hong Kong.
“He went missing on the 15th,” lawyer Yan Xin said, citing the journalist’s wife.
City University of Hong Kong also confirmed that Jia had not turned up to a seminar he was due to give on Thursday.
“We are deeply concerned by Chinese journalist Jia Jia’s disappearance,” said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “If he is in police custody, officials must disclose where they are holding him and why. If anyone else knows where he is, they should step forward and clarify this worrisome mystery.” Read More