Jail Sentences Upheld for Nanhai Protesters of Forced Land Eviction
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(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, October 27, 2007)- The Foshan City Intermediate Court has rejected the appeal of seven villagers from Sanshan Township, Nanhai County, Guangdong Province. The villagers were activists in local protests against forced land eviction and were convicted of “extortion and blackmail” and sentenced in April. Local officials and land developers colluded to appropriate the villagers’ land for profitable development projects and kick-backs.
|
Name |
Sex |
Current sentence (in years) |
Sentence in the first trial in April (in years) |
| Liu Dehuo (刘德伙) |
M |
4 |
3 |
| Cui Yongfa (崔永发) |
M |
2.5 |
3.5 |
| Shao Xixia (绍细虾) |
M |
3 |
3.5 |
| Chen Zhibiao (陈智标) |
M |
4 |
4 |
| Guo Jianhua (郭建华) |
M |
3 |
3.5 |
| Shao Xiaobing (邵笑冰) |
F |
2.5 |
2.5 |
| Chen Ningbiao(陈宁标) |
M |
4 |
4 |
According to family, Chen Ningbiao is seriously ill. While in detention, Chen has been beaten several times and served poor-quality food. Since June, he has felt unwell, but he was denied medical treatment until he was in so much pain that he could not sleep at night. Upon examination, Chen was discovered to have terminal liver cancer. His family has only been allowed to visit him three times, as the authorities barred access to him for a month and a half between July and September. In July, when his family saw that he was in such poor condition during a visit, they applied for his release for medical treatment, but the application was denied. On October 23, his family received a notice from the court urging them to take Chen for medical treatment. However, his family has no money for his treatment and believes that the authorities want to get Chen off their hands to avoid responsibility for Chen’s rapid deterioration, which the family believes to be closely linked to earlier mistreatment and denial of medical treatment.
Between 2005 and 2007, villagers in Sanshan Township exhausted all legal avenues in seeking adequate compensation following the forcible expropriation of their land. Not only did they not receive adequate compensation, but they were persecuted by local authorities.
The extortion and blackmail charges relate to two separate incidents that took place a month before the arrests of the seven villagers in June 2006. In one incident, they sought compensation from a bus driver whose vehicle crashed into a local home. The other was a dispute with the owner of an oil storage container constructed on the farmers’ land without their consent or proper procedures. Both disputes were settled out of court and all parties agreed to settlements in the presence of the police. However, a month later, the seven villagers were arrested and in April 2007 convicted of “extortion and blackmail.”
Click here for a previous CHRB briefing on the Nanhai villagers.
