Urgent Action: Provide Life-Saving Care to Prisoner of Conscience Xu Zhiyong during Hunger Strike

October 24, 2024 Comments Off

Dr. Xu’s Life in Danger from Peaceful Protest over Cruel and Inhumane Treatment

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders – October 24, 2024) CHRD is alarmed that imprisoned legal advocate Xu Zhiyong is in life-threatening condition after being on a hunger strike since October 4 to protest the ill-treatment and violations of his rights at Lunan Prison, Shandong Province. We call on the Chinese authorities to provide Dr. Xu with adequate medical care during his hunger strike in peaceful protest, and we renew our call for his immediate and unconditional release from wrongful detention. Concerned governments and United Nations human rights bodies should urgently press Beijing to provide life-saving care and to release Dr. Xu.

“I worry about Xu Zhiyong’s dire condition. He is risking his life to protest this inhumane treatment, and authorities are tightly controlling his family and relatives. They are practically silenced, warned against disclosing any information about Xu. No lawyer has been allowed to visit him,” said Sophie Luo, activist and wife of jailed lawyer Ding Jiaxi.

On April 10, 2023, Linshu County Court in Shandong sentenced Xu Zhiyong to 14 years in prison on charges of “subversion of state power.” Xu was convicted along with lawyer Ding Jiaxi, who received a 12-year sentence, for a peaceful gathering. Both had been jailed, etc. That movement promoted civic engagement through grassroots advocacy for civil and human rights based on China’s laws and constitution.

At the time of their more recent imprisonment, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the sentences and four UN independent human rights experts raised their case in a letter, warning the government that its ongoing use of national security provisions in the Criminal Code restricted the rights to freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

Freely chosen hunger strikes are considered a form of peaceful protest. Dr. Xu began his hunger strike on October 4, and he has since lost over 10 pounds, according to information CHRD has received. Prison authorities have not confirmed whether Dr. Xu is receiving any medical care during his hunger strike. His partner Li Qiaochu, an activist, released from prison in August this year, after serving a 44-month sentence in part for having accused authorities of subjecting Xu to torture.

CHRD is concerned about the health risk to Xu’s life, especially as he had previously been subjected to torture during pre-trial detention. Xu had been chained to a chair, deprived of sleep, and given only little food and water for 10 days, and as a result he became very weak, had difficulty urinating, which let him to fear that he might have prostate disease. CHRD has documented numerous cases in which the denial of proper medical care has been used, a systematic form of torture in Chinese jails, resulting in the deaths in custody of rights defender Cao Shunli and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, as just two examples among many.

Dr. Xu went on hunger strike reportedly in protest of the cruel and inhumane treatment he has suffered in prison, which became public in July after Xu’s family visited him in prison. Xu has been held in a cell with three other prisoners who were apparently tasked by prison guards to constantly monitor and torment him round the clock, including when he uses the toilet. He is referred to in the prison system as “prisoner No. 003,” rather than his real name. While his family could visit him once a month, they have faced harassment, intimidation and threats. Authorities refused to deliver his letters to his family and denied his request to call his family on the phone. These treatments violate his rights to privacy, freedom of communication, and his human dignity, and are illegal under China’s Prison Law and violate international human rights law.

Meanwhile, Sophie Luo, the wife of Ding Jiaxi, reports that her husband has recently been deprived of his right to communicate with his family, once again, according to an update she posted on October 23. Chinese prison authorities routinely use blocking family communication or visits to punish jailed human rights defenders.

“The Chinese authorities’ collective punishment of families – intimidation, soft detention, threats, reprisals – have led to the helpless situation where families are unable to advocate for their loved ones. The international community must speak out and take actions on behalf of victims, like Xu Zhiyong, and their families,” said Sophie Luo.

CHRD urges the Chinese government to:

Release Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and all wrongfully detained human rights defenders immediately and unconditionally.
Ensure Xu Zhiyong receives adequate medical treatment and that both men can freely communicate and receive regular visits with their family members.
Investigate and hold accountable the prison guards and officials responsible for their ill-treatment and violating their rights.

CHRD calls on concerned governments and the UN to:

Publicly urge the Chinese authorities to respect Xu Zhiyong’s rights, ensure that he receives adequate medical care, and call for his immediate release;
UN human rights special procedures should follow up on their communication sent in May 2023 and raise concerns about Dr. Xu’s and lawyer Ding’s current situation in a public statement and send an inquiry to the Chinese government;
High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk should follow up on his statement and call for Dr. Xu and lawyer Ding’s release and for protection of their rights.

A photo of Xu Zhiyong taken by his lawyer in January 2023 at Linshu County Detention Center in Linyi City, Shandong Province (Credit: Wang Ying, VoA)