Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

• Guizhou Activist Tortured During Lengthy Interrogation
• In Test Case to New Mental Health Law, Professor Forcibly Committed to Psychiatric Hospital Vows to Sue

Reprisals Against Activists

Shandong Petitioners Beaten, Detained After Appealing to China’s “First Lady” Over Grievances

Six Shandong petitioners who recently appealed to China’s “first lady” in their quest for justice were beaten and forcibly returned to their hometown, where they were interrogated for nearly eight hours. On January 16 in Beijing, Linyi City residents, including activist Liu Guohui (刘国慧), held a sign outside thePeople’s Liberation Army Art Institute appealing to Peng Liyuan (彭丽媛), the wife of incoming president Xi Jinping (习近平) who has a position at the school. Beijing police took the petitioners away to a police station before handing them over to thugs hired by the Linyi liaison office, who proceeded to beat and threaten the petitioners, confiscate their cell phones, and forcibly return them back to Shandong. Once back in Linyi, the petitioners, who had gone to the capital to express grievances against local officials, were held and questioned at length, and Liu Guohui was later placed under soft detention. The group has indicated that they will report the treatment they faced in the capital to Beijing authorities since Linyi police refused to look into the incident.[1]

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment

Guizhou Activist Tortured During Lengthy Interrogation

Guizhou activist Liao Shuangyuan (廖双元) was held by police for eight hours on January 10, during which time he was interrogated and subjected to torture. According to Liao’s wife, national security officials took Liao in to a local police station and then threatened him to cooperate, and mainly asked about New Year greetings he had sent out as well as his writings. While detaining Liao, officers slapped him and one reportedly almost suffocated him by wrapping a scarf tightly around his neck. Liao was also deprived of food and had personal items confiscated during the extended ordeal. As a member of the Guizhou Human Rights Forum, which was declared an “illegal organization” by authorities in December 2011, Liao has been detained, put under house arrest and subjected to surveillance many times.[2]

In Test Case to New Mental Health Law, Professor Forcibly Committed to Psychiatric Hospital Vows to Sue

Wang Peijian (王培剑), a professor at China Jiliang University in Hangzhou, is being forcibly detained in a psychiatric hospital in retaliation for expressing “politically sensitive” opinions in class. He had strongly resisted institutionalization in early December, as CHRD previously reported. Held at Hangzhou People’s No. 7 Hospital, Wang had several visitors on January 8, including dissident writer Lü Gengsong (吕耿松), who said that Wang intends to sue his university, the hospital and his own brother, all of whom apparently played a role in committing him against his will. Wang is harboring hope that China’s first Mental Health Law, to take effect in May, will provide for meaningful legal recourse against involuntary commitment. Such a lawsuit may be among the first tests of the new legislation, which some fear may still not adequately protect the rights of those who are forcibly institutionalized.[3]