China
24.06.03
Urgent Interventions
China: arrest and detention of members of an unofficial church
Case CHN 240603
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Freedom of religion and belief
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People's Republic of China.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the arrest and detention of members of a so-called “house church” in the People's Republic of China.
According to the information received, twelve members of an unauthorized house church in Yunnan Province were arrested on June 6th, 2003 The arrested persons include Wang Qiyou, Huang Yuting, Huang Changshou, Huang Tingyi, Huang Guojie and Huang Shaoxian. These arrested belonged to a house church in Nanong Village in Guna Town, Funing County, Yunnan.
Attempting to escape the routine oppression that China imposes on unofficial churches, Wang Qiyou and the other church members have been trying to obtain official permission to hold services under the guarantees of religious freedom set forth in China's constitution. On June 6th, Chinese officials arrived at four locations where the church was holding services, ostensibly for delivering the necessary documentation to register the church. Instead, Wang Qiyou and eleven others were brought to the Funing County Detention Center, without warrants, and without any information being released to the families.
On June 13th, family members were finally informed by the Funing County Public Service Bureau that Wang Qiyou and seven others were being detained indefinitely on charges of engaging in “feudalistic superstition.” The other four arrested persons were placed under a 15-day administrative detention. Police action against house churches in Yunnan Province is reportedly continuing in what is believed to be the most wide-scale crackdown on house churches this year.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees. OMCT calls on the Chinese government to order the immediate release of all the detainees in the absence of valid legal charges that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, to ensure that all the detainees receive prompt and fair trials. OMCT also calls on the Chinese government to stop targeting house churches, and recalls that the freedom of thought, conscience and religion is protected under article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which China is a signatory since October 1998.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Wang Qiyou, Huang Yuting, Huang Changshou, Huang Tingyi, Huang Guojie and Huang Shaoxian;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of members of unofficial churches;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms - notably the freedom of thought, conscience and religion in this case - throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; C/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008: Fax: + 01 202 588-0032
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China of in your respective country.
Geneva, June 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Freedom of religion and belief
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People's Republic of China.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the arrest and detention of members of a so-called “house church” in the People's Republic of China.
According to the information received, twelve members of an unauthorized house church in Yunnan Province were arrested on June 6th, 2003 The arrested persons include Wang Qiyou, Huang Yuting, Huang Changshou, Huang Tingyi, Huang Guojie and Huang Shaoxian. These arrested belonged to a house church in Nanong Village in Guna Town, Funing County, Yunnan.
Attempting to escape the routine oppression that China imposes on unofficial churches, Wang Qiyou and the other church members have been trying to obtain official permission to hold services under the guarantees of religious freedom set forth in China's constitution. On June 6th, Chinese officials arrived at four locations where the church was holding services, ostensibly for delivering the necessary documentation to register the church. Instead, Wang Qiyou and eleven others were brought to the Funing County Detention Center, without warrants, and without any information being released to the families.
On June 13th, family members were finally informed by the Funing County Public Service Bureau that Wang Qiyou and seven others were being detained indefinitely on charges of engaging in “feudalistic superstition.” The other four arrested persons were placed under a 15-day administrative detention. Police action against house churches in Yunnan Province is reportedly continuing in what is believed to be the most wide-scale crackdown on house churches this year.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees. OMCT calls on the Chinese government to order the immediate release of all the detainees in the absence of valid legal charges that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, to ensure that all the detainees receive prompt and fair trials. OMCT also calls on the Chinese government to stop targeting house churches, and recalls that the freedom of thought, conscience and religion is protected under article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which China is a signatory since October 1998.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Wang Qiyou, Huang Yuting, Huang Changshou, Huang Tingyi, Huang Guojie and Huang Shaoxian;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of members of unofficial churches;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms - notably the freedom of thought, conscience and religion in this case - throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; C/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008: Fax: + 01 202 588-0032
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China of in your respective country.
Geneva, June 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.