Boston : A Chinese national, Xiaolei Wu, 26, formerly a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, has been sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release by a US court, CNN reported.
This verdict follows Wu's conviction in January on charges of cyberstalking and interstate transmission of threatening communication, as announced by the US Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.
Wu's actions stemmed from his confrontation with an individual who advocated for democracy in China. He allegedly targeted this individual with threatening messages after the person posted a pro-democracy flier on or near the college campus, according to the CNN report.
According to reports, Wu used WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, to send menacing messages, including one stating, "Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off."
Furthermore, charging documents revealed that Wu reported the individual to Chinese authorities and implied that their family members would face repercussions.
He allegedly sought assistance from others to locate the individual's residence and publicly disclosed their email address online, inviting abuse.
Reacting to Wu's sentencing, Acting United States Attorney Joshua S Levy emphasised the severity of Wu's conduct, saying, "He harnessed the fear of potential retribution from the PRC (People's Republic of China) government to harass and threaten an innocent individual who had posted an innocuous, pro-democracy flier on the Berklee campus," adding,
"Mr. Wu's violent threats achieved his goal of instilling fear in his effort to silence this brave victim and others who might want to speak out against the PRC government."
"Our office and the Department of Justice will not tolerate efforts to intimidate and threaten people to suppress their First Amendment rights. Censorship and repression campaigns will never be tolerated here," he also said, CNN reported.