China
16.01.03
Urgent Interventions
China: arrest and incommunicado detention of at least six political dissidents as well as three Internet dissidents
Case CHN 090103.1
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture / Freedom of expression
Geneva, January 16th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in People's Republic of China.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the arrest and incommunicado detention of at least six dissidents, who were signatories to an open letter in which they called on the authorities to take steps towards democratisation, as well as three Internet dissidents, in China.
According to the information received, political dissident and Internet activist Ouyang Yi has been formally arrested, making him the latest confirmed victim of the Chinese Government’s crackdown against members of the political opposition for participation in an open letter delivered to the 16th Party Congress in November. To date, at least six of the 192 dissidents who signed the open letter have been arrested. The Chinese authorities have also been cracking down on persons attempting to exercise their right to the freedom of expression via the Internet, with three such persons having been arrested recently.
Chengdu Public Security Police originally arrested Ouyang Yi on December 4, 2002, and on December 5 notified his family that he was being detained. Soon afterwards police carried out a search at Ouyang’s home and confiscated a number of documents, many of which were articles that Ouyang had posted on the Internet. The Public Security Bureau of Sichuan’s provincial capital, Chengdu, on January 7 charged Ouyang with “inciting the overthrow of the state power.” Ouyang is reportedly being detained in the Sichuan Province No. 1 Detention Center. If convicted, Ouyang faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The formal arrest papers were not delivered to Ouyang’s wife, Luo Bizhen, but rather to his sister, who lives in Chengdu. Luo Bizhen is now reportedly borrowing money from friends in order to hire a lawyer to represent Ouyang in the upcoming trial (the date of which is not currently known).
Ouyang Yi, who was born in 1968, graduated from Sichuan’s Chuanbei Teacher’s Institute and was a teacher at a secondary school in Suining. Ouyang was a classmate and close friend of Liu Xianbin, a well-known Sichuan dissident who in 1999 was sentenced to 13 years in prison for "conspiracy to overthrow the state power." Ouyang had previously participated in a number of open letters and petitions calling for the release of prisoners of conscience. His political activism resulted in his being arrested and interrogated on a number of occasions, including a three-month illegal detention. In 1999 Ouyang and his family were evicted from their home, and Ouyang lost his teaching position. His recent arrest comes around the same time as those of Liu Di, Li Yibin, and Tao Haidong, who like Ouyang were active in posting political views and criticisms of the Chinese Government on the Internet.
Tao Haidong, who has been missing for several months, having been arrested by officers of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau on July 9, 2002, went on trial January 8th, 2003, at the Urumqi People’s Intermediate Court, where he now awaits sentencing. Tao Haidong has reportedly been charged with “inciting the overthrow of the state power” because of opinions he posted on the Internet. The trial follows the recent arrests of Internet activists Liu Di and Li Yibin.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal integrity of Ouyang Yi as well as Liu Di, Li Yibin, Tao Haidong, Zhao Changqing, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other signatories to the open letter that are being detained, notably given that many of them are being detained incommunicado and therefore are at a heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. OMCT calls on the Chinese authorities to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity and immediately release them in the absence of valid legal charges against them. OMCT also calls on the authorities to guarantee the internationally recognised right to the freedom of opinion and expression, including on the Internet.
Brief reminder of the situation
The last person that the Chinese authorities have officially detained was Xi’an-based dissident Zhao Changqing. He was secretly arrested two months ago, and has now been officially detained. Several other participants in an open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress have been secretly detained, including Ouyang Yi in Sichuan; Dai Xuezhong in Shanghai; Jiang Lijun, based in Tieling, Liaoning Province; Han Lifa in Shanghai; and He Depu in Beijing. Chinese officials have declined to notify the dissidents’ families of the reasons for their arrests, the locations where they are being held, or any other circumstances of their detention, giving rise to fears that they may be being subjected to ill-treament or potentially torture.
Zhao Changqing is believed to have been detained on November 4th, 2002, just before the issuing of an open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress signed by 192 opposition activists calling for political reform. The open letter made six political demands, including reassessment of the 1989 democracy movement; allowing political exiles to return to China; restoring Zhao Ziyang’s political rights and releasing him from house arrest; releasing all prisoners of conscience; pushing the National People’s Congress to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and bringing domestic law into conformity with international treaties; and expanding democratic elections from the villages and municipalities to national elections. There is reason to believe that other signatories have also been detained, but their fates remain unknown because their families and friends are either unaware of the arrests or are unwilling to comment.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities of the People's Republic of China of urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ouyang Yi, Liu Di, Li Yibin, Tao Haidong, Zhao Changqing, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other detainees;
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. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of political and internet activists;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses:
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
· 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: (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
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China of in your respective country.
