[CHRB] Tibetan Village Leader Dies in Custody & 3 From 2013 Crackdown Given Prison Terms (12/12-18/2014)

December 18, 2014       Comments Off on [CHRB] Tibetan Village Leader Dies in Custody & 3 From 2013 Crackdown Given Prison Terms (12/12-18/2014)

China Human Rights Briefing

December 12 – 18, 2014

Contents

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

• Tibetan Village Leader Dies in Custody

Arbitrary Detention

• 3 Activists Convicted After Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention

Special Notice

• Updates: Three Crackdowns Under Xi Jinping

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

Tibetan Village Leader Dies in Custody

A village leader in the Tibet Autonomous Region died on November 21 after a local Chinese Communist Party official ordered his detention, according to the Tibetan Centre on Human Rights and Democracy. The local CCP secretary in restive Diru (CH: Biru) County issued an order for Bachen Gyewa (巴青杰瓦) to be stripped of his post and taken into custody, and Bachen died soon after. His detention and death, of which details have not emerged, was perhaps in retribution for challenging “stability maintenance” measures in Diru, where government policies have become increasingly suppressive since late 2013 (see CHRD’s 2013 annual report on human rights defenders). Bachen Gyewa had formerly been a monk at Pekar Monastery, which has been the scene of several protests against Chinese rule. Since his death, a number of his supporters have been detained, but their circumstances are currently unknown. The local party secretary in Diru has also reportedly implemented a new policy, which a TCHRD source called the “59 points of law aimed at brutalizing and torturing Tibetans on various trumped-up charges.”[1]

Arbitrary Detention

3 Activists Convicted After Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention

An Anhui court on December 12 handed down prison sentences to three activists—Li Huaping (李化平), Yao Cheng (姚城), and Zhou Weilin (周伟林)—based largely on their roles in the 2013 protests advocating for the education rights of activist Zhang Lin (张林)’s daughter. The Shushan District People’s Court in Hefei City convicted all three men of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place,” in apparent retaliation for their support of Annie Zhang, who Hefei authorities had barred from attending elementary school. Li Huaping was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, Yao Cheng given a 22-month sentence, and Zhou Weilin received 18 months. Authorities seized all three in the late summer of 2013 during the crackdown on peaceful assembly, association, and expression. They had very restricted access to legal counsel during their long pre-trial detentions.[2]

 

 

Special Notice

Updates: Three Crackdowns Under Xi Jinping  

There have been three distinct crackdowns on civil society activism since early 2013, when President Xi Jinping came into power. Beginning in March 2013, authorities detained dozens individuals for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly, association, and expression in advocacy campaigns against official corruption and other politically sensitive issues. This has, to date, led to the detention of 70 individuals, of whom 22 have been sentenced to prison, according to information confirmed by CHRD. Police arrested 46 of the 70, and of those, 39 have been indicted or put on trial.

Starting in April 2014, another wave of suppression targeted those who tried to mark the 25^th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. CHRD documented 152 individuals affected, of whom 23 are still believed to be in custody.

In late September this year, authorities began detaining individuals who expressed support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. CHRD has documented 112 individuals who were taken into police custody. Of those, 18 are known to have been formally arrested, and 22 more remain in police custody. Of the total seized, five individuals were given administrative detentions and released; 72 individuals have been released in all, most having spent up to 30 days in criminal detention.

Contacts:

Renee Xia, International Director (Mandarin, English), +1 240 374 8937, reneexia@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @ReneeXiaCHRD

Victor Clemens, Research Coordinator (English), +1 209 643 0539, victorclemens@chrdnet.com

Frances Eve, Research Assistant (English), + 1 646 801 9479, franceseve@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @FrancesEveCHRD

Follow CHRD on Twitter: @CHRDnet

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[1] “Extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention and religious repression continue in restive Tibetan county,” December 15, 2014, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

[2] “Case of Helping Zhang Lin’s Daughter Annie Go to School: Li Huaping, Yao Cheng, and Zhou Weilin Separately Sentenced” (“救援张林女儿安妮失学案”今尘埃落定 李化平、姚诚、周维林分别获刑), December 12, 2014, Rights Defense Network (RDN); “Alert: For Helping Case of Little Anni, Zhou Weilin, Li Huaping and Yao Cheng Sentenced This Afternoon” (快讯:因小安妮事件被抓的周维林、李化平、姚城今下午宣判), December 12, 2014, Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch (CRLW).