[CHRB] Police Restrict Movements of Activists as Tiananmen Anniversary Nears (5/24-30, 2013)

China Human Rights Briefing

May 24-30, 2013

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

• Update on Anti-Corruption Crackdown: Two More Arrests in Beijing, Another Looming in Jiangxi
• Chongqing Activist Detained After Rally in Support of Beijing Activists
• Guangxi Police Detain, Reportedly Beat Sex Rights Activist

Reprisals Against Activists

• Many Face Restrictions on Movement as June Fourth Anniversary Nears

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

• Detainee Reveals Violent Sexual Abuse in RTL Camp for Women

Special Notice

• CHRD Updates UN Human Rights Experts on Seriously Ill Prisoners

Arbitrary Detention

Update on Anti-Corruption Crackdown: Two More Arrests in Beijing, Another Looming in Jiangxi

In the ongoing crackdown on anti-corruption campaigning, two more individuals in Beijing have been formally arrested, and a procuratorate in Jiangxi Province may soon approve the arrest of a detained activist. Lawyer Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜) and activist Zhao Changqing (赵常青), seized last month in the capital for calling for disclosure of Chinese officials’ financial assets, were arrested on charges of “unlawful assembly” on May 24. They were taken into custody on April 17 and are being held at the Beijing No. 3 Detention Center. In the span of three weeks, there have been seven known arrests of Beijing activists—six of them on “unlawful assembly” charges and one for “extortion”—in connection with the anti-corruption drive.

In addition, on May 28, police in Xinyu City in Jiangxi moved the case against activist Liu Ping (刘萍) to a local procuratorate for its consideration for issuing a formal arrest warrant. Two days later, police rejected the request by her lawyer, Zhang Xuezhong (张雪忠) to visit her at the Xinyu City Detention Center, claiming that such a meeting would “interfere with the investigation or possibly leak state secrets.” Liu Ping was detained on a charge of “inciting subversion of state power” on April 27. Several other Xinyu activists were taken into custody that day, and at least two of them have also been criminally detained on the same charge. The activists were all seized after calling for officials to reveal their financial wealth and for the government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[1]

Chongqing Activist Detained After Rally in Support of Beijing Activists

Han Liang (韩良), an activist from Chongqing, was detained on May 28, likely in retaliation for making a public speech that called for the release of Beijing activists who are in custody over an anti-corruption advocacy campaign (see above). Along with an activist from Shanghai, Han held a banner, made remarks, and sang at a spirited gathering in Chongqing on May 18 (see video). Reportedly, Han is now serving a 10-day public security detention, though specific charges against him are unknown. Disabled and in his 60s, Han Liang is a former military official and has for many years pressed for democratic constitutional reforms.[2]

Guangxi Police Detain, Reportedly Beat Sex Rights Activist

Police in Guangxi Province have detained and allegedly beat up a female activist who has championed the rights of sex workers and persons infected with HIV/AIDS. On May 30, about 10 officers in Bobai County barged into the residence of Ye Haiyan (叶海燕), and several policewomen reportedly beat her before she was dragged off to a police station. Ye was said to be handcuffed in custody and may face criminal charges, according to activists who went to the station to inquire about her situation. Authorities have harassed Ye for years and targeted organizations that she has worked with. Before being taken into custody this time, both a local chapter of the All-China Women’s Federation and a homeowners association had reportedly pressured Ye’s landlord to cancel her rental lease.[3]

Reprisals Against Activists

Many Face Restrictions on Movement as June Fourth Anniversary Nears

Days before the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese authorities have elevated repression and harassment of activists in order to control their movements and prevent any public gathering to commemorate the tragic events of 1989.

In Guangdong, Ye Du (野渡), the deputy secretary-general of the Independent Chinese PEN, and Shenzhen activist Yu Gang (余刚) have been under soft detention at home, and police have cut their Internet connections while monitoring their phone calls. Police in Guangzhou took human rights lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荆陵) away from home on May 29 to “go travel” after warning him not to meet friends around the anniversary. Dissident Liang Songji (梁颂基) was summoned by police on May 26 and has been held incommunicado. Xu Xiangrong (徐向荣), Li Weiguo (李维国), and Li Wensheng (李文生), who had applied to hold a demonstration on June 4, were detained by police. Organizers of an event where participants would share ideas via cell phone about freedom and democracy on June 4, including Qiu Hua (邱华) and Yang Tingjian (杨霆剑), were taken into custody and given 15-day administrative detentions.

