URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
CHN 004 / 0608 / OBS 105
Arbitrary detention / Judicial proceedings
People's Republic of China
June 18, 2008
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by Human Rights in China (HRIC) about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Huang Qi, a cyber-dissident human rights activist and founder of the website www.64tianwang.com[1].
According to the information received, on June 10, 2008, in the evening, Mr. Huang was taken away in a car by unidentified individuals.
On June 12, 2008, the legal counsellor of Mr. Huang's Internet company, Lawyer Xu, went to the police to file a missing persons report. At the police station, he was informed that Mr. Huang was being detained and that the legal procedure notice would be sent to his family soon. The police refused to disclose to Mr. Xu the grounds for his detention.
At the same time, the police summoned Mr. Huang Qi's friends, as well as petitioners who had sought help from Mr. Huang Qi's Tianwang Human Rights Centre.
Five days after his arrest, the grounds of his detention were finally communicated: Mr. Qi is suspected of "possessing illegally State secrets" and accused of having broken the laws related to these charges. This inculpation occurred after he visited the Sichuan earthquake zone numerous times, provided aid to victims of the disaster and published information on his website about the plight of parents who had lost their children.
Furthermore, the Observatory recalls that Mr. Huang Qi has already been subjected to various acts of harassment in the past because of his human rights activities. Thus, Mr. Huang Qi had been arrested on June 3, 2000 and sentenced in 2003 to five years' imprisonment for having posted several articles on the Tiananmen Square Massacre on his website. He was released on June 4, 2005 at the end of his sentence. Moreover, in 2006, Mr. Huang was the target of intimidation, especially after posting on his website comments and pictures of a workers' protest in the Nanguang firm in Chengdu in June 2006[2].
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about Mr. Huang Qi's detention and recalls that it takes place in the context of a violent wave of repression against Chinese human rights defenders. The Observatory further points out that the National People's Congress amended the Chinese Constitution in 2004 to include that "the State respects and safeguards human rights" and that in April 2006, China submitted a document to the UN in order to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council's first election, in which it affirmed that the amendment to the Constitution was aiming at "defining the position of human rights in the overall national development strategy". The Observatory further wishes to point out that, as a member of the Human Rights Council, China "shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights".
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in the People's Republic of China, urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Huang Qi;
ii. Release Mr. Huang Qi immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
iii. Put an end to any acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Huang Qi and more generally against all human rights defenders in the People's Republic of China;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", its article 9, which states that "[...] everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to benefit from an effective remedy and to be protected in the event of the violation of those rights" and its Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the People's Republic of China.
Addresses:
- Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
- Mr. Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang Waijiaobu, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn;
- Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong'anbu, 14 Dongchang'anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
- Mr. Ma Zhenchuan, Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, Juzhang, Beijingshi Gong'anju, 9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100740, People's Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 85222320, Email: wbjc2sohu.com
- Ambassador Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, P.O. Box 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int;
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the People's Republic of China in your respective country.
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Geneva-Paris, June 18, 2008
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[1] In 2005, Mr. Huang created a website to continue domestic rights activities, publish rights protection information, and provide assistance to vulnerable groups.
[2] See Observatory Annual Report 2006. Nanguang firm is closely linked to local authorities and published a propaganda pamphlet accusing Mr.Huang Qi of being involved in the organisation of this social movement. For their part, authorities accused Mr. Huang of illegally leading and supporting retired workers of the Nanguang firm, who gather on a regular basis to demand their pension. Moreover, the managers of the business affairs office denounced, in their pamphlets, links between Nanguang workers and foreign organisations and journalists of Radio Free Asia, based in the United States.
