Ni Yulan (倪玉兰)

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Ni Yulan (倪玉兰)

 Ni Yulan  倪玉兰

(Released)

Recent Detention

Crimes:  Creating a disturbance (charge of fraud dismissed on appeal on July 27, 2012)

Length of Punishment: 2 years and 6 months (reduced by two months after appeal)

Court:  Xicheng District People’ Court

Trial date: December 29, 2011

Sentencing date:  April 10, 2012

Dates of Detention/Arrest:  April 7, 2011 (detention); May 17, 2011 (arrest); October 5, 2013 (released)

Place of Detention: Xicheng Detention Center (Haidian District, Beijing Municipality), Beijing Women’s Prison

Verdict: Beijing Xicheng District People’s Court (Chinese only); Statement of defense (Chinese only)

Appeal Hearing Date: July 27, 2012

Appeal Hearing Court: Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court

Appeal Hearing Ruling: Reduced sentence by two months — from 2 years and 8 months to 2 years and 6 months

Background

Since 2002, Ni, a Beijing housing rights activist, has suffered repeated arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, intimidation and harassment. Her home was forcibly demolished in 2008 when authorities in Beijing’s Xicheng District retaliated against her for her human rights activism. As the result of previous torture, Ni cannot walk and suffers from an assortment of chronic medical issues, including difficulty breathing, heart problems, and digestive trouble. In April of 2011, she was criminally detained with her husband, Dong Jiqin, in Beijing on the charge of “creating a disturbance” for hanging a banner outside the Yuxinyuan Guest House, their residence at the time. She was later additionally charged with “fraud” for allegedly saying she was a lawyer in order to win sympathy for her case and to profit financially. Her case was heard in December of 2011 and a verdict announced more than three months later–a span of time that violates Article 168 in China’s Criminal Procedure Law, which stipulates that a court must render a verdict within two months of accepting a case.

Ni’s health declined during her recent detention, and her lawyer had submitted unsuccessful requests to have Ni released on medical grounds. In late July 2012, the charge of “fraud” was tossed out by an appeals court, which also reduced Ni’s original sentence by two months. Dong Jiqin was released on April 5, 2013, after a two-year incarceration. During his imprisonment, Dong staged hunger strikes to protest beatings by police and blocked communication with his daughter. Ni Yulan was released from prison on October 5, 2013, after completing her sentence and returned home with her husband. She suffers from numerous illnesses and faces a long period of recovery.

Further Information

Ni Yulan Case: PR China Replies to UN & CHRD Response, May 28, 2012

Individuals Affected by the Crackdown Following Call for “Jasmine Revolution”, August 17, 2011, CHRD

Submission to UN on Ni Yulan: Communiqué on behalf of Ni Yulan, citizen of People’s Republic of China, Alleging Arbitrary Arrest or Detention and Persecution of Human Rights Defenders, July 6, 2011, CHRD

U.S. Must Voice Concerns over China’s Assault on Human Rights Lawyers During the Upcoming Legal Experts Dialogue with China, June 7, 2011, CHRD

Activist Ni Yulan Becomes Latest Victim of ‘Jasmine’ Crackdown – Former Lawyer, Handicapped from Torture, is Criminally Detained, April 14, 2011, CHRD

Honoring Chinese Women Human Rights Defenders, March 8, 2011, CHRD

Submission to UN on Ni Yulan: Communiqué Alleging Torture, Arbitrary Detention, Forced Eviction, Harassment and Intimidation of Human Rights Defender Ni Yulan, Citizen of the People’s Republic of China, August 13, 2010, CHRD

“Emergency Shelter” (documentary film about Ni Yulan)

Recognizing Chinese Women Human Rights Defenders, March 8, 2010, CHRD

Beijing Housing Rights Activist Ni Yulan Sentenced to Two Years, December 18, 2008, CHRD

Detained for Resisting Forced Eviction, Beijing Activist Ni Yulan Goes on Trial, July 28, 2008, CHRD

Beijing Activist Ni Yulan Arrested for Resisting Forced Demolition, May 2, 2008, CHRD

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