Urgent Appeal for Credible Investigation into the Truth of Li Wangyang’s Death

Urgent Appeal for Credible Investigation into the Truth of Li Wangyang(李旺阳)’s Death

Hunan labor movement leader Mr.Li Wangyang (李旺阳, see below for bio) was found dead in the morning of June 6th, 2012, in Daxiang Hospital, Shaoyang municipality, Hunan province (湖南邵阳市), China. Mr. Li’s brother-in-law Zhao Baozhu (赵宝珠) told media that he received a call from the hospital, around 6am on the 6th, announcing Li Wangyang’s death. At 6:50am, Zhao found Li Wangyang in his hospital room hanging on the window frame. Media quotes Li Zanmin (李赞民), friend of Li Wangyang, as saying that Li’s body was erect in front of the window with a ribbon around his neck. Around 9am, friends and relatives of the dead received words from the police that Li Wangyang “committed suicide by hanging himself.”

From all the media information available thus far, there are a lot of questions about the “suicide” claim the police has made:

1. Mr. Li Wangyang doesn’t seem to have a motivation to commit suicide. Relatives and friends have all confirmed that Mr. Li is optimistic and resilient, his health has been steadily improving, friends have been raising money for his medical needs, and they are not aware of any suicidal tendency on Mr. Li’s part. His close friend Zhu Chengzhi (朱承志), who had a long conversation with Mr. Li on June 4th, told media that “Wangyang is a tough man. Even with unbearable pains, he would never choose suicide to end his life.” Mr. Li’s brother-in-law Zhao Baozhu said that, in the evening before, Li told his sister to bring a radio to him so that he could listen and stimulate the faint hearing of his left ear. When interviewed just days before the 23rd anniversary of June 4th Tian’anmen Square Massacre by iCable, Hong Kong, Mr. Li Wangyang encouraged Ding Zilin (丁子霖), leader of the group called Tian’anmen Mothers, that she has to continue to persevere. He said in the same interview that he had never regretted what he had done 23 years ago. “Each ordinary man has a responsibility for democracy, for the wellbeing of the nation. For China to enter a democratic society sooner, for China to realize a multi-party political system sooner, I will not look back even if I have to risk my head.”

2. On-the-scene evidence is insufficient to support the “suicide” claim. A picture of the scene shows that one end of a white bandage strip looped somewhat loosely around Li Wangyang’s neck while the other end apparently tied on the window frame. The bandage loop is loose, and Mr. Li’s face shows no signs of distortion. His feet touch the floor with his slippers still on. All in all, he shows no traces of struggle often seen in death by hanging. Furthermore, from the video of the iCable interview, we can see that Mr. Li, blind and deaf, needed help to just walk, and it is also a question where and how he obtained the bandage strip with which he “hanged” himself.

3. The police prevented relatives and friends from taking pictures of the body and took the body away. Zhao Baozhu and Zhu Chengzhi confirmed to the media that relatives and friends of the dead asked the police to allow them to take detailed pictures, but the police rejected their request and took the body away around 10am, even though several dozens of friends attempted to block the police. Local police also thwarted rights defenders from visit Mr. Li’s home to send their condolences and to learn more about his death. Police’s actions, all in all, raise the question whether the authorities have something to hide. Mr. Li Wangyang has been watched 24 hours a day by several security police since prior to June 4th and they were still at the scene when the event occurred. It is puzzling then why Mr. Li could possibly have committed suicide.

As citizens who are deeply concerned with the state of human rights and the democratic development in China, we hereby solemnly make the following appeals:

1. Designate an authorized forensic science institution outside Shaoyang municipality to look into, and identify, the true cause of Mr. Li Wangyang’s death, accompanied throughout by representatives of family and friends. The findings shall be presented to the public;

2. For humanitarian reasons, allow Mr. Li Wangyang’s friends to visit his home, send their condolences, and help with the funeral and other affairs;

3. Hold local police accountable for their criminal and civil responsibilities for Mr. Li’s death, and pay necessary reparations;

4. UN’s relevant treaty offices, world governments and international organizations shall monitor the case, and pressure the Chinese government, to ensure that Mr. Li’s death will be dealt with fairly, judiciously and transparently.

