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 October 14, 2006, Mr. Zheng Enchong and his wife, Mrs. Jiang Meili, left their home at around 6 a.m., with the intention of attending a religious service at the Mu’en Christian Church near Shanghai’s Renmin Square. However, they were reportedly surrounded by a dozen police officers, who prevented them from leaving their neighbourhood. When Mr. Zheng insisted on attending the church service, police reportedly knocked him to the ground. Then, as several hundred onlookers were gathering to observe the scene, three police vehicles arrived along with another dozen police officers. Mr. Zheng was grabbed by his arms and legs and taken to a small room on the ground floor of his building. He was allowed to return home later that day, without having been given the possibility to go to church.
Around the same time, a friend who had arranged to accompany Mr. Zheng and his wife to church, Mrs. Shen Peilan, was reportedly also stopped outside her home by police officers and prevented from attending the service.
The Observatory has also been informed that on October 4, 2006, shortly before the Chinese Moon Festival, Mr. Zheng Enchong’s former high school teacher, a 76-year-old man surnamed Mr. Zhu, reportedly attempted to visit Mr. Zheng along with several old classmates, but police prevented them from going to Mr. Zheng’s home. On the day of the Moon Festival, on October 6, 2006, police also reportedly prevented Mr. Zheng and his family from visiting his 94-year-old mother as is custom during the holiday. A police officer reportedly told Mr. Zheng Enchong that Shanghai’s Deputy Party Committee Secretary, Mr. Liu Yungeng, had specifically ordered that Mr. Zheng be kept under the tightest possible restrictions at home. Police officers have also reportedly harassed Mr. Zheng’s daughter at school.
Background information:
Mr. Zheng Enchong was arrested on June 6, 2003, and 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 Human Rights in China. The Shanghai Court of Appeal confirmed this verdict on December 18, 2003.
On January 13, 2004, Mr. Zheng was transferred from the Shanghai municipal detention centre to the Tilanquio prison, where he was detained in the “high security” compound and was regularly victim of physical violence.
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.
On May 30, 2006, in a letter to his wife, Mr. Zheng stated that the secretaries of the Party branch in the North Station and Tianshan districts had visited him in order to discuss the procedure that would be followed for his release, scheduled for June 5, 2006. In particular, they told him that for procedural reasons he had to be transferred to several police stations, before being finally released. On June 5, 2006, Mr. Zheng was finally taken straight back home. However, he was immediately placed under house arrest.
On June 27, 2006, Mr. Zheng went to the local PSB in order to renew his identity card, in accordance with the terms of his sentence. Yet, once at the police station, he was told that the residency officer was not available to process his application.
On June 28, 2006, Mr. Zheng and his wife attempted to go to the Shanghai Municipal Government offices in order to lodge a complaint concerning these facts. They were then informed that the loss of Mr. Zheng’s political rights entailed a total restriction on his freedom of movement.
Furthermore, Mr. Zheng’s phone line was cut and tapped on numerous occasions, and his domicile was permanently watched by several uniformed police officers, preventing anyone from visiting him.
On July 12, 2006, public security police officers from the Shanghai’s Zhabei District North Station broke into his apartment and summoned his wife to report to the police station, on suspicion of “impeding the officials of state organs in the execution of their duties”. She was released shortly afterwards. A search on Mr. Zheng’s home was carried out and a computer was taken away, along with an important number of other documents, including a letter that Mr. Zheng had written to the authorities. A search warrant was produced after the search.
A few hours later, in the evening, the police returned to Mr. Zheng’s home and summoned him to accompany them to the police station on suspicion of “during a period of deprivation of political rights, impeding officials of state organs in the execution of their duties”, before releasing him a few hours later. Nevertheless, he has since had to report several times to the police station for questioning.
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 Put an end to any kind of harassment against Mr. Zheng Enchong and his family, and ensure that Mr. Zheng’s additional sentence of one year of deprivation of political rights does not extend to being denied freedom of movement;
iii. Put an end to any kind of retaliation against all Chinese human rights defenders;
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
Ambassador, Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int
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
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
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of the People’s Republic of China in your respective countries.
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Geneva-Paris, October 17, 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.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail : Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel et fax FIDH : + 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel et fax OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29