In Hunan Province, Luo Qian (罗茜), a student protester in the 1989 demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, was seized by police and detained in a hotel on May 23, and he remains out of contact. Luo has been a key organizer of June Fourth memorial events in Hunan. In Huaihua City, police took away activists Zhang Shanguang (张善光) and Li Jianjun (黎建军) around May 27, and they have since been out of contact.

On May 26, police in Jinan City, Shandong Province summoned more than a dozen individuals who had gathered to celebrate the birthday of petitioner Li Hongwei (李红卫). Taken in on suspicion of “unlawful assembly,” they were all released within several hours. Four of those detained also had participated in an activity on May 12 marking the Tiananmen Massacre anniversary.[4]

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

Detainee Reveals Violent Sexual Abuse in RTL Camp for Women

A woman released in early May from a Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp in Beijing has disclosed horrendous sexual abuse she endured at the facility. In May 2012, policemen from Huairou District in Beijing took Guo Qinghua (郭清华) to the Beijing Women’s RTL Camp, where several officers tore off her clothes, held her down on an obstetric table, and repeatedly stabbed her vagina with a dilator. The abuse ruptured Guo’s hymen, causing tremendous pain and bleeding. In order to avoid responsibility, the camp sent Guo to a hospital for medical treatment but did not tell her the results of a physical exam. Guo was sent to the camp for one year in reprisal for her petitioning. In the past, she has also spent another year in RTL, served in prison for eight months, and been held in a black jail for over two years.[5] Her experience indicates that abuses in women’s RTL camps likely have a wider scope than previously thought, following recent reports that put a spotlight on the Masanjia Women’s RTL camp in Liaoning Province.

Special Notice

CHRD Updates UN Human Rights Experts on Seriously Ill Prisoners

On May 17, CHRD submitted updates to UN Special Procedures on behalf of two prisoners, Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫) and Xie Fulin (谢福林), who have been suffering from seriously declining health. The update on Zhu, a Hangzhou dissident, points out that his dwindling condition is in part due to abuses that he has faced since his family went to the United States to seek help in getting him released. CHRD’s update on behalf of Xie, an activist from Hunan Province, indicated that he was recently taken to a hospital after he had a cerebral hemorrhage caused by high blood pressure. Zhu Yufu is serving a seven-year sentence handed down in 2012 for “inciting subversion of state power,” while Xie Fulin was given a six-year sentence in 2009 on a trumped-up charge of “larceny.”[6]

Learn more about the Tiananmen Massacre, including a map of the area and a list of victims, on CHRD’s website.

Read CHRD’s annual report on human rights defenders for 2012.

[1]“Police Send ’Inciting Subversion’ Case of Liu Ping to Procuratorate for Approval, Authorities Reject Lawyer’s Application to Meet Her” (刘萍“煽动颠覆案”警方报请检察院批捕，律师申请会见遭拒), May 30, 2013, WQW;“Beijing Rights Activist Zhao Changqing Arrested for ‘Unlawful Assembly’” (北京维权人士赵常青被以“非法集会罪”逮捕), May 24, 2013, WQW; “Lawyer Applies to Meet With Li Sihua, Criminally Detained for ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power’” (律师申请会见被以 “涉嫌煽动颠覆罪”刑事拘留的李思华), May 16, 2013, WQW; “Human Rights Defense Network Solemnly Protest Citizens Detained by Authorities in Beijing and Jiangxi for ‘Demanding Officials Disclose Assets’” (“维权网”严正抗议北京和江西当局拘捕“要求官员公布财产”的公民), May 8, 2013, WQW; “Jiangxi Human Rights Activist Liu Ping Criminally Detained on Charge of ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power’” (江西维权人士刘萍因“涉嫌煽动颠覆罪”被刑事拘留), May 8, 2013, WQW; “News Flash: Well-known Rights Activist Liu Ping Criminally Detained on Charge of ‘Inciting Subversion of State Power’” (快讯：著名维权人士刘萍因涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪被刑事拘留), May 7, 2013, WQW; “Human Rights Activists in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province Tortured in Custody, Many Still Detained, Including Liu Ping” (江西新余被拘押维权人士遭酷刑，刘萍等多人仍未获释), April 29, 2013, WQW; “Human Rights Activists in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province Tortured in Custody, Many Still Detained, Including Liu Ping” (江西新余被拘押维权人士遭酷刑，刘萍等多人仍未获释), April 29, 2013, WQW; Chinese Authorities Must Release Activists, End Escalating Crackdown on Free Expression, April 19, 2013, CHRD; “Urgent Attention: Beijing Lawyer Ding Jiaxi Taken Away By Police, Hefei Doctor Yin Chunsheng Also Seized” (紧急关注：北京律师丁家喜被警察带走，合肥尹春生博士也被抓), April 18, 2013, WQW; “Special Attention: Beijing Rights Activists Zhao Changqing, Ding Jiaxi Taken Away By Police” (特别关注：北京维权人士赵常青、律师丁家喜同时被警方带走), April 18, 2013, WQW

