Copy the enclosed letter and send it to the address provided.
Thank you for taking action.
Target adresses:
Ms. Wu Aiying
Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China,
Buzhang Sifabu,
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie,
Chaoyangqu,
Beijingshi 100020,
People’s Republic of China.
Email: [email protected]
His Excellency Mr. Wu Hailong
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative
Chemin de Surville 11
1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 793 70 14
Email: [email protected]
Letter:
Dear Minister and Your Excellency,
On 4 and 5 May 2014 a number of human rights defenders in Beijing were taken in for questioning by police following their participation in a commemoration of the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Human rights lawyer Mr Pu Zhiqiang, detained on charges of “causing a disturbance,” and Mr Hu Shigen are being held in at Beijing No.1 Detention Centre, while Messrs Xu Youyu and Hao Jian, and Ms Liang Xiaoyan and Ms Liu Di remain out of contact.
On 3 May 2014 the aforementioned human rights defenders, in addition to a number of others, gathered at a private residence in Beijing to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square. In a statement released after the meeting, participants, who included relatives of those killed during the protests, called on the Chinese government to launch an official investigation into the events in 1989 and to compensate the victims. They also released a photograph of themselves standing behind a banner saying, “2014 Beijing June 4 Anniversary Seminar.”
On 4 May 2014, at around 11pm, Pu Zhiqiang was summoned for questioning about the event by police. At around 4pm on 5 May, his home was searched and a mobile phone, a computer and books were reportedly seized. Police in Beijing subsequently released a statement saying that he had been detained on charges of “causing a disturbance.” Pu Zhiqiang is a well-known human rights lawyer who has taken on a number of freedom of speech cases and who himself participated in protests in 1989.
Hu Shigen, a writer who spent 16 years in prison on account of his pro-democracy activities, was taken from his home by police on 4 or 5 May. Xu Youyu, Hao Jian and Liang Xiaoyan (a participant in the 1989 protests) were also taken away over those two days and are being held incommunicado. Liu Di, a cyber activist who has previously spent a year in prison, was detained on the evening of 5 May.
I wish to express my concern at the questioning and detention of Pu Zhiqiang, Hu Shigen, Xu Youyu, Hao Jian, Liang Xiaoyan and Liu Di, as their detention is solely related to their legitimate and peaceful human rights work, in particular their call for accountability regarding the crackdown on 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square.
I urge the authorities in China to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally release Pu Zhiqiang, Hu Shigen, Xu Youyu, Hao Jian, Liang Xiaoyan and Liu Di as their detention is solely motivated by their peaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights;
2. Allow the aforementioned human rights defenders immediate and unfettered access to their families and lawyers, and ensure that their treatment, while in detention, adheres to all those conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention of Imprisonment,’ adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in China are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
Yours sincerely,
From: http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/25850/action