[CHRB] New Allegations of Torture, Lawyer for a Political Prisoner Threatened with Disbarment (11/21-11/27, 2013)

[CHRB] New Allegations of Torture, Lawyer for a Political Prisoner Threatened with Disbarment (11/21-11/27, 2013)

China Human Rights Briefing

 November 21 – 27, 2013

Contents

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

Former Policeman on Trial for Corruption Alleges Torture

Shanghai Petitioner Alleges Torture in Detention

Freedom of Expression

Blogger Visited by Police, Interrogated for Re-posting A Statement on Re-education Through Labor

Reprisals

Lawyer Representing a Political Prisoner Threatened by Judicial Authorities

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

Former Policeman on Trial for Corruption Alleges Torture

On November 20, during the trial of Huang Lei (黄磊), the former deputy police chief of Licang District Public Security Bureau in Qingdao City, the defendant retracted his confessions made during pre-trial interrogations, claiming he was tortured and forced to confess. Huang is charged with “bending the law in favor of personal gain” and bribery. After being held for 18 months, his trial began at the Donggang District Court in Shandong Province. He told the judge that during the prolonged detention period, he was frequently shackled, humiliated, deprived of sleep, and his family threatened in order to force him to confess. The judge ended the trial with the announcement that the court would issue its verdict on another date without throwing out testimonies that Huang alleged to be extracted from torture.[1]

Shanghai Petitioner Alleges Torture in Detention

Petitioner Yin Huimin (尹慧敏) was released on November 23, after being administratively detained for nine days and tortured at the Changning Detention Center in Shanghai. Yin recounted torture and mistreatment during her detention, including being shackled and hung from an iron railing for 48 hours. During this period, the 49-year-old Yin was deprived of food and prohibited to use the toilet. Yin has developed an infection in her lower body and is left with many bruises in addition to suffering from high blood pressure and hepatitis. After her release, Yin called the emergency number to report her maltreatment, but policemen refused to investigate her allegation. They also blocked her and her supporters from entering the Shanghai Public Security Bureau to file a report on her injuries. Yin Huimin had been petitioning over alimony payments for her daughter and was detained several times before. The abuses that Yin suffered had occurred days after the Chinese Supreme Court issued an “opinion” vowing to ban confessions obtained through torture and highlighting the rampant use of torture by police.[2]

Shanghai police shackled and hung Yin Huimin (尹慧敏) from an iron railing for 48 hours during a 9-day detention.

Freedom of Expression

Blogger Visited by Police, Interrogated for Re-posting A Statement on Re-education Through Labor

Two police officers from Jiuxianqiao police station in Chaoyang District forced their way into the home of Beijing-based activist Xiang Li (向莉) in the evening of November 20. Without showing any legal documents, the policemen interrogated Xiang over a re-post on Sina Weibo of a statement by Chinese lawyers warning against other forms of arbitrary detention that are replacing the Re-education Through Labor (RTL) system. The statement was made after the Chinese Communist Party’s announcement to abolish RTL on November 15. Xiang told the police that censors had deleted her re-post shortly. The interrogation lasted for nearly one hour. The activist has filed a complaint at a local police station, demanding investigation for the policemen’s unlawful entry and illegal interrogation.[3]

Reprisals

Lawyer Representing a Political Prisoner Threatened by Judicial Authorities

Guangzhou-based human rights lawyer Liu Zhengqing (刘正清), who is representing imprisoned democracy activist Wang Bingzhang (王炳章), received a warning on November 21 from Guangzhou judicial authorities that his license may be revoked if he continues to represent Wang. The 66-year-old activist was convicted of “terrorism” and “espionage,” and was sentenced to life in prison in 2003. Lawyer Liu Zhengqing was hired by the family of Wang Bingzhang in 2013 to file an appeal. He received the proper legal authorization to represent Dr. Wang. The lawyer, however, was blocked from visiting his client at Beijiang prison in Shaoguan City of Guangdong on October 29. Prison authorities filed a complaint against him accusing him of falsifying the authorization documents. Afterwards, Guangzhou judicial authorities warned Liu, threatened to strip him of his lawyer’s license, if he continues to work on Dr. Wang’s case. A well-known Chinese dissident in exile, Dr. Wang Bingzhang established the first Chinese pro-democracy magazine overseas and also co-founded two pro-democracy parties in China. He was abducted from Vietnam in 2002 by Chinese authorities. Wang’s family said that his health conditions have since worsened and he suffers from multiple illnesses.[4]

[1] “Qingdao Police Officer Huang Lei on Trial, Retracts His Testimonies in Court Because He was Tortured” (青岛蒙冤警察黄磊异地受审，法庭上翻供称遭受酷刑), November 21, 2013, WQW.

[2] “Dozen of Citizens in Shanghai Protest Against Yin Huimin Being Tortured During Detention” (数十位上海公民抗议尹慧敏被拘留期间遭到酷刑), November 24, 2013, WQW.

[3] “Beijing Netizen Xiang Li Visited by Police and Interrogated After Posting a Statement about Re-education through Labor” (北京网友向莉因发讨论劳教的帖子被警方夜间闯门问话), November 22, 2013, WQW.

[4] “Guangdong Rights Lawyer Liu Zhengqing Faces Revocation of License Due to His Representing Wang Bingzhang” (广东人权律师刘正清因代理王炳章案面临吊销执业证), November 23, 2013, WQW.