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), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the People’s Republic of China.
New information:
According to the information received, on May 30, 2006, Mr. Zheng’s wife, Mrs. Jiang Meili, received a letter from him, in which he laid out special arrangements for his release. According to the text of the letter, the Party branch secretaries of the North Station and Tianshan districts, along with a social worker and household registration police officer, came to the prison to talk with Mr. Zheng and seek his cooperation on the following arrangements: First, on June 5, 2006, a police vehicle will bring him to the North District police station for a procedure where the deprivation of his political rights will be executed, along with inspection of his release papers and arrangements "guaranteeing his personal safety". Secondly, on the morning of June 6, 2006, as arranged by the Tianshan district Party branch secretary, Mr. Zheng will be taken to the Ziyunlu Tianshan police station for the processing of his household registration and identification card. Mr. Zheng wrote Mrs. Jiang that she should wait for further notification regarding where she should meet him.
Already, on May 23, 2006, Mrs. Jiang Meili had reportedly been visited by the same officials, who stated their plans to take temporary custody of Mr. Zheng Enchong upon his release from prison. However, at that time, Mrs. Jiang disagreed with the arrangements.
Mrs. Jiang wrote a reply to Mr. Zheng stating that she and other family members would appear at the prison on the morning of June 5, 2006 to bring him home, and that it was his choice whether to go with his family or submit to the arrangements proposed by the authorities.
The Observatory is concerned about these procedures. Indeed, no information was given on whether Mr. Zheng will be able to go home on the night of June 5, in which case Mr. Zheng’s release would be delayed and no further precision was given concerning the arrangements "guaranteeing his personal safety", which raises concerns about a possible control of the authorities over his daily activities.
Background information:
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Zheng Enchong, who was arrested on June 6, 2003, was sentenced by the Shanghai Second Intermediate People’s Court in October 2003 to three years in prison and deprivation of his political rights for one year, on charges of "illegally providing State secrets to entities outside of China". In particular, he had been accused of having sent two documents to HRIC. The Shanghai Court of Appeal confirmed this verdict on December 18, 2003 (See Observatory 2004 and 2005 Annual Reports).
On January 13, 2004, Mr. Zheng Enchong had been transferred from the Shanghai municipal detention centre to the Tilanquio prison, where he remain in detention in the "high security" compound and is regularly victim of physical violence. For instance, when his wife went to visit him on March 9, 2005, she observed that he displayed signs of physical abuse. Mr. Zheng was reportedly beaten after requesting a piece of paper on which to report to the central government the names of more than 200 people who had died in connection with their forced relocation in urban development projects.
Furthermore, on March 10, 2005, Mrs. Jiang Meili was detained along with her sister, Mrs. Jiang Zhongli, by security services, outside the home of Mr. Guo Guoting, Mr. Zheng Enchong’s lawyer. Mrs. Jiang Meili had gone to Mr. Guo’s home to update him on Mr. Zheng’s situation. Mrs. Jiang and her sister were detained without a warrant at the Beicai Dispatch Station in Pudong Xinqu District. They were released on the same night.
On October 28, 2005, the Zhabei District Court in Shanghai prohibited Mrs. Jiang Meili from leaving the country under the pretext of an "estate management dispute", although she was to attend a ceremony in Germany on December 9, 2005 to receive a prize in the name of her husband from the German Association of Judges.
Subsequently, Mrs. Jiang was refused her usually monthly visit to Mr. Zheng in prison, and her every movement has been monitored. Finally, after many written requests, Mrs. Jiang’s prison visits were restored on April 21, 2006.
On May 16, 2006, the Shanghai home of Mr. Zheng Enchong was broken into by two unidentified men while Mrs. Jiang Meili was on her way to visit him in prison. Indeed, about 10 minutes after Mrs. Jiang Meili’s departure, a friend, named Mr. Zhao, who was watching the family’s apartment, heard the sound of someone forcing open the lock on the apartment’s metal gate, then the door opened and a man walked in. When the man saw Mr. Zhao, he quickly turned and ran out. Mr. Zhao followed the man into the hallway and saw him run into the elevator. Just as Mr. Zhao returned to the apartment, another man appeared and demanded to see his identification. Mr. Zhao refused, saying that "this [was] a private residence". Soon after, three people arrived, one of them a woman wearing a police uniform and producing a warrant card identifying her as a local police officer named Mrs. Zhang Min. Mrs. Zhang said she had come looking for Mr. Wang Shuizhen. Mr. Zhao told her that this was the home of Mr. Zheng and Mrs. Jiang, and that no one named Mr. Wang Shuizhen lived there.
Around noon on the same day, when Mrs. Jiang Meili left the Tilanqiao Prison after visiting her husband, Mrs. Zhang Min, accompanied by two other policemen, intercepted her at the prison entrance and said that "someone called the emergency hotline number and reported that there was a strange man in your home. When we arrived in your home, we found a man there surnamed Zhao". After learning all of the circumstances of the morning’s events, Mrs. Jiang was greatly alarmed and called the emergency hotline number herself. Two policemen subsequently arrived at her apartment and said they would have the matter investigated, but Mrs. Jiang has heard nothing further.
Actions required:
Please write to the Chinese authorities urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Zheng Enchong;
ii. Release Mr. Zheng Enchong unconditionally on June 5, 2006, and ensure that he and his family will not be subjected to any kind of control or harassment;
iii. Release immediately and unconditionally all Chinese human rights defenders who are arbitrarily detained for the sole reason of their human rights activities, and put an end to any kind of retaliation against them;
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", and article 12.2, which states 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:
President Hu Jintao, People’s Republic of China, c/o Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008, USA, Fax: +01 202 588-0032
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, Swtzerland, 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 diplomatic representations of the People’s Republic of China in your respective countries.
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Geneva-Paris, June 2, 2006
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
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