<台州晚报>副总编遭警察暴打致死

[双虎]

中国浙江省台州晚报副编辑吴湘湖在三个月前遭警察暴打之后于2月2号死亡。吴湘湖的妻子和同事星期一证实了他的死亡。

法新社说，去年10月19号，台州晚报发表了一篇有关警察对电动摩托车乱收费的报导。第二天，台州市淑江区的大约50名警察和10多辆警车就前往台州晚报办公室，有8名警察对吴湘湖暴打，随后有10多名警察把他塞进警车。中国媒体的网站上仍然贴有吴湘湖被警察拖出报社大楼塞进警车的照片。

中国官方媒体新华社报导说，吴湘湖两年前曾经做过肝脏移植手术，警察对他的拳打脚踢造成他的肝脏严重受伤。吴湘湖的同事表示，吴湘湖的死亡与警察暴打有关。吴湘湖自受伤以来一直住院。

以下是CNN的报道
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- A Chinese newspaper editor has died from injuries months after traffic police beat him up for an expose about exorbitant electric bicycle licence fees, a New York-based press watchdog said.

A spokesman for the Taizhou city government in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang confirmed that Wu Xianghu, 41, deputy editor of the Taizhou Evening News, had died, but said the cause of death had yet to be determined.

China's tightly controlled state media have not mentioned Wu's death on Thursday last week, even though they reported the October attack.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday authorities had prevented local media from reporting the death.

Chinese journalists who report crime and corruption in the newly competitive media environment face increasing incidents of violence, the committee said.

Dozens of uniformed traffic police stormed into the newspaper's offices on October 20 and assaulted Wu, state media and press watchdogs said at the time.

The attack stemmed from a report in the previous day's newspaper on high licence fees imposed by police on electric bicycles.

Wu died of liver and kidney failure after months of hospital treatment, the committee said. The official Xinhua news agency reported last year that Wu's liver had been damaged.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said Wu underwent a liver transplant two years ago.

A newspaper colleague on Tuesday confirmed Wu's death but declined to provide details.

"The death of our colleague after he was brutally assaulted for his work is a cruel reminder of the new dangers faced by Chinese journalists," Committee to Protect Journalists executive director Ann Cooper said in a statement.

"The government must ensure the safety of the working press. This begins by bringing to justice the attackers of Wu Xianghu."

Senior traffic police officer Li Xiaoguo was sacked for his role in the incident, Xinhua reported at the time.

Li had demanded an apology which led to an argument with Wu at the newspaper office. He then summoned colleagues to the scene.

The Taizhou city government spokesman said no charges had been brought against anyone involved in the attack.