News - Chinese Human Rights DefendersChinese Human Rights Defenders

Weighty Times, Aggressive Measures: China Must End Heightened Crackdown Ahead of Party Congress

November 1, 2012 Comments Off

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders – November 1, 2012) – As the 18th Chinese Communist Party Congress approaches, police and other security personnel have ramped up harsh measures against Chinese dissidents, human rights activists and petitioners, depriving them of their liberty and subjecting them to myriad abuses. Citizens have been interrogated, (read more…)

[CHRB] Ni Yulan’s Health Continues to Worsen in Detention; Human Rights Lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan Forced to Close Firm, and more (10/18-10/24, 2012)

October 26, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing October 18-24, 2012 Contents Arbitrary Detention Beijing Activist Ni Yulan’s Health Worsening, Medical Parole May Be Sought Shanghai Activist Mao Hengfeng Criminally Detained After Being Seized in Beijing Village Head in Guangdong Criminally Detained After Protest Harassment of Activists Beijing Dissident Hu Jia Under Tighter Restrictions, (read more…)

[CHRB] Chen Kegui’s Case Sent to Prosecutors; Artists in Beijing Detained Over Anti-RTL Protest, and more (10/11-10/17, 2012)

October 18, 2012 Comments Off

The case of Chen Kegui (陈可贵), the nephew of activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), has been sent to a procuratorate in Shandong Province on the charge of “intentional injury,” and not the more serious charge of “intentional homicide” for which he was initially arrested. Also, Chen Guangfu (陈光福), Chen Kegui’s father, (read more…)

[CHRB] Man Still Wrongfully Held for Murder After More Than 4 Years; SPC Issues Guidance on Suspended Death Sentences; and more (10/2-10/10, 2012)

October 10, 2012 Comments Off

An 80-year-old Jiangsu man is still being held more than three years after his procedurally flawed trial for homicide in 2009 ended without a conviction, and more than four years after he was first detained. Also, police throughout China have aggressively targeted dissidents, activists and petitioners for harassment and control (read more…)

[CHRB] Lawyer Released Into Bail Awaiting Trial After Being Held for 15 Months; Villager Crushed to Death Over Property Dispute, and more (9/20-27, 2012)

September 27, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing September 20-27, 2012 Contents Arbitrary Detention Lawyer Yang Zaixin Released Into Bail After 15 Months in Detention Without Trial, Health Has Declined Harassment of Activists Jiangxi Police Physically Abuse Activists Seeking Permits to Hold Rally Forced Eviction & Demolition/Land Expropriation Hunan Man Crushed to (read more…)

[CHRB] Activists Suppressed Around Anti-Japan Protests; Shanghai’s Vague Psychiatric Surveying; and more (9/13-19, 2012)

September 19, 2012 Comments Off

Activists have used the opportunity presented by the heated popular responses to the Japanese government’s purchase of the disputed Diaoyu Islands to publicly voice pointed views on broader issues of China’s legitimacy and human rights. In response, the police moved against some of these activists, including the detention of one (read more…)

[CHRB] Revised Mental Health Law Draft Still Discriminatory; RTL Case Sparks More Debate in Chinese Media; and more (9/6-12, 2012)

September 14, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing September 6-12, 2012 Contents Arbitrary Detention Retrial Held for Seven Villagers Sentenced Over Election Protest Media Coverage of RTL Case Adds to Public Debates on Extralegal System & Violations of Speech Rights Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment Democracy Leader Yang Tongyan (read more…)

China’s Revised Draft Mental Health Law Still Permits Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

September 12, 2012 Comments Off

On August 27, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued a revision of the October 2011 draft Mental Health Law, which unfortunately still falls far short of complying with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

[CHRB] Activist Zhou Decai Given Five-Year Sentence; Elderly Man Loses Hands in Attack Over Land Conflict, and more (8/31-9/5, 2012)

September 6, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing August 31-September 5, 2012 Contents Arbitrary Detention Henan Activist Zhou Decai Given Five-Year Sentence for Rights Defense Advocacy Harsh Punishment After Tiananmen Square Protest: Four Petitioners Imprisoned, Two Dozen Sent to RTL Dongshigu Village Again Under Surveillance, Nearby Residents Still Face Intimidation Shanxi Woman Imprisoned (read more…)

[CHRB] Supreme People’s Court Proposes Judges Can Ban Lawyers; Gansu Man to Be Tried for “Incitement” Over Blog Posts (8/24-30, 2012)

August 31, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing August 24-30, 2012 Contents Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment & Punishment Shandong Man Forcibly Held in Psychiatric Hospital, More Such Revelations in CHRD Report Forced Eviction & Demolition/Land Expropriation Several Detained as Land Conflict Poses Guangdong Villagers Against Officials, Police Freedom of (read more…)

[CHRB] Armed Officers Sent Out to Prevent Protests at Tibetan Festival; CHRD Issues Report on Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment; and more (8/17-23, 2012)

August 23, 2012 Comments Off

China Human Rights Briefing August 17-23, 2012 Contents Arbitrary Detention Senior Monk in Sichuan Tortured, Sentenced to Seven Years for Disseminating Information Chongqing Official Serving RTL for Online Posts, Lawyer’s Visit Blocked Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Gansu Officials Send Out Armed Forces to Tibetan Festival, (read more…)

“The Darkest Corners”: Abuses of Involuntary Psychiatric Commitment in China

August 22, 2012 Comments Off

CHRD’s latest report details the grim conditions and human rights abuses faced by hundreds of thousands of people detained against their will in China’s psychiatric hospitals because they have, or are alleged to have, psychosocial disabilities. Involuntary commitment and forced medical treatment of such persons violates the Convention on the (read more…)