China
24.09.03
Urgent Interventions
China: arrest and risk to personal integrity of Internet activist Li Zhi
Case CHN 240923
Arbitrary detention / Disproportionate prison sentence / Freedom of expression
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 (HRIC) of the arrest of Internet activist Li Zhi on charges of subversion.
According to the information received, on September 3rd, 2003, the Sichuan Province State Security Police formally arrested Li Zhi on charges of "conspiracy to subvert state power." Li was initially detained on August 8th, along with his wife who was released the same day and allowed to return home. Their home was searched, and his computer and other property were seized. Li Zhi, age 32, is a graduate of the Xinan Institute of Finance and, prior to his arrest, was a finance official in the Dazhou municipal government. Sources say that Zhi frequently espressed his views on Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms. According to one source, police told Zhi's wife that he was found to have communicated with overseas dissidents through Internet chatrooms. Under the present charge of subversion Zhi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
OMCT recalls that it has previously denounced the arrest, sentencing and torture four Internet activists (see urgent appeal CHN 060603). In this case, Xu Wei, a reporter and editor for Beijing’s Consumer Daily newspaper, was sentenced on May 28th, 2003,to ten years in prison on charges of subversion and began a hunger strike to protest against his ill-treatment and torture in custody. Xu Wei and three co-defendants, Yang Zili, a computer engineer (who received an eight year sentence), Jin Haike, a geological engineer (ten year sentence), and Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer (eight year sentence), were all arrested in March 2001 for the political views that they posted on the internet, and for forming an organisation called the New Youth Society, dedicated to exploring ways towards social reform. They were tried on September 28th, 2001, but no verdict was delivered and the men were thus arbitrarily detained until the present. On the morning of May 28th, 2003, they received the afore-mentioned sentences on charges of subversion. The four men have reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and torture during their two year detention without trial, as they have refused to accept their guilt concerning these charges.
OMCT is therefore gravely concerned that Li Zhi may also face lengthy pre-trial detention, a disproportionate prison sentence and runs a risk of being subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture during his detention.
The International Secretariat of OMCT therefore calls upon the Chinese authorities to guarantee Li Zhi’s physical and psychological integrity, and to release him and all other such detainees in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. OMCT also condemns the authorities’ repression of persons seeking to enjoy their rights to the freedom of expression and opinion, notably via the gathering of information and evidence against its citizens by monitoring e-mail and Internet chatrooms.
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 Li Zhi;
ii. order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Hu Jintao, People's Republic of China, c/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008, USA, Fax: +01 202 588-0032
· President Hu Jintao, 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, Genève, Suisse, Fax: +4122 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Fusen Buzhang, Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65 292345
· Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.
Geneva, September 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention / Disproportionate prison sentence / Freedom of expression
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 (HRIC) of the arrest of Internet activist Li Zhi on charges of subversion.
According to the information received, on September 3rd, 2003, the Sichuan Province State Security Police formally arrested Li Zhi on charges of "conspiracy to subvert state power." Li was initially detained on August 8th, along with his wife who was released the same day and allowed to return home. Their home was searched, and his computer and other property were seized. Li Zhi, age 32, is a graduate of the Xinan Institute of Finance and, prior to his arrest, was a finance official in the Dazhou municipal government. Sources say that Zhi frequently espressed his views on Internet bulletin boards and chatrooms. According to one source, police told Zhi's wife that he was found to have communicated with overseas dissidents through Internet chatrooms. Under the present charge of subversion Zhi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
OMCT recalls that it has previously denounced the arrest, sentencing and torture four Internet activists (see urgent appeal CHN 060603). In this case, Xu Wei, a reporter and editor for Beijing’s Consumer Daily newspaper, was sentenced on May 28th, 2003,to ten years in prison on charges of subversion and began a hunger strike to protest against his ill-treatment and torture in custody. Xu Wei and three co-defendants, Yang Zili, a computer engineer (who received an eight year sentence), Jin Haike, a geological engineer (ten year sentence), and Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer (eight year sentence), were all arrested in March 2001 for the political views that they posted on the internet, and for forming an organisation called the New Youth Society, dedicated to exploring ways towards social reform. They were tried on September 28th, 2001, but no verdict was delivered and the men were thus arbitrarily detained until the present. On the morning of May 28th, 2003, they received the afore-mentioned sentences on charges of subversion. The four men have reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and torture during their two year detention without trial, as they have refused to accept their guilt concerning these charges.
OMCT is therefore gravely concerned that Li Zhi may also face lengthy pre-trial detention, a disproportionate prison sentence and runs a risk of being subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture during his detention.
The International Secretariat of OMCT therefore calls upon the Chinese authorities to guarantee Li Zhi’s physical and psychological integrity, and to release him and all other such detainees in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. OMCT also condemns the authorities’ repression of persons seeking to enjoy their rights to the freedom of expression and opinion, notably via the gathering of information and evidence against its citizens by monitoring e-mail and Internet chatrooms.
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 Li Zhi;
ii. order his immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Hu Jintao, People's Republic of China, c/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008, USA, Fax: +01 202 588-0032
· President Hu Jintao, 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, Genève, Suisse, Fax: +4122 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Fusen Buzhang, Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65 292345
· Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn
Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.
Geneva, September 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.