Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the absence of information concerning the location of Ms. Zeng Jinyan, a Beijing-based human rights activist and wife of Mr. Hu Jia[1], since August 7, 2008. According to the information received, all efforts taken to contact Ms. Zeng Jinyan since the eve of the Olympics Opening Ceremony have failed.
The Observatory fears that Ms. Zeng Jinyan might have been taken away from Beijing to ensure that no journalists have access to her and that she would not be able to give interviews during the Olympic Games.
Ms. Zeng Jinyan has been under intermittent residential surveillance for the last two years by police from the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB), and this surveillance has been strengthened since the detention of her husband on December 27, 2007 (See Background information). Lately, journalists who attempted to visit her at her apartment were turned back by security forces.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about the absence of information on Ms. Zeng Jinyan’s location, as well as about her possible arbitrary detention which seems to merely aim at sanctioning her human rights activities and right to freedom of expression. The Observatory is further preoccupied for her physical and psychological integrity as her whereabouts remain unknown, raising fears that she may be subject to torture or ill-treatment. The Observatory recalls that this event takes place in the context of a violent wave of repression against Chinese human rights defenders before and during the Olympic Games.
Background information:
On December 27, 2007, about 20 policemen came to Ms. Zeng Jinyan’s home, surrounded her and her child as well as her grandmother, who was visiting, cut off the telephone line and internet connection, confiscated her and her husband’s mobile phones and then took Mr. Hu Jia away, on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power". Several policemen remained at their home, keeping Ms. Zeng Jinyan from publicly denouncing Hu Jia’s detention.
On January 28, 2008, Mr. Hu Jia was charged with "inciting subversion of state power" by the Beijing Municipal PSB. He is currently detained at the Beijing Municipal Detention Centre at Dougezhuang. Since his arrest, more than 20 police officers are permanently stationed around Ms. Zeng Jinyan’s residence. She has been prevented from receiving visitors, and the phone line and internet connection have been cut off.
Mr. Hu Jia and his wife have been under residential surveillance by the Beijing PSB since May 18, 2007, without any legal basis. The surveillance began as the couple were about to set off on a tour of to promote their documentary film, "Prisoners of Freedom City".
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China, urging them to:
i. Take prompt action in order to locate Ms. Zeng Jinyan, make her whereabouts public, and ensure her immediate release;
ii. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Zeng and of her relatives;
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. Zeng Jinyan, 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.
***
Paris - Geneva, August 12, 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
[1] Mr. Hu is an HIV/AIDS activist, co-founder and former director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute for Health Education, currently detained at the Beijing Municipal Detention Centre at Dougezhuang (see Observatory Urgent Appeal CHN 009 / 1107 / OBS 141.5, issued on April 3, 2008, and CHN 009 / 1107 / OBS 141.6, issued on April 21, 2008).