China
06.06.03
Urgent Interventions
China: torture, hunger strike and harsh sentencing of 4 internet activists
Case CHN 060603
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment / Torture / Hunger strike
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People's Republic of China.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the hunger strike of Mr. Xu Wei, an Internet activist who was recently sentenced to ten years in prison, in China.
According to the information received, on May 28th, 2003, Xu Wei, a reporter and editor for Beijing’s Consumer Daily newspaper, was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of subversion and began a hunger strike to protest against his ill-treatment and torture in custody. Xu Wei and three co-defendants, Yang Zili, a computer engineer (who received an eight year sentence), Jin Haike, a geological engineer (ten year sentence), and Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer (eight year sentence), were all arrested in March 2001 for the political views that they posted on the internet, and for forming an organisation called the New Youth Society, dedicated to exploring ways towards social reform. They were tried on September 28th, 2001, but no verdict was delivered and the men were thus arbitrarily detained until the present. On the morning of May 28th, 2003, they received the afore-mentioned sentences on charges of subversion. The four men have reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and torture during their two year detention without trial, as they have refused to accept their guilt concerning these charges. Xu Wei, who is reported as being particularly stubborn, suffered the harshest treatment, including brutal beatings and electric shocks to his genitals, which have resulted in numbness of the lower body. The four men have reported their treatment to the authorities but have received no response. Attempts by members of their families to pass messages to the men have been blocked, with one official responding "There are no human rights now. These are unusual times – the time of SARS. Don’t you know?"
Mr. Wei's health has reportedly deteriorated rapidly since beginning his hunger strike on May 28th, 2003. His condition was so bad that concerned officials at the Beijing detention centre where Mr. Wei is being held contacted his lawyer, Mo Shaoping, hoping he could persuade Mr. Wei to begin eating again. Mr. Wei's fiancé, Wang Ying, has appealed to the media and other groups who might be able to aid Mr. Wei and the other three men.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Wei and his three co-detainees. OMCT is particularly concerned by the allegations of ill-treatment and torture, and the reports of Mr. Wei's severely deteriorated health. OMCT calls on the Chinese government to guarantee the integrity of all four men, to investigate the allegations of torture, in order to bring those found to be responsible to justice, and to ensure that the detainees receive the necessary medical care. OMCT in particular calls on the authorities to order the immediate release of the afore-mentioned detainees.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in People's Republic China of urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the Mr. Wei, Mr. Zili, Mr. Haike, and Mr. Honghai;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the afore-mentioned detainees;
iv. guarantee that they are provided with access to family visits and legal representation;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment and torture in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. guarantee that the detainees are provided adequate reparation;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; C/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008: Fax: + 01 202 588-0032
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
Please also write to the embassies of People's Republic China of in your respective country.
Geneva, June 6, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment / Torture / Hunger strike
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People's Republic of China.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Human Rights in China of the hunger strike of Mr. Xu Wei, an Internet activist who was recently sentenced to ten years in prison, in China.
According to the information received, on May 28th, 2003, Xu Wei, a reporter and editor for Beijing’s Consumer Daily newspaper, was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of subversion and began a hunger strike to protest against his ill-treatment and torture in custody. Xu Wei and three co-defendants, Yang Zili, a computer engineer (who received an eight year sentence), Jin Haike, a geological engineer (ten year sentence), and Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer (eight year sentence), were all arrested in March 2001 for the political views that they posted on the internet, and for forming an organisation called the New Youth Society, dedicated to exploring ways towards social reform. They were tried on September 28th, 2001, but no verdict was delivered and the men were thus arbitrarily detained until the present. On the morning of May 28th, 2003, they received the afore-mentioned sentences on charges of subversion. The four men have reportedly been subjected to ill-treatment and torture during their two year detention without trial, as they have refused to accept their guilt concerning these charges. Xu Wei, who is reported as being particularly stubborn, suffered the harshest treatment, including brutal beatings and electric shocks to his genitals, which have resulted in numbness of the lower body. The four men have reported their treatment to the authorities but have received no response. Attempts by members of their families to pass messages to the men have been blocked, with one official responding "There are no human rights now. These are unusual times – the time of SARS. Don’t you know?"
Mr. Wei's health has reportedly deteriorated rapidly since beginning his hunger strike on May 28th, 2003. His condition was so bad that concerned officials at the Beijing detention centre where Mr. Wei is being held contacted his lawyer, Mo Shaoping, hoping he could persuade Mr. Wei to begin eating again. Mr. Wei's fiancé, Wang Ying, has appealed to the media and other groups who might be able to aid Mr. Wei and the other three men.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Wei and his three co-detainees. OMCT is particularly concerned by the allegations of ill-treatment and torture, and the reports of Mr. Wei's severely deteriorated health. OMCT calls on the Chinese government to guarantee the integrity of all four men, to investigate the allegations of torture, in order to bring those found to be responsible to justice, and to ensure that the detainees receive the necessary medical care. OMCT in particular calls on the authorities to order the immediate release of the afore-mentioned detainees.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in People's Republic China of urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the Mr. Wei, Mr. Zili, Mr. Haike, and Mr. Honghai;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the afore-mentioned detainees;
iv. guarantee that they are provided with access to family visits and legal representation;
v. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment and torture in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
vi. guarantee that the detainees are provided adequate reparation;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; C/o Embassy of the People's Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008: Fax: + 01 202 588-0032
· President Jiang Zemin, People's Republic of China; c/o Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, fax: +4122 7937014, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
· President Jiang Zemin, Chinese Communist Party, Yongdingmen CK Street, Beijing 100032, PRC
Please also write to the embassies of People's Republic China of in your respective country.
Geneva, June 6, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.