[CHRB] Two Dozen Detained Over Black Jail Case, Former RTL Abuse Victim Under Criminal Detention (3/28/-4/3/2014)

China Human Rights Briefing

 March 28 – April 3, 2014

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

Two Dozen Detained, Many Assaulted Over Black Jail Investigation in Heilongjiang

Former Masanjia RTL Torture Victim Detained for Seeking Justice

Detained Beijing Activist Hospitalized, Denied Visits by Lawyer & Family

Environmental Rights

Protest Against Chemical Plant Violently Suppressed in Guangdong

Arbitrary Detention

Two Dozen Detained, Many Assaulted Over Black Jail Investigation in Heilongjiang

Dozens of individuals, including human rights lawyers, activists, and family members of detained Falun Gong practitioners, now have been assaulted or detained in Heilongjiang Province. Those most recently mistreated have sought the release of lawyers Jiang Tianyong (江天勇), Tang Jitian (唐吉田), and Wang Cheng (王成). The three men are serving 15-day administrative detention in Jiansanjiang City after being seized on March 21 when they tried to visit their clients, Falun Gong practitioners being held in a black jail (see report).

Another lawyer taken into custody that day, Zhang Junjie (张俊杰), was released on March 27 after a five-day administrative detention. Zhang has recounted his experience in detail, including torture while being interrogated; he was struck on the head, knocked to the floor, and beaten and kicked for several minutes, leaving him with excruciating pain in his back (see Zhang’s account in English translation). Due to this assault, Zhang suffered three broken ribs along with other injuries all over his body.

In the middle of the night on March 29, police in Jiansanjiang seized lawyers and activists from their hotels, putting black hoods over their heads and tying their hands behind their backs with tape. Lawyer Wang Quanzhuang (王全章) was taken to a police station where he was beaten by two officers and had his head slammed against a wall. Police also kicked down the doors to the hotel rooms of lawyers Wang Shensheng (王胜生), Fu Yonggang (付永刚), and Li Dawei (李大伟), and took them away. The above individuals were later released except for Li Dawei, who reportedly was given a detention (see below).

In addition, Jiansanjiang police seized activist Li Yanjun (李燕军) and about a dozen others from Guangxi Province at their hotel, covering their heads with black hoods and tying their hands with belts before taking them to a police station. While being interrogated, several of the individuals were beaten when they did not cooperate with officers, and Li was handcuffed after refusing to make a statement. After the questioning, everyone in the group was hooded again by police and taken to a bus station, forced to leave the area after a full day in custody.

As reported in state media, Jiansanjiang authorities have themselves disclosed that they administratively detained and fined 11 people on March 22 on suspicion of “using cult activities to harm society,” including the three human rights lawyers who remain held. In addition, a dozen of the lawyers’ supporters had reportedly been administratively detained by April 2 on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt social order,” according to a coalition of lawyers that has formed to support the detainees. These 12 individuals are: Li Dawei, Zhai Yanmin (翟岩民), Zhang Shengyu (张圣雨), Chen Jianxiong (陈剑雄), Yuan Xianchen (袁显臣), Liu Xing (刘星), Jiang Jianjun (姜建军), Li Baolin (李宝霖), Zhao Yuan (赵远), Zhang Shiqing (张世清), Liang Yan (梁艳), Sun Dongsheng (孙东生).[i]

Former Masanjia RTL Torture Victim Detained for Seeking Justice

Liu Hua (刘华), a former detainee at the notorious Masanjia Women’s Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp, was criminally detained on March 12 in Liaoning Province on a charge of “creating a disturbance.” She is currently being held in Shenyang No. 1 Detention Center. Liu described rampant torture and mistreatment in Masanjia in photographer Du Bin (杜斌)’s documentary “Above the Ghosts’ Head.” The government abolished RTL last December, but Liu and others formerly held in the camps have been beaten or detained in retaliation for seeking justice over their arbitrary detentions and the abuses that they suffered (see report).[ii]

Detained Beijing Activist Hospitalized, Denied Visits by Lawyer & Family

On March 28, activist Ge Zhihui (葛志慧)’s attorney Li Jinglin (李静林) was told by authorities that she has been hospitalized with an unspecified illness. Ge now has been detained for over a month, but authorities have not permitted lawyer Li or her family to see her. Ge was taken into custody in Beijing on March 1 on unknown charges, though it is suspected that her detention may be in retaliation for her attending a training on UN human rights mechanisms and her involvement in a Christian house church (see report). She is being held at Fengtai District Detention Center. Ge was disabled and relied on crutches to get around after she was injured during the violent demolition of her home in 2010. She has been harassed and detained many times for her petitioning and activism.[iii]

Environmental Rights

Protest Against Chemical Plant Violently Suppressed in Guangdong

Police violently broke up a rally in Maoming in Guangdong Province on March 30 when citizens protested the proposed construction of a new chemical plant.

Police violently broke up a protest against the proposed construction of a paraxylene (PX) chemical plant in Maoming City, Guangdong Province on March 30. Clashes between police and protesters spilled over into the next day. Several hundred Maoming residents took to the streets over concerns that the plant’s proposed location is too close to the city, as paraxylene is known to cause severe health problems, including birth defects and cancer. Photos of bloodied and unconscious protestors circulated on social media before being quickly deleted, most likely by government censors. There are unverified reports that several people were killed and scores injured. On April 1 in Guangzhou, police seized about a dozen individuals who were peacefully demonstrating outside a provincial government building against the PX plant and in support of Maoming residents. Those taken into custody were still being held at Hongqiao Police Station at the time of writing.[iv]

[i] “12 Detained After Travelling to Jiansanjiang to Defend Lawyers” (赴建三江救援维权律师 十二义士遭拘留), April 2, 2014, WQW; “Guangxi’s Li Yanjun and a Dozen Supporters in Jiansanjiang are Hooded, Tied Up and Beaten” (广西李燕军等十多人建三江被戴黑头套 遭反绑殴打暴行), March 30, 2014, CRLW; “New Information on Beaten, Detained Lawyers in Jiansanjiang: Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Violently Beaten, Li Baolin and Li Dawei Detained” (建三江殴打拘留律师事件最新消息：王全章律师等遭暴力殴打 李宝霖和李大伟或被拘留), March 30, 2014, WQW.

[ii] “Former Masanjia Detainee Liu Hua Who Described Torture in Documentary Is Criminally Detained” (马三家纪录片酷刑讲述人刘华被刑事拘留), March 28, 2014, WQW.

[iii] “Detained Beijing Activist Ge Zhihui Taken to the Hospital With Unknown Illness” (北京维权人士葛志慧被看守所送到医院病情不明), March 29, 2014, WQW.

[iv] “Dozen Anti-PX Chemical Plant Protestors Seized Outside Government Offices in Maoming, Guangdong ” (在广东省政府抗议茂名PX项目的十数名公民被抓), April 1, 2014, WQW.