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

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

China Human Rights Briefing

 September 5 – 11, 2014

Contents

Arbitrary Detention

• Activist Zhang Lin Given 3½ Years; 14 Now Imprisoned From 2013 Crackdown
• Four Criminally Detained for Organizing Campaign for Detained Activists in Guangzhou

Reprisals Against Human Rights Lawyers

• Supporters Detained Around Hearing for Suspended Rights Lawyer

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Arbitrary Detention

Activist Zhang Lin Given 3½ Years; 14 Now Imprisoned From 2013 Crackdown

Anhui activist Mr. Zhang Lin (张林)’s three-and-a-half-year prison sentence was announced by the Bengshan District People’s Court in Bengbu City on September 5. He is now the 14^th person known to be imprisoned in the crackdown on peaceful assembly, association and expression, which began in earnest in March 2013. Zhang was detained in July 2013 and put on trial last December on a charge of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place.” Zhang’s case stems from protests that he helped organize in support of his daughter, who was blocked from attending an elementary school in Hefei last spring due to his activism. CHRD recently added Zhang to a watch list of Chinese detainees in urgent need of medical attention, as he is suffering from a condition in his vertebrae, a dental disease, and an eye infection that is threatening his vision.

Prison sentences handed down to detained activists in the crackdown range from eight months to six-and-a-half years, with three individuals—Ms. Liu Ping (刘萍), Mr. Wei Zhongping (魏忠平), and Mr. Dong Rubin (董如彬 aka Bian Min 边民)—given the harshest sentences.[1] The trial of two other activists swept up in the crackdown, Mr. Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄 aka Yang Maodong 杨茂东) and Mr. Sun Desheng (孙德胜), is set to open on September 12 at the Tianhe District People’s Court in Guangzhou. Both have been detained since August 2013.[2]

Four Criminally Detained for Organizing Campaign for Detained Activists in Guangzhou

Four activists who had organized or participated in a running race to raise awareness and funding for detained Guangzhou activists have been criminally detained for “creating a disturbance,” according to Rights Defense Network. Police initially seized 11 activists and netizens on September 6, the day of the event, and later put under criminal detention Ms. Zhang Weihong (张卫红 aka Zhang Wanhe, 张婉荷), Mr. Lai Rifu (赖日福 aka Hua Manlou, 花满楼), Mr. Chen Wuquan (陈武权), who is a disbarred lawyer, and Mr. Zhang Xiaoxiang (张小翔 aka Qieting Fenglin 且听风林). Lai and Chen are both being held at Guangzhou No. 3 Detention Center. Zhang Weihong is being held in Guangzhou No. 1 Detention Center, but it is unclear where Zhang Xiaoxiang is detained. Police also warned and harassed several others who took part in the activity. The participants were to run up Baiyun Mountain near Guangzhou, but without their shirts on and holding banners. Their aim was to collect online donations and draw public attention to detained human rights defenders, including Mr. Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄), Huang Wenxun (黄文勋) and Mr. Tang Jingling (唐荆陵).[3]

Reprisals Against Human Rights Lawyers

Supporters Detained Around Hearing for Suspended Rights Lawyer

Police detained dozens of activists and lawyers for hours or overnight, sending two of them to administrative detention, after about 100 supporters tried to attend the hearing on the recent one-year suspension of rights lawyer Mr. Cheng Hai (程海)’s license, held on September 5 in a remote suburb of Beijing. The Changping District Justice Bureau granted Cheng a hearing after it announced the punishment for Cheng in August. The Bureau accused Cheng of “disrupting court order” in retaliation for defending now-imprisoned lawyer Mr. Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜) during Ding’s trial in April. The hearing was held behind closed doors in an office building of the Beijing Judicial Affairs Bureau in Changping District under heavy police presence. Near midday, around 100 police emerged from the building and detained more than 40 people, taking them to three local police stations. Most were questioned and released in a few hours or the next day, but Dr. Liu Sixin (刘四新), who graduated from Beijing University with a Ph.D. in criminal law, and Mr. Ma Qiang (马强), a veteran activist, were given seven-day administrative detentions for allegedly “disrupting public security order of a work unit.” In addition to Cheng, two other lawyers have faced reprisals for supporting Ding Jiaxi, who was involved in the New Citizens’ Movement before being taken into custody last year (see report).[4]

Contacts:

Renee Xia, International Director (Mandarin, English), +1 240 374 8937, reneexia@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @ReneeXiaCHRD

Victor Clemens, Research Coordinator (English), +1 209 643 0539, victorclemens@chrdnet.com

Frances Eve, Research Assistant (English), + 1 646 801 9479, franceseve@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @FrancesEve

 

Follow CHRD on Twitter: @CHRDnet

 

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[1] “Zhang Lin Met With Defense Lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan Today, Informed Him He Already Will Appeal (Attached First Instance Verdict)” (张林今会见辩护律师刘晓原 告知其已上诉 (附：一审判决书), September 9, 2014, RDN; “Zhang Lin Sentenced to Three Years and Six Months for ‘Gathering a Crowd to Disrupt Order of Public Place” (张林今被以“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”一审判刑三年六个月), September 5, 2014, RDN.

[2] “Breaking News: Guo Feixiong (Yang Maodong) and Sun Desheng Trial to Open on September 12, 2014” (快讯：郭飞雄（杨茂东）、孙德胜案将于2014年9月12日开庭), September 9, 2014, Rights Defense Network (RDN).

[3] “Guangzhou Baiyun Mountain ‘Streaking’ Participants Chen Wuquan, Zhang Wanhe, Huo Maolou, and Qieting Fenglin Confirmed to Be Under Criminal Detention” (广州白云山“裸奔”活动确认陈武权、张婉荷、花满楼、且听风吟四人被刑拘), September 10, 2014, RDN; “Zhang Wanhe, Hua Manlou, and Many Others Were Criminally Detained for ‘Streaking Acitivity’ at Baiyun Mountain in Guangdong” (广州白云山“裸奔”活动 张婉荷花满楼等多人被刑拘), September 7, 2014, RDN; “Urgent Alert:  Guangzhou Baiyun Mountain ‘Streaking’ Activity Broken Up, Many People’s Movement Restricted” (紧急关注：广州白云山“裸奔”活动被破坏，多人被限制自由), September 6, 2014, RDN; “Participant Warned for Planning on Joining in ‘Streaking’ Art To Collect Money for Imprisoned Human Rights Defenders” (广州参加“裸奔”艺术为系狱维权人士募捐者受到警告), September 2, 2014, RDN.

[4] “Lawyer Cheng Hai: Record of My September 5 Administrative Penalty Hearing” (程海律师：9月5日对我行政处罚听证会纪实), September 9, 2014, RDN; “9/5 Incident Report: Dr. Liu Sixin and Ma Qiangjun Given 7-Day Public Order Detentions” (“九五事件”通报：刘四新博士 、马强均遭治安拘留7天), September 7, 2014, RDN; “Lawyer Cheng Hai’s Hearing Unexpectedly Held in Secret, A Hundred Supportive Lawyers and Citizens Kept Outside” (程海律师听证会竟然秘密举行 上百声援律师、公民被拒门外), September 5, 2014, RDN; “One or Two Hundred Supporters At Lawyer Cheng Hai’s Hearing, Hu Jia Taken Away” (程海律师听证会一、二百人声援 胡佳等被抓), September 5, 2014, Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch (CRLW); “Petitioners In Beijing Support Rights Lawyer Cheng Hai, But Authorities Terrorize and Seize Them” (在京访民声援人权律师程海，当局实施恐怖主义抓人), September 5, 2014, Human Rights Campaign in China (HRCC).