Xiaolei Wu, a citizen of China on an interviews by FBI on December 14, 2022. US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts/Reuters via CNN.
A citizen of China who threatened and harassed an individual who advocated for democracy in China has been sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release, the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced Wednesday, CNN reported.
The named Xiaolei Wu, 26, a student of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, was convicted in January of one count of cyberstalking and one count of interstate transmissions of threatening communication, prosecutors said.
CNN said it has reached out to the Federal Public Defender Office in Massachusetts, which is representing Wu, for comment.
Wu is no longer enrolled as a student at Berklee College of Music, the school told CNN Wednesday. He was previously suspended from the school after the incident in 2022.
Previously, CNN reported that Wu allegedly sent threatening messages to a person who posted a flier on or near the college campus supporting Chinese democracy, according to the complaint.
The report said “Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,” Wu reportedly said on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app.
According to the charging documents, Wu was alleged to have reported the person to the Chinese government and told them its representatives would “greet” their family members.
Moreover, he allegedly also solicited others to find where the person lives, and publicly posted their email address online in the hope that they would receive abuse, the documents said.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy said Wu’s conduct was very serious.
“He harnessed the fear of potential retribution from the PRC (People’s Republic of China) government to harass and threaten an innocent individual who had posted an innocuous, pro-democracy flier on the Berklee campus,” Levy said.
“Mr. Wu’s violent threats achieved his goal of instilling fear in his effort to silence this brave victim and others who might want to speak out against the PRC government,”
“Our office and the Department of Justice will not tolerate efforts to intimidate and threaten people to suppress their First Amendment rights. Censorship and repression campaigns will never be tolerated here.”
美國法院判處一名中國公民入獄，罪名是威脅中國促進民主的人士
根據美國有線電視新聞網 (CNN) 報道，馬薩諸塞州美國檢察官辦公室週三宣布，一名威脅和騷擾中國民主倡導者的中國公民被判處九個月監禁和三年監管釋放。
檢察官稱，26 歲的吳曉蕾 (Xiaolei Wu) 是波士頓伯克利音樂學院的學生，他於 1 月被判犯有一項網絡跟踪罪和一項州際傳輸威脅通信罪。
CNN (CNN) 表示，已聯繫吳的代表馬薩諸塞州聯邦公設辯護人辦公室徵求意見。
伯克利音樂學院週三告訴美國有線電視新聞網，吳不再是伯克利音樂學院的學生。
2022年事件發生後，他曾被學校停職。
此前，美國有線電視新聞網 (CNN) 報道稱，據稱吳向一名在大學校園內或附近張貼支持中國民主傳單的人發送了威脅訊息。
據報道，吳在中國通訊應用程式微信上說，「再發多點，我就砍掉你混蛋的手」。
根據指控文件，吳據稱已向中國政府舉報此人，並告訴他們中國政府的代表將「問候」他們的家人。
此外，文件稱，他據稱還招攬他人尋找該人的住所，並在網路上公開發布他們的電子郵件地址，希望他們受到虐待。
美國代理檢察官約書亞·S·利維表示，吳的行為非常嚴重。
利維說：“他利用對中華人民共和國政府可能報復的恐懼，騷擾和威脅一名在伯克利校園張貼無害的親民主傳單的無辜個人。”
“先生。 吳的暴力威脅達到了他的目的，即灌輸恐懼，讓這位勇敢的受害者和其他可能想要公開反對中華人民共和國政府的人保持沉默。
「我們的辦公室和司法部不會容忍恐嚇和威脅人們壓制他們的第一修正案權利的行為。 這裡永遠不會容忍審查制度和鎮壓活動。
Comments