(Washington Free Beacon) Original participants in China's pro-democracy movement in 1989 are back in prison on the 26th anniversary of the government's brutal suppression of those protests, a stark reminder that the ruling Communist Party continues to repress dissidents, activists say.
On June 4, 1989, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) mobilized against the peaceful protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and other cities across the country. While the Chinese government has never released information about the crackdown, it is believed that hundreds or thousands of civilians were killed.
Many of the pro-democracy protesters who escaped the PLA's troops and tanks later returned to activism and have been arrested repeatedly. According to the group Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), at least 12 are currently serving prison sentences, and nine are in police custody. The imprisoned include some of China's most prominent human rights activists, such as Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo.
Advertisement - story continues below
