Reporter arrested for libel after corruption claim

The reporter who publicly accused a senior official of corruption has officially been arrested on charges of libel according to the reporter's family, who received the arrest warrant from the Beijing People's Procuratorate on Thursday.

Liu Hu, who worked with the Guangzhou-based New Express, made a report using his real-name on his Weibo account on July 29, accusing Ma Zhengqi, a deputy head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, of "serious misconduct" that caused losses of State-owned assets. He had also made accusations online about other officials before that, but said that he was citing solid evidence from accountable sources.

Liu was detained by the Beijing police in August for "provoking trouble."

Zhou Ze, the lawyer for the reporter, argued that Liu's acts did not constitute a crime, since "the accusation was not deliberately fabricated and Liu did not try to spread any incorrect information on purpose."

Following a national campaign to crack down on online rumors which started in August, the Supreme People's Court issued an interpretation of the Criminal Law, clarifying situations where public prosecutors can file a lawsuit for libel.

While Net users questioned whether Liu's arrest may hamper online whistle-blowing, Hong Daode, a law professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Thursday that there is also the possibility that the arrest was more complicated than it seems.

Hong said it is possible that Liu had lodged a false accusation, but if Liu was not aware of that and did not intentionally spread the false information, he should not be legally taken accountable.

An anonymous employee with the New Express where Liu worked told the Global Times Thursday that Liu had been fired and his acts had nothing to do with the newspaper.

Qin Ling, Liu's wife, told the Global Times that neither she or her husband had received any correspondence from the newspaper.

Zhou said that prior to the arrest, the administration for industry and commerce had not conducted any investigations or refuted Liu's allegations. The administration for industry and commerce declined to comment on the case on Thursday.