Sentencing of Mr. Yang Chunlin to five years' imprisonment

March 25, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in China.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) about the sentencing of Mr. Yang Chunlin, a young farmers’ representative in Heilongjiang detained since July 6, 2007 for having collected signatures in the framework of the “We Want Human Rights, not the Olympics” campaign, to five years’ imprisonment.

According to the information received, on March 24, 2008, Mr. Yang Chunlin was sentenced by the Jiamusi City Intermediate People’s Court, Heilongjiang Province, to five years’ imprisonment and two years’ deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power”. Mr. Yang’s conviction was related to his collecting of more than 10,000 signatures endorsing the open letter “We Want Human Rights, not the Olympics”. Mr. Yang was sentenced on the same day the Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece.

At the end of the 20-minute hearing, the court police hit Mr. Yang several times with electric batons when he attempted to speak with his family who was present. Mr. Yang insisted that he was innocent and refused to recognise the legitimacy of the court, adding that he would not appeal the sentence.

The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about Mr. Yang’s sentence and arbitrary detention, which take place in the context of a violent wave of repression against Chinese human rights defenders, and recalls that the National People’s Congress amended the Chinese Constitution in 2004 to include that “the State respects and safeguards human rights” and that in April 2006, China submitted a document to the UN in order to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council’s first election[1], in which it affirmed that the amendment to the Constitution was aiming at “defining the position of human rights in the overall national development strategy”. The Observatory further wishes to point out that, as a member of the Human Rights Council, China “shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”[2].

Background information:

On July 6, 2007, Mr. Yang had been brought to a detention centre as he was collecting signatures. He was formally arrested on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” on August, 13, 2007, and has been kept in detention since then.

On February 18, 2008, Mr. Yang was able to meet with his lawyer. The latter reported that his client had been allowed out of his prison only seven or eight times since he had been arrested, and also said he had been notified about the trial only the day before, which had made it impossible for him to prepare his defence. Mr. Yang also reported that he would have been tortured while in detention. The authorities have denied his family’s repeated requests to visit him and refused to let them know about Mr. Yang’s situation. They also have repeatedly harassed Mr. Yang’s family, including wire-tapping their phone to prevent them from calling attention to Mr. Yang’s situation.

On February 19, 2008, the Jiamusi City Intermediate People’s Court, in Heilongjiang Province, heard the trial of Mr. Yang, who entered the court handcuffed and with leg irons. His lawyers protested against these measures, and the leg irons were removed from M. Yang, but his legs were fastened to an iron seat during the trial.

Much of the trial focused on the title of the open letter Mr. Yang collected signatures for. His lawyers demanded the prosecutors to provide evidence linking the title to the crime of “inciting subversion of state power”. The prosecutors failed to present any concrete evidence, only stressing that the slogan has drawn the attention of international media and left a very negative international impact.

In 2006, Mr. Yang had already been detained four times in 2006 for helping farmers seeking compensation for lost land and participating in a hunger strike called by Mr. Gao Zhisheng, a Beijing lawyer (See Annual Report 2006 of the Observatory).

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China, urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Yang Chunlin;
2. Release immediately and unconditionally Mr. Yang Chunlin since his detention is arbitrary as it merely aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
3. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations of torture and ill-treatments, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
4. Put an end to the harassment against all human rights defenders in China;
5. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, Article 11 which reads that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession” and Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
6. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the People’s Republic of China.

Addresses:

• Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
• Mr. Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn;
• Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong’anbu, 14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
• Mr. Ma Zhenchuan, Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Juzhang, Beijingshi Gong’anju, 9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100740, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 85222320, Email: wbjc2sohu.com
• Ambassador Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, P.O. Box 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int;
• Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Brussels, Avenue de Tervuren, 463 1160 Auderghem, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2 663 30 10 / + 32 2 663 30 17 / +32 2 771 14 97 / +32 2 779 43 33; Fax: +32 2 762 99 66 / +32 2 779 28 95; Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn.

Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.

Geneva-Paris, March 25, 2008

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a 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. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

[1] See http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/china.pdf.

[2] See OP9 of the General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/251.