News - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

[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…)

[CHRB] Accused Murder Suspects Severely Beaten; Several Activists’ Trials Beginning

July 30, 2014 Comments Off

Henan petitioner Zhang Xiaoyu (张小玉) and her husband, Xu Youchen (许有臣), were severely beaten by police after being detained on suspicion of killing a policeman. A lawyer who was able to meet the couple has confirmed that Zhang has nearly lost her eyesight as a result of the brutal assault, (read more…)

[CHRB] Another Long Sentence for Detainee From 2013 Crackdown; 1,600 Cases of Arbitrary Detention & Torture Tracked Since 2012

July 24, 2014 Comments Off

Yunnan-based activist Dong Rubin (董如彬), also known as Bian Min (边民), was sentenced in Yunnan Province to six-and-a-half years in prison on charges of “creating a disturbance” and “illegal business operations” on July 23. Dong’s sentence matches the longest yet for anyone detained during last year’s crackdown on peaceful assembly, (read more…)

[CHRB] University Student Criminally Detained for June Fourth Tweet (6/6-12/2014)

June 12, 2014 Comments Off

Individuals continue to be detained after June 4. Prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强) was denied medical bail on June 9. University student Zhao Huaxu (赵华旭) was criminally detained after posting on twitter an article relating to June Fourth. On May 31, Yin Zheng’an (尹正安), a longtime labor activist (read more…)

[CHRB] Arrest and Detentions in Xinjiang, Another “Black Jail” Uncovered in Beijing (11/1-7, 2013)

November 8, 2013 Comments Off

After having disappeared for twelve weeks, activist Zhao Haitong (赵海通) of Xinjiang has resurfaced, with his family learning that he was formally arrested on September 12 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” Currently held at Urumqi City Liudaowan Detention Center, Zhao went missing in mid-August in the process (read more…)

Chinese Government Lacks the Qualifications for Membership on UN Human Rights Council

November 7, 2013 Comments Off

Chinese Human Rights Defenders is concerned that the government of China, which is seeking a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for a third time, has clearly failed to comply with the standards established by the UN General Assembly. CHRD urges UN Member States to take into (read more…)

[CHRB] Tibetan Received 6 Years over Self-immolation; Cao Shunli Denied Treatment in Detention (12/19/2013-1/2/2014)

January 3, 2014 Comments Off

A monk from Bora Monastery was sentenced in December 2013 to six years in prison for “intentional homicide” on charges related to the self-immolation of another monk in Bora. Gedun Gyatso, 47, had been held incommunicado for a year before the Sangchu (CH: Xiahe) County People’s Court in Gansu Province (read more…)

Activist Chen Jianfang Disappeared, Police Raided Residence – Chinese Authorities Intensify Reprisals Ahead of UN Human Rights Council Election

November 5, 2013 Comments Off

CHRD is deeply concerned about the safety of Shanghai-based activist Chen Jianfang (陈建芳) and the imminent danger of torture she faces. Chen has been missing for more than 24 hours as of November 5, 2013. Chen was last in touch with friends on November 4 when she was on her (read more…)

UN Working Group Finds China’s Psychiatric Detention of Petitioner “Arbitrary”

July 21, 2014 Comments Off

CHRD welcomes the opinion adopted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) that the lengthy detention of Heilongjiang petitioner Xing Shiku (邢世库) in a psychiatric hospital has been “arbitrary.” In an opinion issued on May 20, the Working Group calls for Xing’s release and requests the Chinese government (read more…)

China: End Impunity for the 1989 Atrocities and Guarantee Right to Redress

June 2, 2014 Comments Off

On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, CHRD urges the Chinese government to end the impunity for gross human rights violations during the 1989 suppression of pro-democracy protests, to stop its suppression of survivors and outspoken critics, to guarantee the victims’ right to obtain redress and (read more…)