Berklee student sentenced to prison for harassing Chinese democracy advocate
A Chinese Berklee student has been sentenced to nine months in prison for stalking and threatening a fellow Chinese student who posted pro-democracy fliers on campus.
Key points:
- Xiaolei Wu, a 26-year-old student at Berklee College of Music, was sentenced to nine months in prison and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts announced on Wednesday.
Catch up:
- In October 2022, Wu threatened to harm the victim who posted a pro-democracy flier near the Berklee campus that read “We Want Freedom” and “Stand with Chinese People.”
- Wu used WeChat, Instagram and email to threaten the victim and her family. “Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,” Wu wrote in one message.
- He also posted the victim’s email address online, reported her to a member of the Chinese government and encouraged others on the internet to harass her and locate her residence.
The details:
- Wu was arrested in December 2022 and later convicted of cyberstalking, stalking and interstate transmissions of threatening communication after a four-day trial in a Boston federal court in January.
- After serving his sentence, Wu will reportedly be deported back to China.
- “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,” said Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
- Jodi Cohen, head of the FBI’s Boston Division investigating the case, also labeled Wu’s use of China’s authoritarianism to threaten the woman as “incredibly disturbing.”
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