Press Release: Release prominent women's rights defenders
On March6-7, 2015, nine prominent women's rights and gender equality defenders werearbitrarily detained (for more information, see The Observatory’s Urgent Appeal of March 13).Five of these defenders, namely Ms. Li Tingting, also known as “Li Maizi”, Manager of the LGBTprogram at the Beijing Yirenping Center; Ms. Wu Rongrong, Founder andExecutive Director of the Weizhiming Women’s Center in Hangzhou; Ms. ZhengChuran, also known as “Datu,” staff member of Yirenping based in Guangzhou;Ms. Wei Tingting, Director of LGBT rights organization Ji’ande inBeijing; and Ms. Wang Man, Beijing-based coordinator for the Global Callto Action Against Poverty (GCAP), remain in detention in Beijing buthave not yet been formally charges with any crimes.
During thefirst six days of their detention, all five defenders were denied access totheir lawyers. Since then, four of the defenders have been allowed contact withtheir lawyers: Li Tingting on March 12, Wu Rongrong on March 16, Zheng Churanon March 17, and Wei Tingting on March 18. Wang Man has apparently still beendenied access to her lawyer.
After theirmeeting on March 16, Ms. Wu Rongrong's lawyer reported that her medicalcondition is not suitable for continued detention and that she did not receiveproper medical care in prison, including having her medication confiscated. Ms.Wu Rongrong, who suffers from diabetes and severe digestion issues, wasdemanded by the police to sleep on the floor. Likewise, Ms. Wei Tingting andMs. Zheng Churan, who are both severely near-sighted, have not been allowedaccess to their glasses.
“All five women's rights defendersmust be released immediately, or at a minimum be presented with formal chargesif they are to be detained,” said KarimLahidji, FIDH President. “If they are charged, they should benefit fromdecent conditions of detention and from unhindered access to their lawyers.”
Rallies havebeen organised worldwide in support of the five detainees. On March 18, 2015marches took place in New Delhi, India, in Seoul, South Korea in front of theChinese Embassy, and in New York City, USA, in front of the UN headquarterswhere the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women(CSW) is taking place. The main focus of the CSW is “the Beijing Declarationand Platform for Action, including current challenges that affect itsimplementation and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment ofwomen.” Several NGOs have also called for a rally in support of the fivedetained defenders on March 21 in Hong Kong.
“The Observatory has recorded a highnumber of attacks against women's rights defenders ahead of the celebration ofWomen's Day. Discriminatory practices against women's rights defenders cannotbe tolerated”, said Gerald Staberock, OMCT SecretaryGeneral.
In addition,representatives of the European Union and the United States havepublicly called for the release of the five activists.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OBS) wascreated in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT). The objective ofthis programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders.
For moreinformation, please contact :
- FIDH : Lucie Kroening (French / English / German / Arabic) - Tel: +33 6 48 05 91 57 (Paris) / Arthur Manet (French / English / Spanish) - Tel: +33 6 72 28 42 94 (Paris)
- OMCT : Miguel Martín Zumalacárregui (French / English / Spanish) - Tel: +41 22 809 49 39 (Geneva)