China Human Rights Briefings | Chinese Human Rights Defenders

[CHRB] (2/14-20/2014) Henan to Close Illegal “Discipline Centers”; Guangzhou Activist Arrested

February 20, 2014 Comments Off

Henan provincial authorities recently announced it would immediately close and investigate “abnormal petitioning discipline centers,” extralegal facilities akin to “black jails” that have been used to hold petitioners intercepted in Beijing. In addition, Guangdong activist Liang Songji (梁颂基), an activist from Guangdong Province, was arrested on charges of “obstructing official (read more…)

[CHRB] Activist Given 3 Years for Inciting Subversion, Tibetans Tortured to Death (2/7-13/2014)

February 13, 2014 Comments Off

Democracy activist Liu Benqi (刘本琦) was sentenced to three years for “inciting subversion of state power.” His wife, Liu Ying (刘英), recently visited him and has said his face looked swollen, which she thought was likely due to poor nutrition at the detention center. Meanwhile in the Tibet Autonomous Region, (read more…)

[CHRB] Guizhou Activist Disappeared; Police Role Suspected in “Suicide” of Activist’s Father (1/31-2/6/2014)

February 6, 2014 Comments Off

Democracy rights activist Mi Chongbiao (糜崇标) and his wife, Li Kezhen (李克珍), have been out of contact since September 2013, after being held under illegal house arrest since last June in Guizhou Province. Police placed the couple under tight 24-hour surveillance last summer just days after Mi had posted online (read more…)

[CHRB] Rights Campaigners Detained in Guangzhou, Activist Zhang Lin Sentenced to 3½ Years (9/5-11, 2014)

September 11, 2014 Comments Off

Four activists who had organized or participated in a shirt-less run to raise awareness and funding for detained Guangzhou activists have been criminally detained for “creating a disturbance.” Anhui activist Zhang Lin (张林) has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, and is now the 14th person known to be (read more…)

[CHRB] Imprisoned Tibetan Monk in Urgent Need of Medical Attention, 5 More Cases Go Under Medical Watch (8/29-9/4/2014)

September 3, 2014 Comments Off

Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, a Tibetan monk, is reportedly unrecognizable due to severe conditions in a prison in Sichuan Province. Weak and emaciated, the monk is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence on trumped-up charges of “illegally owning guns and explosives” and “occupation of state property.” In addition, CHRD has added five more (read more…)

[CHRB] Hundreds Face Harassment Around Youth Olympics in Nanjing, 21 Buddhists Detained in Guangdong (8/22-28/2014)

August 28, 2014 Comments Off

The Nanjing 2014 Summer Youth Olympics closed on August 28, but at least 300 activists in Nanjing and nearby cities have faced intensified intimidation and harassment as a result of the games. Guangdong police criminally detained 21 Buddhists during a series of raids targeting the Huazang group, including the founder (read more…)

[CHRB] Show Trials of Anti-Corruption Activists Held, Suspended (1/17-1/30/14)

January 30, 2014 Comments Off

Beijing courts recently held proceedings for several activists with ties to the “New Citizens’ Movement.” Legal advocate Xu Zhiyong (许志永) was given a four-year sentence on January 26, while activist Yuan Dong (袁冬) was sentenced to 18 months three days later. Trials for other anti-corruption campaigners were suspended.

[CHRB] Tibetan Smuggles Out Prisoner List, Lawyers Call for Investigation Into Church Demolition (8/15-21/2014)

August 21, 2014 Comments Off

Tibetan monk Gonpo Trinley smuggled information on 45 Tibetan prisoners in Sichuan Province out of China after fleeing to India this month, and 10 of those listed are still incarcerated. On August 18, a group of 14 lawyers has released a legal opinion about the mistreatment of several members of (read more…)

[CHRB] Uighur Scholar Seized, Pre-trial Hearing Set for Legal Advocate Xu Zhiyong (1/10-1/16/14)

January 16, 2014 Comments Off

Around 3pm on January 15, several dozens of police officers from Beijing and Xinjiang took away Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木土赫提), an outspoken Uighur professor at the Central National Minorities University, from his residence in Beijing and searched his apartment for more than 6 hours. Also, pre-trial proceedings are scheduled to take (read more…)

[CHRB] Details of Torture Emerge, Official Order Blocks Detainees’ Access to Lawyers (8/7-14/2014)

August 14, 2014 Comments Off

A group of lawyers disclosed details of the torture of their clients, former party officials held in Hunan under shuanggui. Meanwhile, authorities in a Heilongjiang city apparently issued an ordinance barring Beijing-based lawyers from visiting clients in the city’s detention facilities. Beijing police have reportedly arrested two petitioners-turned-activists, Mr. Guo (read more…)

[CHRB] Jailed Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng Released Into Control by Authorities (7/30-8/7/2014)

August 7, 2014 Comments Off

Authorities released human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟) on August 7 from a Xinjiang prison, but Gao is apparently not free. He appeared to be accompanied by Chinese security personnel and barred from speaking on the phone to family so far. In Henan, police seized dozens of the supporters on (read more…)

[CHRB] Guangdong Activists Seized for Hunger Strike, Lawyer Also Detained (1/3-1/9/2014)

January 9, 2014 Comments Off

Police in Guangzhou detained five activists on January 4 for taking part in a hunger strike organized to mark 25 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. The detainees are all involved in the so-called “Southern Street Movement,” a loose network of activists in Guangdong Province. Police also took into custody (read more…)