Yahoo has issued a statement criticizing the Chinese government for stifling free political speech online, reports The Associated Press.

The statement critiques the government for the repressive actions it's taken, comes one day after Yahoo was sued by the mother of a Chinese reporter Yahoo identified to authorities. That reporter, Shi Tao, has been imprisoned since 2005 after he was identified as the author of an email criticizing media restrictions in the country.

Shi's mother has sued Yahoo as well as Alibaba, which runs Yahoo China.

Yahoo's statement does not expressly mention Shi. While the company has condemned China's restrictive policies, it is generally also cooperative with authorities, following] in outside countries in order to continue to do business there.