Li Wangyang’s Biography:

Li Wangyang, male, was born in 1950 and resided in Shaoyang, Hunan province, China. Influenced by the famed “Democracy Wall” in Beijing and, later, by the Solidarity movement in Poland, Li Wangyang organized “Shaoyang Workers Cooperative” in 1983. He was arrested because of it but was spared of criminal charges. During the June 4th movement in 1989, Li and others established “Shaoyang Workers’ Autonomy League”, with Li as the Chairman, that mobilized workers to demonstrate and protest in support of the democracy movement raging on in Beijing. He was arrested on June 9th the same year and later sentenced to 13 years in prison for “anti-revolutionary advocacy” and “inciting to subvert state power.” In prison, Li Wangyang was beaten and tortured for being “unyielding”. When he staged hunger strikes to protest against torture, guards forced him to eat by prying open his mouth and, in the process, broke several of his teeth. Over his lengthy imprisonment, he suffered from debilitating illnesses that resulted in him losing both sight and hearing. In June 8, 2000, he was freed with reduced prison time. To defend his legitimate rights as a citizen, Li Wangyang soon sought reparations from the government for persecution that resulted in him completely losing the ability to work. In May 30, 2001, he was again thrown in prison with a 10-year sentence, this time baselessly charged with “assaulting state organs”. He was freed on May 29, 2011. The 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released recently in May 2012 by the US State Department , listed Li Wangyang as one of 128 Chinese dissidents and rights defenders to be concerned with. In its commemoration of June 4th just days ago, the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (IFCSS) awarded Li Wangyang the 2012 “Spirit of Freedom Award”.

Initiated by:

Bei Feng (北风), journalist, Hong Kong

Xia Yeliang (夏业良), economist, Peking, China

Wu Renhua (吴仁华), scholar of historic documentation, the US

Drafted by: Bei Feng (北风) Signed by: (click to see table) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AsKDF8_HXe4IdGVsTXdUNTBKRFRFekJDREZtak9ZRGc&output=html （Refreshed every 5 minutes）

June 6 2012

If you wish to support the online petition, please sign you name, country or region, occupational at the bottom of the petition website: http://goo.gl/XxP9J

More:

Amnesty International: China must investigate veteran dissident's death: http://bit.ly/L6r9t2

Guardian: Pressure grows on China to investigate activist Li Wangyang (李旺阳)'s hospital death http://gu.com/p/3863t/tw

=====Chinese Version=====

关于要求严肃调查李旺阳死亡真相的紧急呼吁

中国湖南工人运动领袖李旺阳先生，不幸于2012年6月6日清晨被发现在邵阳市大祥医院内身亡。媒体引述李旺阳的妹夫赵宝珠的说法称，赵于6日早上6时左 右收到医院的电话说李旺阳已经死亡。6点50分，赵在医院房间，看到李旺阳整个人吊在医院的窗框上。媒体引述李旺阳的朋友李赞民称，当时李旺阳的身体竖立在窗前，脖子上有一根丝带。6日上午9时左右，李旺阳的亲友转述警方的说法称李旺阳是“上吊自杀”。

综合媒体报道，警方称李旺阳系“自杀”的说法存在诸多疑点：

一、李旺阳不存在自杀的主观动机及迹象。李旺阳亲人及朋友均证实，在他生前也没有了解到他有任何自杀的想法，李旺阳为人非常乐观坚强，身体情况也一直有好转，朋友们也正在为其治病筹款。6月4日刚和李旺阳长谈的友人朱承志对媒体说：“旺阳是一个铁骨铮铮的人，就是说哪怕有极大的痛苦，他无法忍受，也不选择这种结束生命的道路。”李旺阳妹夫赵宝珠称李旺阳在6月5日晚上还跟他妹妹说，想买一个收音机，刺激一下自己左耳微弱的听觉。李旺阳并于六四前夕接受香港有线电视（iCable）采访时勉励天安门母亲丁子霖要坚持，并表示自己从不后悔：“为民主，国家兴亡匹夫有责，为了国家早日进入民主社会，为了中国早日 实现多党制，我就是砍头，我也不回头。”。

