Authorities in the Chinese capital have sentenced citizen journalist Ding Lingjie and two petitioners to jail for making a video 'mocking' President Xi Jinping during a holiday season crackdown on dissent. Ding was tried alongside petitioners Li Xuehui and Wang Fengxian by the Shijingshan District People's Court in Beijing on Dec. 28, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said in a statement on its website.
All three were handed 20-month jail terms after being found guilty of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," the group, which compiles and translates reports from rights activists inside China, said. Wang's sentence was suspended for two years, and it was unclear if she had any role in the video. However, her elderly mother took part in the clip.
