Latest update: 15/05/2012 

- censorship - China - illegal - prisons


'Black jails': illegal detention becoming more common in China

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The recent case of Chen Guangcheng has brought to the fore China's practise of detaining dissidents under illegal house arrest. Chen, who is blind, managed to escape from under the noses of his guards. But few others are able to do the same. Often, these prisoners are held in apartments, hotel rooms, or out in the country - and some are never heard of again.

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By Baptiste FALLEVOZ / Duncan HEWITT
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