Mainland Duo To Be Tried Over Sensitive Web Archive

Two men who have been held in custody for allegedly backing up sensitive articles from the internet are expected to be brought before a court in Beijing on Tuesday.

The two volunteers, Chen Mei and Cai Wei – working for the website called "Terminus2049" – were arrested for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" in April 2020, after the web re-uploaded articles on the Covid-19 pandemic that had been deleted by the authorities.

Among the articles were pieces commemorating the late doctor Li Wenliang who drew attention to the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

Chen's brother announced on social media that a court in Beijing's Chaoyang district will hear the duo's case, over a year after they were detained.

He said he was notified by the court on Saturday that one close family member of each defendant would be allowed in the courtroom.

Authorities had rejected lawyers hired by the families to represent the two men.