Ye, a regular contributor to Xizi, a local news website in Huizhou prefecture, Guangdong province, was arrested at his home on December 12, 2014. Ye was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”
Police allege that Ye fabricated and spread false information on the Internet forums Tianya and Xizi, according to the People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party. The accusation was based on articles he posted on September 17 and 19, 2014. In one article, Ye mocked the head of the local public security bureau for cracking down on an environmental protest. In another article, he wrote about police visiting a protester’s home. Police said Ye’s posts caused a protest involving more than 300 people on September 20, the Communist Party newspaper Guangzhou Daily reported.
Before Ye’s hearing on August 7, 2015, his lawyer, Liu Hao, told Radio Free Asia that police had ordered him not to speak to the media about the case, but Liu said Ye would deny the charges in court. CPJ was unable to determine what happened at the hearing.
Ye is being held in Huizhou Detention Center in Guangdong province, according to the human rights website China Political Prisoner Concern.