[CHRB] Guangdong Activists Seized for Hunger Strike, Lawyer Also Detained (1/3-1/9/2014)

 China Human Rights Briefin

 January 3-9, 2014

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

• Guangdong Activists Seized for Hunger Strike Related to June Fourth, Lawyer Also Detained

• Democracy Activist Yang Kuang Criminally Detained

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

• Chen Guangcheng’s Nephew Seriously Ill, Denied Release on Medical Grounds

• Victim of Masanjia RTL Camp Detained, Tortured for Requesting Information

Labor Rights

• Several Sentenced for Opposing Power Station Relocation in Hunan Province

Arbitrary Detention

Guangdong Activists Seized for Hunger Strike Related to June Fourth, Lawyer Also Detained

Police in the city of Guangzhou detained five activists on January 4 for taking part in a hunger strike organized to mark 25 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. Police took into custody Xiao Qingshan (肖青山), Zhang Shengyu (张圣于), Ma Shengfen (马胜芬), Liang Songji (梁颂基), and Huang Yanwen (黄燕雯), who are all involved in the so-called “Southern Street Movement,” a loose network of activists in Guangdong Province. The activists were taken from Liang’s home when police smashed their way into the residence after being denied entry. Liang has been criminally detained on a charge of “obstructing official business” and is being held at Liwan District Detention Center, while the whereabouts of the others have not been confirmed. On January 5, police also took into custody human rights lawyer Liu Shihui (刘士辉) when he tried to find out information about the activists. Liu is still being held at the time of writing.[1]

Democracy Activist Yang Kuang Criminally Detained

Well-known Hong Kong democracy activist Yang Kuang (杨匡) has been criminally detained by Shenzhen police on charges of “illegally crossing state borders.” His wife, Liu Shasha (刘莎莎), hired lawyer Sui Muqing (隋牧青) to represent him on January 2. Guangzhou-born Yang had his home-return permit revoked after trying to go to Beijing to visit Liu Xia (刘霞), the wife of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) who is under house arrest. Police in Shenzhen have previously detained Yang for trying to cross the border between Hong Kong and the mainland.[2]

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

Chen Guangcheng’s Nephew Seriously Ill, Denied Release on Medical Grounds

Chen Kegui (陈克贵), the imprisoned nephew of activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), is seriously ill, but authorities have denied his family’s recent application for release on medical grounds. On December 30, Chen Kegui’s mother Ren Zongju (任宗举) visited him in Linyi Prison in Shandong Province, and has said that he was clutching his abdomen and sweating profusely, and his complexion looked very bad. Chen Kegui has been suffering from appendicitis since he began serving his sentence in November 2012, but this condition has not been effectively treated. On January 2, the family submitted an application for Chen’s release on medical grounds, but prison authorities refused to accept it, saying the family did not have the qualifications to seek such a release. Chen Kegui is serving a 39-month sentence for an alleged assault tied to the events surrounding his uncle’s escape from house arrest in April 2012.[3]

Victim of Masanjia RTL Camp Detained, Tortured for Requesting Information

Shi Yunxiang (史云香), who was previously held in the notorious Masanjia Women’s Re-education Through Labor (RTL) camp in Liaoning Province, was recently given a 10-day administrative detention after she went to Beijing to request authorities make information public about the camp. Police stopped her in the capital on December 27, and the next day Benxi City police took Shi back to Liaoning, where she was detained on a charge of “creating a disturbance.” During her administrative punishment, which ended on January 7, Shi reportedly was shackled to a “tiger bench,” a tool of torture where a person is strapped to a long board and their legs are pushed upwards.[4]

A former detainee at the Masanjia Women’s RTL camp, Shi Yunxiang (史云香)，was detained and tortured after trying to push authorities to make public information about the facility.

Labor Rights

Several Sentenced for Opposing Power Station Relocation in Hunan Province

A court in Hunan Province has recently imprisoned activists who defended the rights of migrant laborers seeking to keep a power station where they worked from being relocated. On December 2, the Hongjiang City People’s Court sentenced to between seven to eight months, among others, 84-year-old Yang Gaizhen (杨改珍), Xiao Yulan (肖玉兰), Pu Zhiying (蒲志英), Huang Yuxiang (黄玉香), Zhang Xiangan (张先干), Yang Chengxiang (杨成香), and Jiang Shuxiu (蒋书秀). They were all convicted of “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order” in connection with a protest held in Tuokou Village in May 2013, when hundreds of migrant workers demonstrated for days against a plan to move the power station and over compensation offered for being evicted from their village residences.[5] Another activist involved, Yang Guixiang (杨桂香), was secretly sentenced on January 3 to one year in prison for “false accusations” by the court in Hongjiang. Wang was seized last June and criminally detained for “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” but the charge against him was changed the following month.[6]

Contacts:

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

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

[1]  “Southern Street Movement Member Liang Songji Criminally Detained, Whereabouts of Zhang Shengyu, Others Unknown” (广州街头行动者梁颂基被刑拘，张圣雨等人仍下落不明), January 8, 2014, WQW; “Guangzhou Lawyer Liu Shihui Illegally Held at Dadong Police Station” (广东刘士辉律师被非法拘禁于大东派出所), January 5, 2014, WQW; “Guangzhou Police Seize Activists Who Participated in Wang Dan’s Hunger Strike” (广州抓捕参与王丹发起的天下围城绝食活动的维权人士), January 4, 2014, WQW.

[2] “Democracy Activist Yang Kuang Criminally Detained, Lawyer Sui Muqing to Represent Him” (民主维权人士杨匡被刑拘，委托隋牧青律师代理), January 3, 2014, WQW.

[3] “Cheng Guangcheng’s Nephew Seriously Ill, Family’s Application for Medical Release Denied” (陈光诚的侄子狱中病重，家人申请保外就医被拒收), January 3, 2014, WQW.

[4] “Victim of Masanjia Shi Yunxiang Captured and Tortured For Requesting Information on Camp be Made Public” (马三家受害者史云香因要求信息公开遭拘并受酷刑), January 7, 2014, WQW.

[5] “10 Representatives of Workers in Hongjiang, Hunan Province Sentenced, Eldest Is 84 Years Old” (湖南洪江库区10维权代表遭判刑，84岁老人入狱), January 3, 2014, WQW.

[6] “Hongjiang, Hunan Province Activist Yang Guixiang Secretly Sentenced for ‘False Accusations’” (湖南洪江维权人士杨桂香“诬告陷害”案被违法秘密宣判), January 6, 2014, WQW.