12 February 2010
RAN 64/08 Update #3
CHINA: Prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobos appeal rejected
International PENs Writers in Prison Committee continues to call on PEN Centres world wide to take action on behalf of Liu Xiaobo and others detained in China. Liu Xiaobo, former President and Board member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, was sentenced to eleven years in prison on 25 December 2009. He was convicted of incitement to subversion for his role in publishing Charter 08, a document calling for political reform and human rights, and articles published online since 2005. On 25 December 2009 International PEN issued a press release protesting the sentence. To read this go to Liu Xiaobo Press release On 11 February 2010 it was reported that his appeal had been rejected by a Beijing court. PEN continues to demand the immediate and unconditional release of dissident writer Liu Xiaobo and all those detained in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
PEN Centres are asked to continue to take action on behalf of Liu Xiaobo and all writers detained in China by:1) Sending letters of protest to the Chinese authorities in Beijing as well as the Chinese embassies in your own country see below for guidance
2) Staging public events and writing articles for publication in the press.
3) Electing Liu Xiaobo as an Honorary Member of your Centres and by doing so provide long term support and advocacy for him and his family. For details of the International PEN Honorary Membership scheme, read the PEN WiPC Guide to Defending Writers Under Attack (Part V, pgs 15-20). Please let us know if you do so and we will ensure that your Centre is networked with others working on Lius case.
BackgroundLiu Xiaobo was arrested on 8 December 2009 and held under residential surveillance, a form of pre-trial detention, at an undisclosed location in Beijing until he was formally charged on 23 June 2009 with spreading rumours and defaming the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years. He was sentenced to eleven years in prison on 25 December 2009.
Liu Xiaobo is among a large number of dissidents to have been detained or harassed since December 2008 after issuing an open letter calling on the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and launching Charter 08, a declaration calling for political reforms and human rights published on 9 December 2008. These activities were part of campaigns to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December), and were initially signed by over 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists and now have over 10,000 signatories from throughout China. Liu Xiaobo first received support from International PEN in 1989, when he was one of a group of writers and intellectuals given the label the Black Hands of Beijing by the government and arrested for their part in the Tiananmen Square protests. Prior to his current arrest, Liu has spent a total of five years in prison, including a three year sentence passed in 1996, and has suffered frequent short arrests, harassment and censorship. In January 2009 over 300 writers signed a petition calling for his release.
For more information follow these links:
“An Open Letter to Calling on the National People’s Congress Standing
Committee to Ratify the ICCPR”, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese),
http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class4/200812/20081209030825_12257.html
Charter 08, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese):
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class71/200812/20081209130050_12266.html
The English version can be found on:
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3552/prmID/1610
For writings and an interview with Liu Xiaobo see American PENs website:
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3029/prmID/172
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3550/prmID/172
Please send appeals:
– Expressing dismay about the eleven year sentence handed down to prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo solely for his peaceful dissident activities;
– Pointing out that the sentence breaches the international treaties to which China is a signatory, most notably Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right that specifically guarantees the right to freedom of expression and asking that this breach be taken into consideration when Liu Xiaobos case comes to appeal.
Send appeals to:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the Peoples Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China
Mr. Meng Jianzhu
Minister of the Public Security
East Chang’an Avenue 14
100741 Beijing
P.R. China
Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in your country asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments.
You may find it easier to write to the Chinese ambassador in your own country asking him or her to forward your appeal. Most embassies are obliged to forward such appeals to the relevant officials in the country. A letter or petition signed by an eminent member of your Centre may give make it more likely for your appeal to be considered. Similarly if your appeal is published in your local press and copied to the Chinese ambassador, this too may have greater impact.
See this useful link to find the contact details of the Chinese embassy in your country Chinese embassies abroad
**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 14 March 2010**
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: [email protected]
Cathy McCann
Researcher, Asia/Middle East
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee
Brownlow House
50-51 High Holborn
London WC1V 6ER.
Tel.+44 (0)20 7405 0338
Fax: +44 (0)20 7405 0339
www.internationalpen.org.uk
International PEN is a UK Registered Charity No. 1117088 and a Company Registered in England No. 05683997, Registered Office: Brownlow House, 50/51High Holborn, London WC1V 6E