Sydney | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

China Jails Ethnic Miao Leader’s Relatives, Supporters For ‘Triad’ Activities

February 17, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on February 13, 2015 Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan have handed down jail terms of up to 25 years to the relatives and friends of a former ethnic minority official after he criticized corruption in his local government, an overseas rights group (read more…)

27 Affiliated With Former Official Given Prison Terms in Southern China

February 16, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by New York Times on February 12, 2015 BEIJING — A court in southern China has sentenced to prison 27 family members and supporters of a former official, now dead, who had sought to expose local corruption, a lawyer for one of them said Thursday. The large number (read more…)

Kou Yanding (寇延丁)

February 16, 2015 Comments Off

Kou Yanding寇延丁 (Released) Crime: Creating a disturbance Length of Punishment: N/A Court: N/A Trial Date: N/A Sentencing Date: N/A Dates of Detention/Arrest: October 9, 2014 (detained); February 14, 2014 (released) Place of Incarceration: Haidian District Detention Center (Beijing Municipality) Background Beijing police seized writer and activist Kou Yanding (寇延丁) from a (read more…)

[CHRB] 27 Members of Ethnic Miao Minority Sentenced for Protesting Death in Detention of Leader (2/6-12/2015)

February 12, 2015 Comments Off

On February 9, a Hunan court sentenced relatives and supporters of Long Baorong (龙保荣), an ethnic Miao leader and former party official imprisoned for exposing corruption, who died right after his medical release. His son-in-law, Long Xianyuan (龙贤员), received 15 years in prison while Long Xianjiang (龙贤江), the brother of (read more…)

At Least 955 Human Rights Activists Detained in 2014

February 10, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by China Digital Times on February 5, 2015 Chinese Human Rights Defenders has published partial data on detentions of rights activists in China over the past three years. The figures indicate that there were at least 955 detentions of five days or longer last year, almost as many as (read more…)

China, Asian Authoritarian States Score Poorly in Rights Report

February 10, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Quartz on February 4, 2015 Last year, China detained at least 940 Chinese citizens working on human and civil rights—a 72% increase from the year before, according to new data from the advocacy group Chinese Human Rights Defenders. The figure demonstrates what critics say is a worsening government crackdown on the country’s civil (read more…)

Top Beijing Rights Lawyer’s License Seized in Detention Center

February 10, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on January 30, 2015 Authorities in the northern Chinese province of Hebei have confiscated the business license of a prominent human rights lawyer after she tried to visit a client in a police-run detention center. Beijing-based attorney Wang Yu’s license allowing her access to judicial (read more…)

[CHRB] Hampered Investigation Into Death in Custody; Ineffective New Rules on Lawyers’ Input in Capital Cases (1/30-2/5/2015)

February 5, 2015 Comments Off

The family of Anhui Province farmer Yang Wusi (杨五四) has called on local authorities to explain how he died in detention, suspecting that he may have been tortured to death. During his autopsy, Yang was found to have no food in his stomach, bruises on his body, a wound on (read more…)

Chinese Activist Held Over Support For Occupy Movement in Hong Kong

February 2, 2015 Comments Off

Originally published by Radio Free Asia on January 29, 2015 Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have formally arrested an online activist for subversion after he publicly supported Hong Kong’s Occupy Central pro-democracy movement, his wife and lawyer said. Huizhou-based Ye Xiaozheng, known online by his nickname Humian Yizhou (read more…)

Xia Lin (夏霖)

February 16, 2015 Comments Off

Xia Lin 夏霖 (released) Crime: Fraud Length of Punishment: 12 years (reduced to 10 on appeal) Court: Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court Trial Date: June 17, 2016 Sentencing Date: September 22, 2016 Dates of Detention/Arrest: November 8, 2014 (detained); December 15, 2014 (arrested) Place of Incarceration: Beijing No. 3 (read more…)

Yu Shiwen (于世文)

February 16, 2015 Comments Off

Yu Shiwen (于世文) and his wife, Chen Wei (陈卫), were disappeared on May 23, 2014, until May 28, when their family received a notice saying both of them had been criminally detained on charges of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place.” The charges apparently stem from (read more…)

Tie Liu (铁流)

January 30, 2015 Comments Off

On February 25, the Sichuan court convicting Tie Liu of “illegal business activity” but issuing a suspended sentence in a case fraught with rights abuses. The trial at the Qingyang District People’s Court in Chengdu lasted for about one hour, and the court sentenced Liu to two-and-a-half years in prison, (read more…)