Geneva, January 16th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Risk of torture / Freedom of expression
Geneva, January 16th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in People's Republic of China.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the arrest and incommunicado detention of at least six dissidents, who were signatories to an open letter in which they called on the authorities to take steps towards democratisation, as well as three Internet dissidents, in China.
According to the information received, political dissident and Internet activist Ouyang Yi has been formally arrested, making him the latest confirmed victim of the Chinese Government’s crackdown against members of the political opposition for participation in an open letter delivered to the 16th Party Congress in November. To date, at least six of the 192 dissidents who signed the open letter have been arrested. The Chinese authorities have also been cracking down on persons attempting to exercise their right to the freedom of expression via the Internet, with three such persons having been arrested recently.
Chengdu Public Security Police originally arrested Ouyang Yi on December 4, 2002, and on December 5 notified his family that he was being detained. Soon afterwards police carried out a search at Ouyang’s home and confiscated a number of documents, many of which were articles that Ouyang had posted on the Internet. The Public Security Bureau of Sichuan’s provincial capital, Chengdu, on January 7 charged Ouyang with “inciting the overthrow of the state power.” Ouyang is reportedly being detained in the Sichuan Province No. 1 Detention Center. If convicted, Ouyang faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. The formal arrest papers were not delivered to Ouyang’s wife, Luo Bizhen, but rather to his sister, who lives in Chengdu. Luo Bizhen is now reportedly borrowing money from friends in order to hire a lawyer to represent Ouyang in the upcoming trial (the date of which is not currently known).
Ouyang Yi, who was born in 1968, graduated from Sichuan’s Chuanbei Teacher’s Institute and was a teacher at a secondary school in Suining. Ouyang was a classmate and close friend of Liu Xianbin, a well-known Sichuan dissident who in 1999 was sentenced to 13 years in prison for "conspiracy to overthrow the state power." Ouyang had previously participated in a number of open letters and petitions calling for the release of prisoners of conscience. His political activism resulted in his being arrested and interrogated on a number of occasions, including a three-month illegal detention. In 1999 Ouyang and his family were evicted from their home, and Ouyang lost his teaching position. His recent arrest comes around the same time as those of Liu Di, Li Yibin, and Tao Haidong, who like Ouyang were active in posting political views and criticisms of the Chinese Government on the Internet.
Tao Haidong, who has been missing for several months, having been arrested by officers of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau on July 9, 2002, went on trial January 8th, 2003, at the Urumqi People’s Intermediate Court, where he now awaits sentencing. Tao Haidong has reportedly been charged with “inciting the overthrow of the state power” because of opinions he posted on the Internet. The trial follows the recent arrests of Internet activists Liu Di and Li Yibin.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal integrity of Ouyang Yi as well as Liu Di, Li Yibin, Tao Haidong, Zhao Changqing, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other signatories to the open letter that are being detained, notably given that many of them are being detained incommunicado and therefore are at a heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment or torture. OMCT calls on the Chinese authorities to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity and immediately release them in the absence of valid legal charges against them. OMCT also calls on the authorities to guarantee the internationally recognised right to the freedom of opinion and expression, including on the Internet.
Brief reminder of the situation
The last person that the Chinese authorities have officially detained was Xi’an-based dissident Zhao Changqing. He was secretly arrested two months ago, and has now been officially detained. Several other participants in an open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress have been secretly detained, including Ouyang Yi in Sichuan; Dai Xuezhong in Shanghai; Jiang Lijun, based in Tieling, Liaoning Province; Han Lifa in Shanghai; and He Depu in Beijing. Chinese officials have declined to notify the dissidents’ families of the reasons for their arrests, the locations where they are being held, or any other circumstances of their detention, giving rise to fears that they may be being subjected to ill-treament or potentially torture.
Zhao Changqing is believed to have been detained on November 4th, 2002, just before the issuing of an open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress signed by 192 opposition activists calling for political reform. The open letter made six political demands, including reassessment of the 1989 democracy movement; allowing political exiles to return to China; restoring Zhao Ziyang’s political rights and releasing him from house arrest; releasing all prisoners of conscience; pushing the National People’s Congress to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and bringing domestic law into conformity with international treaties; and expanding democratic elections from the villages and municipalities to national elections. There is reason to believe that other signatories have also been detained, but their fates remain unknown because their families and friends are either unaware of the arrests or are unwilling to comment.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities of the People's Republic of China of urging them to:
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ouyang Yi, Liu Di, Li Yibin, Tao Haidong, Zhao Changqing, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other detainees;
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. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of political and internet activists;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses:
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
· 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: (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
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China of in your respective country.
Geneva, January 16th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.