[CHRB] (3/7-3/13/2014) Guangdong Activists Going to Trial, Jiangsu Police Assault Pregnant Petitioners

China Human Rights Briefing

 March 7-13, 2014

 Contents

Arbitrary Detention

• Uyghur Public Health Worker Arrested on State Security Charges
• Guangdong Activists Going to Trial, Had Been Seized on “Advocacy Tour” in Hubei
• Jiangxi Activist Detained for “Unlawful Assembly” Before Legislative Meetings in Beijing

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

• Jiangsu Police Physically Assault 2 Pregnant Petitioners

Special Notice

• CHRD Submits Information on 3 Activists to UN Special Experts

Arbitrary Detention

Uyghur Public Health Worker Arrested on State Security Charges

Akebaier Yiming (阿可拜尔Ÿ伊明), who works on public health issues with Uyghurs living in Beijing, has been arrested on charges related to “endangering state security.” On January 15, police detained Yiming in Urumqi City in Xinjiang, where he had gone to attend his father’s funeral. Formerly with the anti-discrimination group Aizhixing, Yiming has worked since 2008 with the Development Research Center, which is under China’s State Council, on drug issues and AIDS prevention among Uyghur migrants. Yiming was seized on the same day as prominent Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木Ÿ土赫提), though it is unclear if their detentions are related (see report).[1]

Uyghur public health worker Akebaier Yiming (阿可拜尔Ÿ伊明) has been arrested on charges related to “endangering state security” after being seized in mid-January.

Guangdong Activists Going to Trial, Had Been Seized on “Advocacy Tour” in Hubei

The pre-trial meeting for Guangdong activists Huang Wenxun (黄文勋), Yuan Fengchu (袁奉初) (aka Yuan Bing, 袁兵) and Yuan Xiaohua (袁小华) will begin on March 13 at the Chibi City People’s Court in Hubei Province, according to CHRD sources. In late May of 2013, the three men were seized in Chibi while taking part in an “advocacy tour” that encouraged citizen activism and spread democratic ideas, and they were later arrested on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Several months later, the police changed the charges to “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.” The activists are being held at Jiayu County Detention Center, where Huang Wenxun has reportedly been mistreated. The three are among 70 individuals that CHRD has confirmed to be detained in the crackdown on peaceful assembly, association, and expression that began in earnest nearly a year ago.

Jiangxi Activist Detained for “Unlawful Assembly” Before Legislative Meetings in Beijing

Authorities in Jiangsu Province criminally detained Xinyu City activist Liu Xizhen (刘喜珍) on March 2 on suspicion of “unlawful assembly” after she demonstrated in Beijing before the start of the “Two Meetings” of China’s main legislative bodies. Liu and two other activists were taken into custody in Beijing on March 1 after they publicly displayed a banner with the slogans “Victory for Ukrainian People, Chinese People Demand Constitutional Liberties.” In April 2013, Liu and her husband, activist Huang Huimin (黄慧敏), joined fellow Xinyu activists Liu Ping (刘萍), Wei Zhongping (魏忠平), and Li Sihua (李思华) in calling for top officials to disclose their personal assets and for the government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The couple were subsequently tortured before being released and were then closely monitored by police (see report).[2]

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

Jiangsu Police Physically Assault 2 Pregnant Petitioners

Police in Jiangsu Province recently committed violent acts against two pregnant petitioners who had just been forcibly returned from Beijing, putting the women’s unborn children at great risk. Suzhou police officers beat Wu Xiaoyan (吴晓燕) at the Canglang Police Station on March 9, with the station chief reportedly telling Wu that the treatment was for her “legal education.” Wu was later taken to a hospital, where she showed signs of a miscarriage and was given medication before being released. In another case, female officers in Xinyi City repeatedly slapped petitioner Liu Yan (刘艳) in the face after she refused to remove her underpants during a strip search on March 10 at the Xin’an Town Police Station. Police had issued Liu a 10-day detention after she went to Beijing to attend a hearing for a lawsuit she had filed against police in the capital over an incident from November. Due to her pregnancy, Liu protested being placed in a detention center, and she was taken to a hospital where her pregnancy was confirmed, and police then detained her in a guesthouse. CHRD strongly recommends that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women look into such violence against female petitioners when it reviews China this fall.[3]

Special Notice

CHRD Submits Information on 3 Activists to UN Special Experts

CHRD submitted information on three Chinese activists—Mi Chongbiao (糜崇标), Zhao Changqing (赵常青) and Xu Zhiyong (许志永)—to UN experts on enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, and other areas of human rights concern. Xu Zhiyong, a prominent legal advocate, has spearheaded the “New Citizens’ Movement,” a loose grouping of activists in which Zhao Changqing also participated. Both men have been tried on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place.” Xu was given a four-year sentence in January, while Zhao’s trial was postponed. Mi Chongbiao and his wife have been out of contact since September 2013, after being held under illegal house arrest for months in Guizhou Province.

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] “Aizhixing Statement on Former Employee Akebaier Yiming’s Arrest in Urumqi” (爱知行关于前员工阿可拜尔.伊明被乌鲁木齐公安局拘捕情况的声明), March 7, 2014, Aizhixing.

[2] “Xinyu, Jiangxi Activist Liu Xizhen Criminally Detained After Holding Banners Before ‘Two Meetings’ in Beijing” (江西新余维权人士刘喜珍两会前在京举牌遭刑拘), March 7, 2014, WQW.

[3] “Pregnant Petitioner Violently Beaten at Police Station in Suzhou” (怀孕在身的苏州访民吴晓燕被关派出所遭暴力殴打), March 11, 2014, WQW; Pregnant Woman Liu Yan Stripped Naked, Slapped by Police Officers in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province” (江苏徐州孕妇刘艳遭警察脱光衣服扇耳光), March 10, 2014, CRLW; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women – Sessions, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).