CNHRA PERSON RECORD · CNHRA-P-830945
Chen Mei
Born
Unknown
Occupation
Online archive volunteer
Role
Civil Society Activist
Record ID
CNHRA-P-830945
Biography
Chen Mei volunteered for Terminus 2049, a project preserving articles, interviews and personal accounts removed from Chinese media and social platforms. Hosted on GitHub, it also collected reporting about COVID-19 in 2020.[1]
Human Rights Watch describes Chen Mei’s participation in social-service volunteering and membership of Liren, a group that ran summer camps and libraries for rural youth before its closure in 2014.[1]
After Chen’s detention, his family sought information about his whereabouts, defense counsel and trial. Front Line Defenders records a May 2020 notice confirming designated-location residential surveillance from April 19, followed by representation by state-appointed lawyers.[2]
Case Summary
Beijing police detained Chen Mei and other Terminus 2049 participants on April 19, 2020. On June 12, police told relatives that Cai and Chen had been formally arrested on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Family-retained lawyers were unable to represent them; authorities said they had chosen legal aid.[2]
After repeated postponements, the case was tried at the Wenyuhe courtroom in Beijing’s Chaoyang District on May 11, 2021, with one relative for each defendant admitted. On August 13, both received fifteen months. Front Line Defenders records their release on August 15, with pretrial detention counted toward their terms.[2]
Timeline
2020-04-19
Archive participants detained
2020-06-12
Families informed of formal arrests
Police told relatives that Cai and Chen had been formally arrested on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and were held at Chaoyang District Detention Center. Families continued to seek representation by their chosen lawyers.[2]
2020-09-22
Appointed lawyer reports referral for trial
FLD records that an appointed lawyer told Chen’s mother on September 22 that both men had been indicted and referred to Chaoyang District Court. Trial deadlines were subsequently extended, including on pandemic grounds.[2]
2021-05-11
Trial in Chaoyang District
The case was heard at Wenyuhe with appointed lawyers and one family member admitted for each defendant. No judgment was announced that day, and relatives continued to ask about the outcome.[2]
2021-08-13
Fifteen-month sentences
The court imposed fifteen months each for picking quarrels and provoking trouble. FLD subsequently updated its chronology with credit for pretrial detention and their actual release.[2]
2021-08-15
Both released
Cai and Chen were released from custody. FLD records that their pretrial detention since April 2020 had been counted toward the sentences imposed by the court.[2]
Related Events
Sources
- [1]
CNHRA-S-711091Human Rights Watch
Evidence location: Terminus 2049 and Liren volunteering; April 19, 2020 detentions; Fang Bin and Chen Qiushi’s Wuhan reporting and disappearance.
- [2]
CNHRA-S-822181Front Line Defenders
Evidence location: Case updates: June arrest notifications and September indictment information in 2020; May 11 trial, August 13 sentences and August 15, 2021 releases.