China must free activist who defended earthquake victims
Amnesty International has urged the Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Huang Qi, a human rights defender who worked with the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He was sentenced on Monday to three years’ imprisonment.
The Court said the conviction was based on two city level documents found in Huang Qi’s house and found him guilty of "unlawfully holding state secrets". Several dozen police surrounded the court on Monday morning. After negotiation, only his wife and mother were allowed to enter the court.
Several local women supporters who requested to enter the court to hear the sentence were beaten and injured.
There was only a verbal announcement and no written verdict has been given to the family. Huang Qi’s lawyers were not able to come from Beijing to attend due to the short notice given.
Huang Qi protested immediately and said he will appeal. The judge asked court police to take him away and not allow him to speak.
Huang Qi was detained because of his work on behalf of families of five primary school pupils who died when school buildings collapsed in the Sichuan earthquake of May 2008. He had been attempting to bring a legal case against local authorities.
He was sentenced by the Wuhou District People’s Court in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
"The Chinese government is penalizing someone who is trying to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Huang Qi should be treated as a model citizen, committed to the rule of law, but instead he has fallen victim to China’s vague state secrets legislation," said Sam Zarifi, director of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific programme.
"He should never have been detained in the first place and should be released immediately."
"China’s state secrets legislation needs to urgently be reviewed. These laws are used extensively to retroactively penalize lawful human rights activities and restrict freedom of expression."
Huang Qi was detained by plain clothed police officers on 10 June 2008 while having dinner in a restaurant. He was tried behind closed doors in August 2009.
The criminal proceedings against Huang Qi fell far short of China’s legal regulations and international human rights standards.
Huang Qi was denied access to his family and lawyer while in detention, on the grounds that the case involved “state secrets”. He was first allowed to meet with his lawyer Ding Xikui, on 23 September 2008, after more than a hundred days in incommunicado detention.
On 2 February 2009, the Wuhou District People’s Court in Chengdu failed to publicly announce the schedule of his trial, as required by China’s Criminal Procedure Law.
On 3 February 2009, the Court, on the pretext of protecting “state secrets”, prohibited lawyer Ding Xikui from making photocopies of case documents to prepare for his defence.
During the 5 August trial, the court forbade witnesses from testifying on Huang Qi’s behalf, again citing “state secrets”.
Huang Qi’s health is said to be rapidly deteriorating.
His family fears that he is not receiving adequate medical treatment in custody. According to his other lawyer, Mo Shaoping, a doctor at the detention centre has diagnosed Huang Qi with two tumours, one in his stomach and another in his chest.
Amnesty international believes that Huang Qi was treated inhumanely during his custody, including being interrogated by police for long hours and subjected to sleep deprivation.
Chinese authorities have turned down repeated requests by Huang Qi’s family to release him on bail to await trial. His wife has been barred from visiting since the closed-door trial on 5 August 2009.
Huang Qi was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in 2003 for hosting an online discussion about the protests in Tiananmen Square in 2000.
The “evidence” against him included reference to an Amnesty International document about the Tiananmen crackdown, which had been posted on his web-site.
He was released on 4 June 2005. Following his release, he continued to maintain his website and his human rights work and was detained again on 10 June 2008, apparently for his assistance to the parents of students who died during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in bringing legal cases against the local authorities.
ICC/DRC: Second Trial of Congolese Warlords
(The Hague) – The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) joint trial of two Congolese rebel leaders offers victims the chance to see accountability for atrocities committed in Congo’s armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today.
Kuwait: Free Jailed Activist
(Kuwait City) – The prosecutor-general should immediately order the release of Muhammad Abd al-Qadir al-Jasim, a lawyer and journalist who is a prominent critic of the government, Human Rights Watch said today.
Ohio moves to resume executions under new protocol
Amnesty International is appealing to the authorities in the state of Ohio not to resume executions, following their adoption of a new lethal injection protocol.
Ohio’s decision to introduce the new lethal injection procedures followed the state’s failed attempt to execute Romell Broom on 15 September.
