Chinese journalist, is serving a ten-year prison sentence in China for sending an email to the USA. He was accused of “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities” by using his Yahoo email account.

According to the court transcript of the evidence that led to Shi Tao’s sentencing, the US internet company Yahoo provided account-holder information on him.

Shi Tao was accused of sending an email summarizing an internal Communist Party directive to a foreign source. The Communist Party directive had warned Chinese journalists of possible social unrest during the anniversary of the June 4 Movement (in memory of the Tiananmen crackdown), and directed them not to fuel it via media reports.

Imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, a right entrenched in international law and the Chinese Constitution, Shi Tao is considered a Prisoner of Conscience.

Companies must respect human rights, wherever they operate. Yahoo’s business ethics are becoming questionable due to its role in assisting the Chinese government to sentencing Shi Tao. The company has signed the Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the Internet Industry, effectively agreeing to implement China’s draconian system of censorship and control.

The internet is the new frontline in the fight for human rights.

The initial grace period in which internet-users enjoyed complete freedom, while the authorities caught up with the technology, has ended.

Governments are increasingly monitoring web, email and blog use, censoring and prosecuting their citizens for expressing their opinions online.

China: Internet companies assist censorship

Google's launch of a self-censoring Chinese search engine is the latest in a string of examples of global internet companies caving in to pressure from the Chinese government. Infringement on the rights to freedom of expression and information is taking a serious toll - individuals are put in prison for excercising their rights.

In the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, Yahoo is contributing to human rights violations. Yahoo should urgently give consideration to the human rights implications of its business operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every organ of society, which includes companies, to respect human rights.



Write to Yahoo now, expressing your concern about the company’s role in assisting in the violation of Shi Tao’s rights. Yahoo must use its influence to secure Shi Tao’s release.Copy and paste the sample letter below and send it in an email to Jerry Yang and David Filo(Co-founders, Chief Yahoo & Directors).

Emails: jerry@yahoo-inc.com; filo@yahoo-inc.com

or you can write to them directly at the address below:



Salutation: Dear Jerry Yang and David Filo



Yahoo Customer Care
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94089
USA

If you can, call Yahoo Customer Care to make your points over the phone: 001-408-349-1572


--------------------------------------------

Dear Jerry Yang and David Filo,

I am writing to you to express my deep concern over recent allegations that your company has assisted authorities in China in events which led to the imprisonment of Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist. On April 27, 2005, Shi Tao received a ten-year prison term for sending information about a Communist Party decision through his Yahoo email account to a website based in the United States. Amnesty International considers him a Prisoner of Conscience, as he was imprisoned for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and opinion.

I am alarmed that in the pursuit of new and lucrative markets, your company is contributing to human rights violations. Yahoo should urgently give consideration to the human rights implications of its business operations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls upon every organ of society, which includes companies, to respect human rights.

Yahoo’s conduct in Shi Tao’s case has exposed your company to the risk of being complicit in human rights violations. I therefore call upon Yahoo to:

• Use its influence to secure Shi Tao’s release
• Stop any actions that could undermine human rights in any country in which you operate
• Take immediate steps to ensure that all your units – the parent corporation and subsidiaries – uphold human rights responsibilities for companies, as outlined by the UN Norms for Business
• Develop an explicit human rights policy, ensuring that it complies with the UN Norms for Business.

Sincerely,

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