[CHRB] (2/14-27/2014) Police Beat Former Masanjia Labor Camp Detainees, Uyghur Scholar Arrested

China Human Rights Briefing

 February 21-27, 2014

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

• Activists Detained Outside Hospital Where Cao Shunli Is in Critical Condition
• Uyghur Scholar Arrested on Concocted “Splittism” Charge
• Liu Xia Hospitalized With Heart Problem

Reprisals Against Activists

• Former Masanjia Camp Detainees Beaten for Seeking Compensation

Special Notice

• CHRD Submits Information to UN Treaty Body on Women Ahead of Review

Arbitrary Detention

Activists Detained Outside Hospital Where Cao Shunli Is in Critical Condition

More than two dozen activists were seized while gathering outside the 309 Military Hospital on February 21, a day after news broke that arrested activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利) was in intensive care there after authorities had denied her medical treatment for months (see report). Most of those initially swept up have been released, but Wang Ling (王玲) and Chen Shufeng (陈淑风) were criminally detained on charges of “disrupting order of a public place.” Chen, 77, is reportedly under police guard while being hospitalized for an undisclosed illness. Also, Zhou Li (周莉), who was let go after 24 hours in custody, is now under house arrest. Police reportedly interrogated seized activists about who organized the gathering and uploaded photos online of the group. Cao Shunli was detained in September 2013 and arrested the following month in retaliation for advocating for civil society participation in UN human rights mechanisms.[1]

Uyghur Scholar Arrested on Concocted “Splittism” Charge

Uyghur professor Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木Ÿ土赫提) was arrested on February 20 on charges of “splittism” after being held incommunicado for over a month. Police from Beijing and Xinjiang seized Tohti from his home in the capital on January 15 (see report). He is being held in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau Detention Center in Urumqi, but his lawyer, Li Fangping (李方平), has been denied access to his client. On the same day Tohti was detained, seven of his students, also ethnic Uyghurs, were taken away; of these, four are still missing, and another has been criminally detained. A professor at the Central University for Nationalities (or Minzu University) in Beijing, Ilham Tohti has been a leading advocate on Uyghur issues and also ran the website uighurbiz.net, which was shut down by authorities after he was seized in January.[2]

Liu Xia Hospitalized With Heart Problem

On February 18, Liu Xia (刘霞), the wife of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), was hospitalized for the second time this month, undergoing tests and treatment for a heart condition she has developed while under oppressive house arrest. Earlier in February, police accompanied Liu Xia to a Beijing hospital because of the ailment—diagnosed by doctors as a lack of blood flow in her heart’s muscular tissue—and also a throat inflammation. That time, the hospital stopped tests after just one day and sent her home, according to her lawyer, Mo Shaoping (莫少平). Liu Xia has admitted to suffering from severe depression brought on by restrictions she has been living under, but she has refused to see a doctor, fearing that authorities may send her to a psychiatric hospital against her will. Liu Xia has been under house arrest since October 2010, when her husband, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power,” was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.[3]

Reprisals Against Activists

Former Masanjia Camp Detainees Beaten for Seeking Compensation

Police in Liaoning Province recently beat three women among a group of 11 former detainees from the notorious Masanjia Women’s Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp that were trying to petition authorities for compensation. On February 19, Liu Hua (刘华), Hao Wei (郝威), and Jia Fengzhen (贾风珍) entered the Ministry of Public Security building in Shenyang City to register the names of those in the group. After Hao took out her phone to photograph the registration, officers dragged the women to a room and beat them. Police also confiscated Hao’s phone as well as the women’s registration form and identity cards. The Chinese government announced this past December that the controversial RTL system will be abolished, but former detainees have been blocked from seeking justice over their detentions and abuses suffered in labor camps (see report), and some have been taken into custody and tortured by police (see report).[4]

Former detainees of the Masanjia Women’s RTL camp were recently beaten while petitioning for compensation in Liaoning Province. (photo: CRLW)

Special Notice

CHRD Submits Information to UN Treaty Body on Women Ahead of Review

CHRD and several Chinese NGOs jointly submitted information to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on February 20 in advance of the Pre-Sessional Working Group meeting, which will take place during the first week of March. The submission raises a number of issues, including the elimination of stereotypes and violence against women, female trafficking, and promoting women’s participation in political and public affairs. The joint submission urges CEDAW to include these points, and many others detailed in the report, in the List of Issues it will provide to the Chinese government to address in advance of its review in October 2014.

Contacts:

Renee Xia, International Director, +1 240 374 8937+1 240 374 8937, reneexia@chrdnet.com

Victor Clemens, Research Coordinator, +852 8192 7875, victorclemens@chrdnet.com

[1] “30 Activists Seized and Many Criminally Detained Due to Their Visit to Critically Ill Cao Shunli” (因探望病危的曹顺利30余人遭扣押，数人被刑拘), February 23, 2014, WQW.

[2] “Uyghur Professor Ilham Tohti Arrested on Suspicion of ‘Splittism’” (维族教师伊力哈木被控涉嫌分裂国家罪逮捕), February 25, 2014, WQW.

[3] “Liu Xiaobo’s Wife Liu Xia Hospitalized Again for Heart Problem” (刘晓波妻子刘霞因心脏不适再次住进医院)，February 21, 2014, WQW.

[4] “11 Former Detainees of Masanjia RTL Camp Beaten While Trying to Petition Ministry of Public Security” (马三家教养院11名被劳教者公安部集体上访遭殴打), February 19, 2014, CRLW.