Death of petitioner Mr. Chen Xiaoming

Geneva, 16 July 2007

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information in the following situation in the People's Republic of China.

New information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source and by Antenna International, a member of the SOS-Torture network, that Shanghai petitioner Mr. Chen Xiaoming died on 1 July 2007, shortly after being relased on medical parole. According to the information, numerous earlier requests by Mr. Chen Xiaoming’s family for medical parole had been refused.

According to the information received, Mr. Chen Xiaoming’s family, following his detention in 2006, notified the authorities at the Luwan Public Security Bureau (PSB) that he suffered from a chronic illness, and requested that he be paroled to receive medical treatment. Futhermore, family members repeatedly requested an opportunity to visit Mr. Chen Xiaoming and provide him with medication, but all of their requests were allegedly refused except for one visit in early April. Around the end of April, Mr. Chen Xiaoming was reportedly transferred to Shanghai’s largest prison, Baimaoling Prison, located in Wannan, Anhui Province, after which his family members were unable to visit him or receive any information about his health.

On 29 June 2007, a Baimaoling Prison official reportedly notified Mr. Chen Xiaoming’s family that he was seriously ill, and that he had been transferred to Shanghai’s Tilanqiao Prison Hospital. According to the information, upon reaching the hospital, Mr. Chen Xiaoming’s family learned that he had actually been transferred there a week earlier. They reportedly found him reduced to a skeletal condition, constantly vomiting blood and barely conscious. Due to his condition, the Tilanqiao Prison Hospital and Baimaoling Prison authorities reportedly authorized Mr. Chen Xiaoming’s family to apply for medical parole, and on 1 July 2007 he was transferred to Shanghai’s Zhongshan Hospital. However, he reportedly died at 7:30 on the same night after a massive hemorrhage.

The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to express its concerns about the death and the circumstances leading to the death of Mr. Chen Xiaoming in particular the alleged repeated denial of medical parole in favor of Mr. Chen Xiaoming given his grave medical condition and his bad condition of detention, which were contrary to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. OMCT also wishes to recall that China is a State party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. OMCT urges the authorities to conform with China’s international human rights obligations, commitments that were reaffirmed on the occasion of its election as a member of the new United Nations Human Rights Council

Reminder of the Situation

According to the information received, the PSB suspected Shanghai petitioner Mr. Chen Xiaoming of bringing the American consular official to the home of petitioner Ms. Fu Yuxia in the evening of 13 February 2006 where a number of other petitioners had gathered. In the evening of 15 February 2006, Mr. Chen Xiaoming was detained by some dozen police officers from Shanghai's Luwan District PSB and his house was searched twice. It is reported that Mr. Chen Xiaoming was originally held in a storage room of the PSB station, and that in the middle of the night on 6 March 2006 he was stripped naked and physically abused, his cries for help audible from outside. It is alleged that on 31 March 2006, Mr. Chen Xiaoming was designated a key suspect after which his whereabouts remained unknown until December 2006, when he was reportedly charged with “disturbing order in the court” in connection with his attendance at a hearing for another petitioner in 2004.

On 9 January 2007, Mr. Chen Xiaoming was reportedly sentenced to two years in prison. He appealed but on 20 March 2007, the Shanghai Supreme People’s Court upheld the original verdict and sentence.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China urging them to:

1. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of the death of Mr. Chen Xiaoming, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the civil penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
2. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

• President Hu Jintao, 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, Genève, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
• Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Fusen Buzhang, Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345
• Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Li Zhaoxing Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn
• Ambassador, Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Ch. De Surville, CP 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Suisse, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int, Fax : +41 22 793 70 14
• Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Brussels, Avenue de Tervuren, 463 1160 Auderghem, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2 663 30 10 / + 32 2 663 30 17 / +32 2 771 14 97 / +32 2 779 43 33; Fax: +32 2 762 99 66 / +32 2 779 28 95; Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn

Please also write to the embassies of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.

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Geneva, 16 July 2007

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply