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 (PRC).
According to the information received, on December 25, 2009, the Beijing Municipal No.1 Intermediate People’s Court found Mr. Liu Xiaobo guilty of "inciting subversion of State power" and sentenced him to 11 years of imprisonment and two years’ deprivation of political rights. The Government based the conviction on Mr. Liu’s role in drafting and organising the signing of Charter 08 and on six essays he published between 2005 and 2007 critical of the Chinese Government.
According to Mr. Liu’s lawyers and family, Mr. Liu plans to appeal. As of issuing this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Liu was detained at the No. 1 Beijing Detention Centre.
The Observatory strongly condemns Mr. Xiaobo’s sentencing and believes that these acts of judicial harassment merely aim at sanctioning his peaceful activities in expressing his views on how to promote democratic reform and protection of human rights in China, and as such are a flagrant violation of the provisions of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998.
The Observatory further recalls that in April 2009, the PRC submitted a document to the UN in order to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council, in which it affirmed that the People’s Republic of China was "committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Chinese people". As a member of the Human Rights Council, China "shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights".
The Observatory also urges the European Commission Delegation as well as European Union (EU) Member-States embassies in the PRC to call upon the Chinese authorities to comply with the relevant international norms and standards and take action on this situation, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.
Background information:
On December 8, 2008, Mr. Liu Xiaobo was placed under "residential surveillance" at an undisclosed location in Beijing. "Residential surveillance" is a form of pre-trial detention that can be used up to six months without a charge being issued. According to Article 57 of China’s Criminal Procedural Law (CPL), a suspect subjected to residential surveillance must be held either in her/his home or a designated dwelling if s/he has no permanent residence. Detaining Mr. Liu in an undisclosed location despite the fact that he has residence in Beijing therefore breaches this legal provision. According to Article 58 of the CPL, the maximum limit for residential surveillance is six months. Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s "residential surveillance" term should therefore have expired on June 8, 2009. Because the Public Security Bureau (PSB), the Procuratorate and the Court all have the authority to impose residential surveillance on the same individual consecutively.
At the time of his arrest, the police also searched his home and confiscated his computers, mobile phones, books, magazines, printed papers and a draft of the "Charter 08".
On June 23, 2009, Mr. Liu Xiaobo was officially arrested and charged on June 24, 2009 with "inciting to subvert State power", pursuant to Article 105 of the Criminal Code, after he had co-authored the "Charter 08".
On December 23, 2009, at 9 am, the trial of Mr. Liu Xiaobo for "inciting to subvert State power" took place before Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court and only lasted three hours, under near total security lock down outside the courtroom. The trial took place only twelve days after Mr. Liu’s indictment, and his lawyers, concerned that they have not had enough time to review the 20-volume case file and prepare their defence, requested that the trial be postponed. Court officials rejected this appeal, stating that "it was not possible". The timing of the trial, two days before Christmas, also raises suspicion that the authorities wish to quickly sentence Mr. Liu while most diplomatic staff and journalists in Beijing are away during the holiday season. The verdict is expected to be issued on December 25, 2009.
On the eve of the trial, several activists and supporters of Mr. Liu Xiaobo were contacted by the police and threatened against organising any shows of support online or in front of the court during the trial. The police also warned some of these supporters not to leave their homes in the next three days, and explicitly forbade them from travelling to Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court. One activist was told that police would block supporters "at all costs" from reaching the courthouse. Others were placed under tight surveillance or warned to stay home by police ahead of the trial.
In addition, Mr. Liu’s wife was denied a permit to attend her husband’s trial on the grounds that she was a "witness" for the prosecution. During one of her visits with her husband over the past year she was interrogated by police, and the record of her responses is now being used as the basis for involving her in her husband’s case.
Personnel from about a dozen foreign embassies in Beijing, including those of the United States, Germany and Australia, requested to observe the trial but were told that all the observer passes had already been given out. Mr. Liu’s lawyers are reportedly under strict orders from the State Judicial Bureau not to grant any interview until after the verdict.
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. Liu Xiaobo;
ii. Release Mr. Liu Xiaobo 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. Liu Xiaobo 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)
· Ms. 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
· 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;
· 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 mission or embassy of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.