In a letter to the President, the Paris-based WAN and WEF called for the immediate release of journalists Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie, who reported that a Tengzhou official had beaten a woman for arriving late for work. The reporters also posted photos of a luxurious Tengzhou government building on an official anti-corruption website.

Mr Qi, who works for China Legal News in Shandong province, was sentenced to four years in prison and Mr He, a free-lance journalist, received a two-year sentence, in a trial that was closed to the press. They were convicted for "fraud and extortion," charges that are used by authorities to silence critical journalists. Mr Qi said he was beaten by police while in detention.

China remains the world’s biggest jailer of journalists, despite its promise, made in its successful Olympic bid, to respect press freedom. At least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissdents are in Chinese prisons.

WAN has called on the International Olympic Committee to hold China to its promises, and has called on all going to the Beijing Olympics -- athletes, sponsors, media partners and others -- to "exert serious pressure on the Chinese authorities to cease their flagrant and persistent abuses of human rights" and to release all jailed journalists. More on the campaign can be found here.

The letter to Mr Hu said:

"We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 102 countries, to express serious concern at the jailing of journalists Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie, and the continued crackdown on freedom of expression ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"According to reports, Mr Qi, who works for China Legal News in Shandong province, was sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and extortion on 13 May. Freelance journalist Mr He, who was a co-defendant in the trial, received a sentence of two years in prison. Access to the trial was limited, and reporters were not allowed to attend.

"Mr Qi was detained on 25 June 2007 in his home in Jinan by police from the nearby city of Tengzhou. Mr Qi, Mr He and their friend, Ma Shiping, had published an article on a foreign-based website accusing a Tengzhou official of beating a woman for arriving late to work. They also posted photographs of a luxurious Tengzhou government building on the Xinhua news agency anti-corruption web forum.

"Mr Qi and Mr He were accused of taking payments from local government officials while reporting several stories and charged with extortion on 2 August 2007. Mr Ma was detained on 16 June 2007 and remains in prison, although the status of his case has not been disclosed.

"We are also seriously concerned that Mr Qi may have been violently assaulted by police while in detention. Mr Qi claims that two police officers hit his head against the floor during a break in the trial and that he was beaten while in prison in August 2007. "We respectfully remind you that the Organising Committee for the 2008

Beijing Olympic Games issued the “Beijing Olympic Action Plan” in 2002, which laid out guiding principles and a series of promises as part of Beijing’s preparation to be the host city. Specifically the Plan promised: “In the preparation for the Games, we will be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world. We will draw on the successful experience of others and follow the international standards and criteria.”

"In accordance with this pledge and numerous international conventions, declarations and agreements - including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - we call upon the Chinese authorities to free Mr Qi, Mr He, Mr Ma and all jailed journalists, writers and cyber-dissidents ahead of the Olympic Games. According to reports, at least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents are currently held in Chinese prisons.

"We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Mr Qi, Mr He, Mr Ma and all others detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression are immediately released from prison and that all charges against them are dropped. We urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that in future your country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression."

WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.