China
30.06.03
Urgent Interventions
China: dissident Zhao Changqing formally charged with inciting subversion of state power
Case CHN 090103.5
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Arbitrary detention / Risk to personal integrity / Freedom of expression and opinion
Geneva, June 30th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in the People's Republic of China,.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China, a member of the OMCT network, of the formal charging of dissident Zhao Changqing, and the continued detention of other dissidents in China.
According to the information received, on June 25th, Zhao Changqing, a Xi'an based dissident was formally charged with inciting subversion of state power. Mr. Changqing's lawyer was notified on June 26th, and the trial, set for early July, will probably be closed to the public.
Mr. Changqing's arrest, detention, and charging is the result of his drafting of an open letter to China's 16th Party Congress, later signed by 192 opposition activists calling for political reform. The letter included six political demands including; a reassessment of the 1989 democracy movement; allowing political exiles to return to China; restoring Zhao Ziyang's political rights and releasing him for 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.
The majority of the other dissidents detained in connection to the open letter, including Ouyang Yi, Dai Xuezhong, Han Lifa, Sang Jiancheng, He Depu, and Jiang Lijun, remain detained. OMCT recalls that Zhao Changqing was suffering from tuberculosis when he was arrested and that his health has reportedly deteriorated significantly since then, giving rise to fears for his personal integrity.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal and psychological integrity of Zhao Changqing, given the fact that his health is deteriorating due to illness, as well as Ouyang Yi, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other signatories 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 legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. OMCT also calls on the authorities to guarantee the internationally recognised right to the freedom of opinion and expression.
Brief reminder of the situation
Zhao Changqing was reportedly detained on November 4th, 2002, just before the issuing of the open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress. His whereabouts were not disclosed until December 27th, when Xi’an Public Security officials delivered an official notice of arrest to his elder brother, Zhao Changhai.
According to the information received, Zhao Chanqing was already suffering from tuberculosis at the time of his secret detention, and his condition deteriorated to the point where Public Security officials found it necessary to transfer him to a prison infirmary. Zhao Changqing, aged 35, was a history student at Shaanxi Normal University when he was arrested in June 1989 and detained in Beijing’s Qincheng Prison for more than half a year for taking part in the democracy demonstrations that year in Beijing. Following his release, Zhao gathered enough signatures to stand for election as a local representative to the National People’s Congress in 1997, but soon afterward was arrested for endangering state security and sentenced to three years in prison. Since his release in March 2001 Zhao has reportedly continued his political activism in spite of considerable hardship.
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 Zhao Changqing and the other detainees, including access to appropriate medical assistance;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, 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 the above-mentioned persons;
iv. 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 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 in your respective country.
Geneva, June 30th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Arbitrary detention / Risk to personal integrity / Freedom of expression and opinion
Geneva, June 30th, 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in the People's Republic of China,.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China, a member of the OMCT network, of the formal charging of dissident Zhao Changqing, and the continued detention of other dissidents in China.
According to the information received, on June 25th, Zhao Changqing, a Xi'an based dissident was formally charged with inciting subversion of state power. Mr. Changqing's lawyer was notified on June 26th, and the trial, set for early July, will probably be closed to the public.
Mr. Changqing's arrest, detention, and charging is the result of his drafting of an open letter to China's 16th Party Congress, later signed by 192 opposition activists calling for political reform. The letter included six political demands including; a reassessment of the 1989 democracy movement; allowing political exiles to return to China; restoring Zhao Ziyang's political rights and releasing him for 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.
The majority of the other dissidents detained in connection to the open letter, including Ouyang Yi, Dai Xuezhong, Han Lifa, Sang Jiancheng, He Depu, and Jiang Lijun, remain detained. OMCT recalls that Zhao Changqing was suffering from tuberculosis when he was arrested and that his health has reportedly deteriorated significantly since then, giving rise to fears for his personal integrity.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal and psychological integrity of Zhao Changqing, given the fact that his health is deteriorating due to illness, as well as Ouyang Yi, Dai Xuezhong, Jiang Lijun, He Depu, Han Lifa and the other signatories 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 legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards. OMCT also calls on the authorities to guarantee the internationally recognised right to the freedom of opinion and expression.
Brief reminder of the situation
Zhao Changqing was reportedly detained on November 4th, 2002, just before the issuing of the open letter to China’s 16th Party Congress. His whereabouts were not disclosed until December 27th, when Xi’an Public Security officials delivered an official notice of arrest to his elder brother, Zhao Changhai.
According to the information received, Zhao Chanqing was already suffering from tuberculosis at the time of his secret detention, and his condition deteriorated to the point where Public Security officials found it necessary to transfer him to a prison infirmary. Zhao Changqing, aged 35, was a history student at Shaanxi Normal University when he was arrested in June 1989 and detained in Beijing’s Qincheng Prison for more than half a year for taking part in the democracy demonstrations that year in Beijing. Following his release, Zhao gathered enough signatures to stand for election as a local representative to the National People’s Congress in 1997, but soon afterward was arrested for endangering state security and sentenced to three years in prison. Since his release in March 2001 Zhao has reportedly continued his political activism in spite of considerable hardship.
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 Zhao Changqing and the other detainees, including access to appropriate medical assistance;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, 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 the above-mentioned persons;
iv. 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 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 in your respective country.
Geneva, June 30th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.