[CHRB] Dissident Zhu Yufu Ill, Deprived of Rights in Prison; Petitioner Beaten to Death Before Party Congress, and more (11/9-11/16, 2012)

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China Human Rights Briefing

November 9-16, 2012

 

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

  • More Tibetan Monks Sentenced for Alleged Involvement in January Protests

Harassment of Activists

  • Anhui Dissident Shen Liangqing Harassed Over “Shuanggui” Report
  • Activists Out of Contact After Being Taken Away by Police

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

  • Henan Petitioner Beaten to Death Prior to Party Congress
  • Imprisoned Dissident Zhu Yufu Suffering Rights Deprivations, In Very Poor Health

Arbitrary Detention

More Tibetan Monks Sentenced for Alleged Involvement in January Protests

Five more Tibetan monks have been sentenced to prison for their alleged involvement in peaceful protests in Sichuan Province that were violently put down in January, with now more than three dozen sentences issued to protesters in connection with the incident. According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, the monks, who disappeared after being detained early this year, were given prison terms of between five and seven years by a court in Chengdu, though charges against them are unknown. The news of the sentences reportedly reached the monks’ families about two weeks after the verdicts were past down. On January 23, security forces shot unarmed participants at the protests in Luhuo (Tibetan: Drango) County in Ganzi (Tibetan: Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Six Tibetans are known to have died from injuries they sustained, and dozens more suffered serious injuries.[1]

Harassment of Activists

Anhui Dissident Shen Liangqing Harassed Over “Shuanggui” Report

Authorities in Anhui recently harassed dissident Shen Liangqing (沈良庆) in an apparent attempt to prevent him from participating in an event to promote his newly published report on “shuanggui,” a form of extralegal detention for Party officials. National security officers in Hefei City called Shen on the morning of November 10, the day that a launch event for the report was to take place in Hong Kong. They then went to his home and asked him out to lunch. After he refused, the officers requested that Shen cook for them but eventually left. That afternoon, Shen was able to take part in the launch event via Skype, but his computer was attacked after he gave interviews in ensuing days. Shen’s report describes how shuanggui operates, and discloses its vast and arbitrary violations of rights. The publication, which includes contributions by CHRD, was based on a report first released online in late 2011.[2]

Activists Out of Contact After Being Taken Away by Police

Human rights activists have recently been seized by police and their whereabouts remain unknown in yet more signs of the tightened security in place around the Party Congress. Liu Feiyue (刘飞跃), founder of Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch (CRLW), has been out of contact since November 7, when he was taken from his home in Hubei Province. Authorities have harassed Liu for years in retaliation for his activism. On November 9, police seized Beijing activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利) outside the letters and visits office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Office, and drove her away in a police vehicle. Cao had gone with another activist to inquire about an application submitted last month for public disclosure on China’s second “National Human Rights Action Plan,” as well as a response to a questionnaire that they had filled out.[3]

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

Henan Petitioner Beaten to Death Prior to Party Congress

A Henan petitioner, Zhang Yaodong (张耀东), was reportedly beaten to death after trying to seek justice over court verdicts in perhaps the most brutal act yet disclosed amid the suppressive climate around the Party Congress. On November 5, Zhang and three other petitioners were seized by police in Beijing and taken to the black jail at Jiujingzhuang. While being forcibly taken back to Henan the next day, Zhang was severely beaten by unidentified interceptors after he apparently refused to hand over his cell phone. The assailants initially did not take him to a hospital for treatment and only did so after Zhang had already died. Zhang’s family and friends tried to go to Beijing after finding out about the tragic news but were blocked by local government personnel.[4]

Imprisoned Dissident Zhu Yufu Suffering Rights Deprivations, In Very Poor Health

Hangzhou dissident Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫), serving a seven-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power,” is being deprived of myriad basic rights and is suffering from very poor health, according to family members who learned details of his situation during a visit on November 11. Held at Zhejiang Provincial No. 4 Prison, Zhu has not been allowed access to books provided by his family, and letters between Zhu and his family and friends have not been delivered. Unlike typical prisoners, Zhu also has not been permitted to call his family once a month or purchase one weekly “nutritious meal.” During the family visit, Zhu staggered as he walked and fell against a wall to support himself. He indicated that he is not receiving adequate medical care though he has serious medical issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and a herniated disc, and recently became emaciated from malnutrition. When Zhu caught a head cold, prison authorities did not permit him to wear a hat, and he ended up fainting and rupturing a blood vessel, prompting emergency medical treatment. Due to Zhu’s dire health condition, his wife is preparing to apply for his release on medical parole.[5]

Edited by Victor Clemens and Ann Song


[2] “Shen Liangqing’s Computer Attacked, Frozen After Publication of Investigative Report on ‘Shuanggui’” (沈良庆因出版《双规——中共前检察官的调查报告》电脑受攻击瘫痪), November 13, 2012, WQW; “Anhui Dissident Shen Liangqing Harassed Over Book Launch Event in Hong Kong” (安徽异见人士沈良庆因香港的新书发布会受警方骚扰), November 10, 2012, WQW; “57 Association Hong Kong Holds Book Launch for ‘Shuanggui’ Volume, Author Shen Liangqing Invited to Speak” (五七学社在香港举行《双规》新书发布会,作者沈良庆应邀讲话), November 10, 2012, WQW; “Civil Society Research Report on Issue of ‘Shuanggui’” (“双规”问题民间调研报告(一)), December 28, 2011, WQW

[3] “Beijing Human Rights Defender Cao Shunli Taken Away by Police at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Office” (北京维权人士曹顺利在外交部新闻办被警方带走), November 10, 2012, WQW; “Liu Feiyue, Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch Founder, Missing for Two Days After Being Taken Away by Police” (《民生观察》负责人刘飞跃被警方带走后失踪两天), November 9, 2012, WQW

[4] “Henan Petitioner Zhang Yaodong Beaten to Death in Beijing Prior to Party Congress” (十八大前河南上访维权者张耀东在京被殴身亡), November 9, 2012, WQW

[5] “Prominent Dissident Zhu Yufu Deprived of Many Rights in Prison, Health In Worrisome State” (著名异见人士朱虞夫狱中多项权利被剥夺,身体堪忧), November 13, 2012, WQW

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