[CHRB] Updates on Activist Ni Yulan, Photographer Du Bin & Torture Victim Zhu Guiqin (6/28-7/4, 2013)

China Human Rights Briefing

June 28-July 4, 2013

Content

Arbitrary Detention

• Imprisoned Activist Ni Yulan’s Health Worsening, Authorities Reject Request for Medical Parole
• Police Refuse Lawyer’s Application for Bail for Photographer Du Bin

UPR Watch

• CHRD Calls on Chinese Government to End Reprisals Against Citizens Demanding UPR Participation
• CHRD Handbook to Help Chinese Civil Society Participate in UPR

Special Notice

Arbitrary Detention

Imprisoned Activist Ni Yulan’s Health Worsening, Authorities Reject Request for Medical Parole

Ni Yulan (倪玉兰), the housing rights activist imprisoned in Beijing, is suffering from deteriorating illnesses, and authorities have rejected a request for her to be released on medical grounds. In mid-June, Ni’s daughter visited her at Beijing Women’s Prison and found that Ni’s thyroid tumor, which was detected last fall, has gone untreated and is now swollen to the size of an egg. In March, prison officials rejected an application for medical parole that Ni’s family and lawyer had submitted for her in October 2012, claiming that the activist did not qualify. Ni, who is crippled due to leg injuries from past torture and dealing with other health problems, is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for “creating a disturbance” and is due to be released this October. She was initially detained in April 2011 during the Jasmine Crackdown on civil society, tried in December 2011, and sentenced in April 2012.[1]

Police Refuse Lawyer’s Application for Bail for Photographer Du Bin

CHRD has verified with activists closely following the case that Du Bin (杜斌), a photographer and filmmaker detained since late May after producing a book on the Tiananmen Massacre and a documentary film about abuses at the Masanjia Women’s Re-education through Labor camp, has been refused bail and remains held on suspicion of “disrupting order of a public place.” On June 26, Du’s lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强), submitted a bail application, which police rejected the same day. Beijing police took Du Bin from his home on May 31 and then held him incommunicado for more than 10 days. It was later learned that he had been placed under criminal detention on June 2. Pu has been able to meet with Du at the Fengtai District Detention Center, where he is being held with more than 20 other detainees in a cell about 30 square meters in size, according to Pu. The lawyer also has said that Du has been questioned mainly about his recent works and appears to be in good spirits.[2]

UPR Watch

CHRD Calls on Chinese Government to End Reprisals Against Citizens Demanding UPR Participation

CHRD has called on the Chinese government to end years of harassment and persecution of citizens who have sought a role in the China’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review, which will take place in October. A statement released on July 3 heavily criticizes the breaking up of the peaceful sit-in conducted in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) office in Beijing, as well as the detention of participants at the scene when police moved in on July 1. CHRD pointed out that many women and elderly were taking part in the round-the-clock action in the capital, which involved nearly 200 people at certain times. The two-week-long sit-in and the authorities’ response continue a five-year struggle by Chinese citizens who have demanded to contribute to the drafting of the country’s national human rights report, which is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by July 22.

CHRD Handbook to Help Chinese Civil Society Participate in UPR

CHRD has released a Civil Society Handbook on Participation in UN 2013 UPR, a Chinese-language reference intended to help citizens of China take part in the UN Human Rights Council’s evaluation of the country’s human rights conditions from 2009 to 2013, as part of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review. The review of China is scheduled to take place on October 22, 2013. The handbook includes nine action plans for citizens to follow in order to participate in UPR, and explains how to submit information for the stakeholders’ report. The handbook also provides links to online sources necessary for effective participation in UPR, including CHRD’s translations of a complete list of recommendations to China made by states in the 2009 UPR, the “UPR Info” Database of UPR Recommendations: China, and China’s voluntary pledge made in 2009 to “promote and protect human rights.”

Special Notice

On June 17, CHRD submitted a letter alleging torture on behalf of petitioner Zhu Guiqin (朱桂芹) of Liaoning Province, who suffered horrendous mistreatment during a three-year punishment served at the Masanjia Women’s Re-education through Labor (RTL) camp from 2004 to 2007. Since her release, Zhu has been subjected to more abuses, including a rape by police in 2012 as she sought redress and official accountability for what she endured in RTL. Zhu’s experience of abuse in RTL was detailed in a documentary film released this past May that exposes the torture of many former detainees at the Masanjia facility. (Du Bin, a photographer who is currently detained, made the documentary; see above.)[i]

[1] “Beijing Activist Ni Yulan Refused ‘Parole,’ Health State Is Worrisome” （北京维权人士倪玉兰狱中“保外”被拒，身体堪忧), July 2, 2013, WQW; “Beijing Human Rights Activist Ni Yulan Suffering From Illnesses, Family Set to Apply for Medical Parole” (北京维权人士倪玉兰身患疾病，家人欲申请保外就医), October 22, 2012, WQW; “’Fraud’ Charge Against Ni Yulan Tossed Out, ‘Creating a Disturbance’ Punishment Upheld,” (倪玉兰“诈骗罪”撤销，夫妇二人仍因“寻衅滋事罪”获刑), July 28, 2012, WQW; “Verdict to be Announced April 10 for Detained Activist Ni Yulan, Husband Dong Jiqin” (被羁押一年的倪玉兰夫妇将于4月10日开庭宣判), April 7, 2012, WQW; “Dozens of Petitioners Detained for Trying to Attend Hearing of Ni Yulan and Dong Jiqin” (数十位访民欲旁听倪玉兰夫妇宣判遭关押), April 10, 2012; “Petitioners who Tried to Attend Ni Yulan’s Verdict Hearing Were Detained for Nearly Eight Hours” (倪玉兰开庭各地在京访民欲旁听被警方关押近8小时), April 10, 2012; “Witnesses Harassed Before Lawyer Ni Yulan’s Trial for Creating Disturbance” (倪玉兰律师被控寻衅滋事案开庭前证人被控制), December 28, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan, Husband Go To Trial, Many At Scene Taken and Held at Police Station” (倪玉兰夫妇庭审，现场多人被抓往派出所), December 28, 2011, WQW; “’Creating Disturbance’ Case Against Ni Yulan, Dong Jiqin Going to Trial on December 29, Daughter to Testify” (北京倪玉兰夫妇“寻衅滋事案”29日开庭，女儿将出庭作证), December 27, 2011, WQW; “On Eve of Trial, Case Against Ni Yulan, Husband Sent Back to Procuratorate” (开庭前 夕，北京维权律师倪玉兰夫妇案件退回检察院), November 23, 2011, WQW; “Trial to Open for Beijing Rights Defender Ni Yulan, Husband for ‘Creating a Disturbance’” (北京维权人士倪玉兰夫妇“寻衅滋事案”即将开庭), November 21, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan and Husband’s Case Sent Back to Public Security Branch Bureau for Further Investigation” (倪玉兰夫妇案件被退回公安分局补充侦查), August 28, 2011, WQW; “Ni Yulan and Husband’s Case Transferred to Procuratorate, ‘Fraud’ Charge Added,” (倪玉兰夫妇案移送检 察院，再增“诈骗”罪), July 21, 2011, WQW; “Arrests of Rights Defense Lawyer Ni Yulan and Husband Both Confirmed, Family Has Not Received Formal Notice” (倪玉兰夫妇双双被捕，亲属未收到法律文书), June 9, 2011, WQW; “News Flash: Arrest of Human Rights Lawyer Ni Yulan Approved” (快讯：维权律师倪玉兰被批准逮捕), May 17, 2011, WQW

[2] “Du Bin’s Bail Application Rejected; Lawyer Says Du Not in Panic” (杜斌取保候審遭駁回，律師：他不恐慌), June 26, 2013, Mirrorbooks; “Du Bin Detained For 11 Days on Charge of ‘Printing Illegal Publications’, Family Has Not Received Notification” (杜斌被控“印刷非法出版物”遭刑拘11天，家人未收到通知书), June 11, 2013, WQW; “Guangzhou Rights Activist Jia Pin Disappeared, Photographer and Writer Du Bin Arrested”(广州维权人士贾榀失踪，摄影作家杜斌被抓), June 8, 2013, WQW

[3] CHRD Submission to UN Alleging Torture of Zhu Guiqin