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Alert

Business reporter taken off "most wanted" list

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders welcomes the Zhejiang provincial governments order to the Suichang police to withdraw its warrant for the arrest of "The Economic Observer" reporter Qiu Ziming and calls for the incomprehensible 15-year jail sentence imposed on online journalist and blogger Gheyret Niyaz in Xinjiang on 23 July 2010 to be overturned on appeal.

"We welcome the apology that the Suichang police have given to Qiu Ziming and we call for a transparent investigation into why he was placed on a national list of wanted criminals," Reporters Without Borders said. We also call for the immediate release of Gheyret Niyaz, who was convicted on charges of contributing to a website that incited violence and providing foreign journalists with information about the July 2009 riots in Xinjiang.

The provincial authorities in Zhejiang rescinded Qiu Zimings arrest warrant on 29 July. Aged 28 and employed by one of China's most respected business weeklies, Qiu spent several days in hiding after being accusing of defaming a leading Chinese battery manufacturer in articles he wrote about its alleged improprieties. Qiu always insisted on his innocence. "What I wrote is the truth," he said.