Police Summon Activist for Allegedly Drafting Human Rights Report
Comments Off on Police Summon Activist for Allegedly Drafting Human Rights ReportPolice Summon Activist for Allegedly Drafting Human Rights Report
(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, January 12, 2009) – On January 10, Wang Debang (王德邦), a Beijing-based human rights activist, was summoned (chuanhuan) by police for his suspected involvement in drafting a human rights report. The police also searched his home and confiscated his computer and other personal items.
At 11 p.m. on January 10, more than twenty policemen led by the head of the National Security Police of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB) arrived at Wang’s home. Wang was taken to a PSB office and interrogated for six hours before being released. The police questioned Wang about his alleged involvement in drafting A Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2008), an upcoming report by CHRD. The police also asked Wang questions about his involvement in Charter 08. His home was searched in the presence of his wife and young daughters.
CHRD condemns the Beijing National Security Police for summoning a law-abiding citizen and dedicated human rights activist, searching his home and confiscating his property.
The act which Wang is suspected of having committed—drafting a human rights report– is entirely peaceful and lawful. The authorities have abused Wang’s rights to freedom of expression and association guaranteed in Articles 19 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China has signed (but not yet ratified). These rights are also enshrined in Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution. The right to defend human rights is also guaranteed in the Declaration to Protect Human Rights Defender, which China endorsed at the UN General Assembly in 1999.
China is acting against its own interest in cultivating a good international reputation. It will soon face international scrutiny of its human rights records at the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodical Review on February 9 and 11.
CHRD calls on the Chinese authorities to investigate this serious incident and to hold Beijing police responsible for harassing and intimidating Wang. Beijing PSB must apologize to Wang and immediately return his computer and other personal belongings.
Media contacts for this press release:
Renee Xia, International Director (English and Mandarin): +1 3015479286
Wang Songlian, Research Coordinator and English Editor (English, Mandarin and Cantonese): +852 81911660
Previous CHRD reports on the situation of human rights defenders in China:
Dancing in Shackles: A Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2007), https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class11/200805/20080501034205_8531.html
The Perils of Defending Rights: A Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in China (2006), https://www.nchrd.org/Article/Class9/Class11/200705/20070504163029_4196.html