二、现场证据不足以支持李旺阳“自杀”的说法。从现场传出的照片显示，绷带一头从侧边系在李旺阳的脖子上，另一头系在病房窗户窗框上，未见绷带紧勒李旺阳脖子，李旺阳五官未见异常。李旺阳双脚脚掌接触地面，拖鞋仍穿在脚上，并无上吊死亡时常见的挣扎迹象。香港有线电视记者此前访问李旺阳的片段所见，李需要旁人搀扶，才可步行，加上李旺阳双目失明，两耳失聪，“上吊”用的绷带从何而来亦成疑问。

三、警方拒绝亲友拍照遗体并抢走遗体。据媒体报道，赵宝珠和朱承志证实，案发后死者亲属和朋友向邵阳警方要求做全面拍照，但被警方拒绝，警察还在早上十点左右运走尸体，几十个朋友拦截无果。湖南当地警方还阻挠多名维权人士前往李旺阳家致哀及了解情况，种种行为无不令人怀疑警方是否企图有所掩饰。自六四前夕始，就由当地多名国保人员日夜看守李旺阳，在事发时仍未撤走，李旺阳为何还会意外身亡亦让人不解。

作为关注中国人权和民主进程的公民，我们在此郑重呼吁：

一、由邵阳市之外的法定机构，在李旺阳亲友代表的全程监督之下，严肃调查李旺阳的真正死因并公诸于众；

二、出于人道主义，允许李旺阳的生前亲友自由前往李旺阳家中表示哀悼及协助处理后事；

三、追究当地警方在事件过程当中的刑事或民事责任并作出必要的赔偿；

四、联合国相关条约机构、各国政府、国际组织加强对此案的监督并适时施加压力，保障事件能得到公平、公正及透明的处理。

李旺阳，男，1950年出生。湖南邵阳市人。高中毕业后到邵阳玻璃厂当工人。受北京西单“民主墙”及波兰团结工会影响，李旺阳1983年与朋友组织“邵阳 市工人互助会”，当年被抓，后免于刑事处分。1989年“六四”运动时，参与组建“邵阳市工自联”并担任主席，发动工人游行、示威，声援以北京为中心的民 主运动，同年6月9日被捕，以“反革命宣传、煽动罪”判刑十三年。入狱之后，李旺阳因“态度顽固”而被毒打和施加酷刑，李旺阳后来因为绝食抗议酷刑，反被狱卒强行撬掉多颗牙齿强迫进食。此后长期疾病缠身，最终导致双眼失明，双耳失聪，生活完全不能自理。2000年6月8日获减刑后释放。李旺阳出狱未到一年，即因在监狱遭到非法迫害致使完全丧失劳动能力之事向政府索赔，以维护公民合法权利。在2001年5月30日再度以莫须有的“冲击国家机关”的罪名入 狱，刑期为十年。于2011年5月29日刑满获释。2012年5月，美国《2011年国别人权报告》把李旺阳列为128名中国大陆应被关注的民主维权人士。“全美中国学生学者自治联合会”理事会在2012年的“六四”纪念活动中宣布，将2012年“自由精神奖”授予李旺阳。

发起人： 北风，媒体人，香港

夏业良，经济学者，北京

吴仁华，文献学者， 美国

执笔人： 北风 联署人： 参见表格： https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AsKDF8_HXe4IdGVsTXdUNTBKRFRFekJDREZtak9ZRGc&output=html （每五分钟刷新一次，请稍候刷新即可见自己的签名结果。）

2012年6月6日

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