Gansu formally probes detention of reporters

Provincial prosecutors in Gansu have launched a formal investigation into three local newspaper reporters accused of extortion, according to an official posting on social media on Sunday.

Authorities in Liangzhou, a district of Wuwei city, announced that the journalists had been detained on Jan 25, several weeks after they were reported missing by family and friends.

However, the case has come under scrutiny from netizens after a letter attributed to the Lanzhou Morning News, which employs one of the journalists, cast doubt on the allegations and suggested that the police had resorted to entrapment. The paper has denied it produced the letter.