China
05.08.03
Urgent Interventions
China: dissident Zhao Changqing sentenced to five years in prison
Case CHN 090103.6
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Fair trial
Geneva, August 5th, 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 of the sentencing of dissident Zhao Changqing to five years in prison as the result of a trial which reportedly did not meet internationally recognised fair trial standards, in China.
According to the information received, Zhao Changqing, a dissident charged with inciting subversion of state power on June 25th, 2003, was sentenced on August 4th to five years in prison. Mr. Changqing was tried by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court on July 10th, 2003 in a secret trial.
Mr. Changqing's arrest, detention, and sentencing are the result of his drafting of an open letter to China's 16th Party Congress, which was 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.
Human Rights in China’s President, Liu Qing, drew attention to the question of due process and fair trial stating, "it is especially objectionable that a trial over an open letter was held in secret on the pretext of protecting state secrets. This trail was just another form of intimidation through an unfair legal process, from Zhao's illegal and extended detention to the lack of notice given to his family. Any country with a genuine rule of law would reject this judgement as null and void."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal and psychological integrity of Zhao Changqing, given his poor health and his five-year prison sentence. OMCT calls on the Chinese authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all the detainees being held in relation with this case and to 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 Mr. Zhao Changqing and all other persons being detained in relation with the signing of the open letter;
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. 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, August 5th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case CHN 090103
Fair trial
Geneva, August 5th, 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 of the sentencing of dissident Zhao Changqing to five years in prison as the result of a trial which reportedly did not meet internationally recognised fair trial standards, in China.
According to the information received, Zhao Changqing, a dissident charged with inciting subversion of state power on June 25th, 2003, was sentenced on August 4th to five years in prison. Mr. Changqing was tried by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court on July 10th, 2003 in a secret trial.
Mr. Changqing's arrest, detention, and sentencing are the result of his drafting of an open letter to China's 16th Party Congress, which was 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.
Human Rights in China’s President, Liu Qing, drew attention to the question of due process and fair trial stating, "it is especially objectionable that a trial over an open letter was held in secret on the pretext of protecting state secrets. This trail was just another form of intimidation through an unfair legal process, from Zhao's illegal and extended detention to the lack of notice given to his family. Any country with a genuine rule of law would reject this judgement as null and void."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the personal and psychological integrity of Zhao Changqing, given his poor health and his five-year prison sentence. OMCT calls on the Chinese authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all the detainees being held in relation with this case and to 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 Mr. Zhao Changqing and all other persons being detained in relation with the signing of the open letter;
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. 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, August 5th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.