[2] “Chongqing Democracy Activist Detained for Demonstrating, Making Speeches” (重庆民主人士因街头演讲被拘留), May 30, 2013, WQW

[3] “Women’s Rights Worker Ye Haiyan Taken Away, May Face Criminal Charges” (女权工作者叶海燕被带走 或遭刑事指控), May 30, 2013, WQW

[4]“June Fourth At The Corner, Guangzhou Human Rights Lawyer Tang Jingling Was ‘Travelled’”(“六四”临近，广州人权律师唐荆陵被“旅游”), May 29, 2013, WQW; “Hunan Democratic and Rights Activist Zhang Shanguang And Others Were Taken Away By Police On The Eve Of The June Fourth Anniversary” (湖南民主维权人士张善光等“六四”前遭警方带走), May 29, 2013, WQW; “A Large Group Of Dissidents And Rights Activists Were Suppressed Around June Fourth” (临近六四大批异议人士、维权人士遭到打压), May 29, 2013, WQW; “Shenzhen Rights Activist Yu Gang Was Held Under Soft Detention, Efforts of Maintaining Stability Strengthened In Guangdong On The Eve Of The June Fourth” (深圳民主维权人士余刚被软禁，六四将近广东维稳升级), May 27, 2013, WQW; “Sun Wenguang: The Seizure and Release of Li Hongwei – Comments Of Commemorating The June Fourth Massacre IV” (孙文广：捉放李红卫——悼六四24周年纪评之四), May 27, 2013, WQW;  “Guangzhou Human Rights Lawyer Tang Jingling Was Summoned By Security Police On The Eve Of June Fourth” (六四前夕，广州人权律师唐荆陵遭国保传唤), May 27, 2013, WQW; “More Than Ten Jinan Rights Activists Seized In Police Station For Celebrating Li Hongwei’s Birthday” (济南维权人士李红卫庆生十余人抓进派出所), May 26, 2013, WQW; “Sun Wenguang: Memorializing The 24^th June Fourth Anniversary” (孙文广：济南纪念六四24周年), May 25, 2013, WQW; “Chinese Authorities’ Suppression To Democratic Activists Upgrades On The Eve Of June Fourth” (六四前大陆当局加大对民主人士的打压), May 25, 2013, WQW; “Hunan Rights Activists Applied to The Public Security Bureau For Memorializing June Fourth” (湖南民主维权人士计划公祭“六四”，特向公安厅提出申请), May 25, 2013, WQW; “Hunan Xinning Rights Activist Luo Qian Held Under Custody On The Eve of June Fourth” (湖南新宁维权人士罗茜“六四”前被带走囚禁), May 24, 2013, WQW;  “Guangzhou Citizens’ Application For Demonstration On June Fourth Was Accepted” (广州公民申请“六四”游行得受理), May 23, 2013, WQW;“Guangzhou Citizen Xu Xiangrong Was Taken Away By Security Police For Applying For Demonstration On June Fourth” (广州公民徐向荣因提交“六四”游行申请被国保带走), May 22, 2013, WQW

[5]“Ge Zhihui: Sexual Abuses In Beijing Women’s Labor Camp Imposed By Police On Guo Qinghua More Serious Than Rape”(葛志慧：北京女子劳教所警察对郭清华的性虐比强奸更恶劣), May 27, 2013, WQW; “Shocking! Guo Qinghua Discloses Sexual Abuses By Police In Beijing Women’s Labor Camp” (怵目惊心！郭清华揭北京女子劳教所里遭警察性虐), May 26, 2013, HRCC

[6] Update to UN on Urgent Appeal of Mr. Zhu Yufu – May 17, 2013, CHRD; Update to UN on Urgent Appeal of Mr. Xie Fulin – May 17, 2013, CHRD