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).
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on August 12, 2008, Ms. Wang Xiaoqiao was convicted of "extortion" and sentenced to one year in prison by the Xincai County Court. Ms. Wang, currently held at the Xincai County Detention Centre, has filed an appeal to the Zhumadian Intermediate People’s Court. Ms. Wang’s lawyers were reportedly under pressure to keep silent about the case.
Ms. Wang was arrested on November 27, 2007 on suspicion of "extortion" while petitioning the provincial Government in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province [1]. Ms. Wang was detained for more than half a year prior to her trial, on June 12, 2008. Her case was twice sent from the Procurator back to the Public Security Bureau (PSB) for further investigation due to insufficient evidence.
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about the sentencing and arbitrary detention of Ms. Wang Xiaoqiao, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities.
Indeed, Ms. Wang is a laid-off factory worker in the poverty-stricken Xincai County, an area ravaged by an HIV/AIDS epidemic after an unregulated blood plasma trade in which the Government played a major role led to the rapid spread of the disease in the late 1990s. Ms. Wang became a petitioner and a HIV/AIDS activist after 2003 when it was discovered that her husband was infected with HIV/AIDS. In 1996, her husband, also a laid-off worker, had his right arm smashed at the paper-mill where he and his wife worked. Not only did he lose his job, he also contracted HIV/AIDS from a blood transfusion at the No.2 People’s Hospital at Xincai County. Prior to petitioning, Ms. Wang used all legal means to seek compensation for her husband, but the Court refused to accept her case.
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 Ms. Wang Xiaoqiao;
ii. Release immediately and unconditionally Ms. Wang Xiaoqiao since her detention is arbitrary as it merely aims at sanctioning her human rights activities;
iii. Guarantee unconditional access to her lawyers, families and any medical treatment she may require;
iv. Put an end to any acts of harassment against Ms. Wang Xiaoqiao, her family and, more generally, against all human rights defenders in the People’s Republic of China;
v. Conform with the Constitution of the PRC which provides that "the State respects and safeguards human rights", as well as with the document submitted by China to the UN in April 2006 to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council’s first election, which pointed out that the above-mentioned provision of the Constitution was aiming at "defining the position of human rights in the overall national development strategy";
vi. 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 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";
vii. 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;
· 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.
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Paris - Geneva, August 26, 2008
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 and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
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CHN 008 / 0808 / OBS 144
Sentencing / Arbitrary detention
People’s Republic of China
August 26, 2008