Amnesty says two Chinese Internet users were executed US firms "colluding" in State clamp down claim By Mike Magee: Tuesday 26 November 2002, 19:05 HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION Amnesty International issued a warning today on its Web site that Internet users in mainland China could be killed by the State for expressing their opinion online. Thirty three people were named as "prisoners of conscience" today, for apparently doing little more than expressing their opinions online. Two "subversives" have already died in custody, it claimed. And the statement, which it released today, also warns that overseas companies were colluding in a crack down we first reported last August. The report asked China – avowedly a police state – to release anyone detained or jailed for using the Internet to express their views or to share information. American companies are helping China track down people that the government wants to detain for "online subversion". It has designated 33 people detained for using the Internet as "prisoners of conscience". Two people have already died in custody, the report said. AI says that anyone surfing the Internet in China could be at risk of "arbitrary detention and imprisonment". There are around 60 million Internet users in mainland China, with the numbers rising steadily. --
