China
24.12.03
Urgent Interventions
China: Ill-treatment of jailed trade union activists Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang.
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
New information
CHN 002/1103/OBS 060.1
Ill-treatment / Arbitrary detention
China
December 24, 2003
The Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in China:
New information:
The Observatory has been informed that prison officials have refused a request by family members of jailed Liaoyang trade union activist Yao Fuxin to grant him medical parole for severe health problems.
According to Human Rights in China (HRIC) the families of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang recently visited the two men in Liaoning Province’s Lingyuan County No. 2 Prison, and found them in alarming physical condition. Yao has previously been sent to the prison hospital after losing consciousness twice due to a heart condition. He is also suffering from hearing loss and partial paralysis. Xiao is suffering from pleurisy and is almost entirely blind. He has edema throughout his body, and his hands are numb from prolonged use of handcuffs. Both men are kept in isolation and surveillance around the clock, and other prisoners are not allowed to speak with them.
Yao and Xiao’s families have requested that they be released for medical treatment outside of the prison system, a right that is provided for in Chinese law. But prison officials recently notified Yao’s family that their request had been denied because of the “special circumstances” of Yao’s case. Xiao’s family is still awaiting a decision regarding their request.
The Observatory remains seriously concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of Xiao Yunliang and Yao Fuxin and fears that the lack of access to medical care is deliberately used as a punishment by the Chinese authorities.
Background information:
The China Labour Bulletin (CLB) and Human Rights in China (HRIC) informed the Observatory, that on October 8, 2003, two labour activists, Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang, imprisoned since March 2002, were transferred from Jinzhou Prison to the notorious Lingyuan Prison, considered to be one of the most brutal prison in China. The transfer was made despite the extremely poor health of both prisoners. Following their transfer to Lingyuan Prison, where prison conditions are allegedly harsh, their health rapidly deteriorated.
Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang were detained for their role in organizing a mass workers demonstration that took place in March 2002 to protest corruption and delayed welfare payments in the city of Liaoyang in the Liaoning Province (See the 2002 Annual Report of the Observatory). They were tried in January 2003 on charges of “subverting state power,” (art. 105 of the criminal law) and respectively sentenced to seven and four years in prison. Their appeals were subsequently rejected by a higher court.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities of China urging them to :
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang and grant them immediate access to medical care.
ii. Release the two prisoners immediately since their detention is arbitrary.
iii. Conform to the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular to article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” and article 5, which states that “for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedom, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (a) to meet or assemble peacefully; (b) to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, association or groups.”
iv. Conform to the principles adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the Treatment of Prisoners and particularly principle 1, which establishes that “all prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings,” and principle 9 which establishes that “prisoners shall have access to the health services available in the country without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation.”
v. Conform to the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights standards, including the ICESCR.
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: 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, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Paris - Geneva, 24 December 2003.
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
New information
CHN 002/1103/OBS 060.1
Ill-treatment / Arbitrary detention
China
December 24, 2003
The Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders, a joint programme of FIDH and OMCT, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in China:
New information:
The Observatory has been informed that prison officials have refused a request by family members of jailed Liaoyang trade union activist Yao Fuxin to grant him medical parole for severe health problems.
According to Human Rights in China (HRIC) the families of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang recently visited the two men in Liaoning Province’s Lingyuan County No. 2 Prison, and found them in alarming physical condition. Yao has previously been sent to the prison hospital after losing consciousness twice due to a heart condition. He is also suffering from hearing loss and partial paralysis. Xiao is suffering from pleurisy and is almost entirely blind. He has edema throughout his body, and his hands are numb from prolonged use of handcuffs. Both men are kept in isolation and surveillance around the clock, and other prisoners are not allowed to speak with them.
Yao and Xiao’s families have requested that they be released for medical treatment outside of the prison system, a right that is provided for in Chinese law. But prison officials recently notified Yao’s family that their request had been denied because of the “special circumstances” of Yao’s case. Xiao’s family is still awaiting a decision regarding their request.
The Observatory remains seriously concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of Xiao Yunliang and Yao Fuxin and fears that the lack of access to medical care is deliberately used as a punishment by the Chinese authorities.
Background information:
The China Labour Bulletin (CLB) and Human Rights in China (HRIC) informed the Observatory, that on October 8, 2003, two labour activists, Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang, imprisoned since March 2002, were transferred from Jinzhou Prison to the notorious Lingyuan Prison, considered to be one of the most brutal prison in China. The transfer was made despite the extremely poor health of both prisoners. Following their transfer to Lingyuan Prison, where prison conditions are allegedly harsh, their health rapidly deteriorated.
Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang were detained for their role in organizing a mass workers demonstration that took place in March 2002 to protest corruption and delayed welfare payments in the city of Liaoyang in the Liaoning Province (See the 2002 Annual Report of the Observatory). They were tried in January 2003 on charges of “subverting state power,” (art. 105 of the criminal law) and respectively sentenced to seven and four years in prison. Their appeals were subsequently rejected by a higher court.
Action requested :
Please write to the authorities of China urging them to :
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang and grant them immediate access to medical care.
ii. Release the two prisoners immediately since their detention is arbitrary.
iii. Conform to the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular to article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” and article 5, which states that “for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedom, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (a) to meet or assemble peacefully; (b) to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, association or groups.”
iv. Conform to the principles adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the Treatment of Prisoners and particularly principle 1, which establishes that “all prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings,” and principle 9 which establishes that “prisoners shall have access to the health services available in the country without discrimination on the grounds of their legal situation.”
v. Conform to the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights standards, including the ICESCR.
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: 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, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
Paris - Geneva, 24 December 2003.
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch