No Justice for Wu Lihong

Wu Lihong has been in prison for six months. Six months during which his wife Xu Jiehua has been campaigning for his release. Xu Jiehua, who picks tea for a living, found a lawyer and appealed. However, the appeal was rejected because there was no new evidence.

That means three years behind bars for Wu Lihong. He has been charged with bribery but his wife is sure it's just a pretext to silence him. He has been an awkward thorn in the side of the local authorities in Jiangsu province.

He published details about the pollution of Lake Tai and revealed that the local authorities were protecting the factories, which were dumping their waste in the lake. But he knew that he was living dangerously. Before his arrest he explained how he had been threatened.

"Those responsible for the pollution tried to bribe me," he recalled. "They offered me the equivalent of about 200,000 euros and told me they would buy me a house in a clean place. I said 'No'. The factory owners sent people to beat me up. They broke into my house and threatened to cut off my hands and feet."

Watched 24/7

Xu Jiehua, Wu Lihong's wife, is also feeling the pressure: "I'm being watched twenty-four hours a day. They change their shifts every four hours. I still don't know what's going to happen to me," she complained.

Shortly after Wu Lihong's arrest, the problems at Lake Tai reached a peak. The lake was full of poisonous blue-green algae, it smelt terrible and the water was undrinkable. Moreover, fish were dying all the time. The government suddenly jumped into action -- pumping in millions for the lake to be cleaned up. Xu Jiehua is not entirely convinced however.

"It has got better," she conceded. "Lake Tai is now being controlled but so much still hasn't changed. Some of the factories, which polluted the lake, have been shut down. Money is also being spent on improving the image. Several houses located on the lake have been painted -- they look good. But the factories Wu Lihong pointed the finger at are still in business."

Awaiting justice

The local party secretary who was in office when Wu Lihong was arrested has since been promoted and is going up the ladder in Beijing. While Wu Lihong awaits his fate in prison. And while he waits, his wife still doesn't know where exactly he's being kept and with how many people he's sharing a cell.

She's seen him once since his arrest. He said he was being treated badly and showed her the cigarette burns on his hands.

But Xu Jiehua refuses to give up. She plans to appeal to a higher court and get justice for her husband.