Over two hours, the execution team repeatedly tried and failed to find a useable vein in which to insert the lethal injection needle. They finally gave up.
Ohio is seeking to execute Kenneth Biros on 8 December. Six other death row inmates are scheduled for execution in Ohio in the six months after that.
Ohio’s Attorney General revealed on 13 November that the state had decided to alter its lethal injection procedures, arguing that the changes should end all claims raised in the litigation about how Ohio state authorities carries out executions.
The state authorities have decided to change from a three-drug process to a procedure that uses a large dose of one chemical, thiopental sodium, an anaesthetic.
Secondly, the state has developed a "back-up procedure" for cases when a suitable vein could not be found in a condemned inmate for his or her execution.
This procedure would involve injecting a combination of two chemicals, midazolam and hydromorphone, into a large muscle of the prisoner such as the thigh.
Ohio would be the first state to change to this method. Jonathan Groner MD, Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, has described Ohio’s proposal to Amnesty International as “an experiment”.
The Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has said that the changes would become effective by 30 November 2009, "in sufficient time to conduct the execution of Kenneth Biros".
On 13 November, the District Court judge overseeing the litigation rejected the state’s bid for an expedited schedule so that it could execute Kenneth Biros with its new method on 8 December.
The state has appealed to the US Court of Appeals to have the current stay of execution, previously imposed by the District Court, lifted.
On 17 November, the Ohio parole board recommended against clemency.
The six other Ohio inmates currently scheduled for execution are: Abdullah Sharif Kaazim Mahdi (7 January 2010); Mark Brown (4 February); Lawrence Reynolds (9 March); Darryl Durr (20 April); Michael Beuke (15 May); and Richard Nields (10 June).
Amnesty International considers that the death penalty can never be rendered humane, regardless of the method of execution.
The organization is reminding the Ohio authorities that a clear majority of countries have abandoned executions and that the death penalty is not an option even in international tribunals considering the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
It is calling for a moratorium on executions in the State of Ohio, pending abolition of the death penalty.
Sri Lanka: Free All Unlawfully Detained
(New York) – As it prepares to allow the 130,000 internally displaced persons detained in camps to decide whether to stay or leave, the Sri Lankan government should ensure that no additional persons are subject to arbitrary detentions, Human Rights Watch said today.
Time for world leaders to ratify disappearances treaty
Amnesty International has called on world leaders to help prevent enforced disappearances by urging them to ratify a landmark treaty at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Disappearances Convention) needs just four more ratifications to become binding.
The UNGA third committee adopted a resolution on Thursday, with an unprecedented number of co-sponsors calling on all states to sign or ratify the convention without delay and bring the convention into force by December.
The convention aims to establish the truth about enforced disappearances, punish perpetrators and provide reparations to victims and their families.
"The Disappearances Convention is one of the strongest human rights treaties ever adopted by the United Nations," said Christopher Keith Hall.
"In the past, perpetrators of this crime have acted in the knowledge that they were unlikely to be held accountable, while the families of victims have been denied their right to justice. The Disappearances Convention is an important tool for the international community to halt this trend."
Ecuador became the 16th state to ratify the Convention on 20 October, while Germany and Spain did so on 24 September. In total, 81 countries have signed it.
The UNGA has expressed concern at the increase in enforced disappearances around the world. There are a growing number of reports of harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses or relatives of persons who have disappeared.
The Disappearances Convention represents the culmination of a long effort by many families of disappeared persons, NGOs and governments to address the continuing problem of enforced disappearance through international law.
"Amnesty International urges all states that have not done so already to ratify the Convention at the earliest opportunity and to make the declarations to recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider both individuals’ and states’ communications," said Christopher Keith Hall.
"Victims of enforced disappearances and their families have waited long enough. If the international community acts swiftly, 2009 could finally bring them a new tool to search for their loved ones and obtain justice."
Saudi Arabia: Witchcraft and Sorcery Cases on the Rise
(Kuwait City) – The cassation court in Mecca should overturn the death sentence imposed on Ali Sabat by a lower court in Medina on November 9 for practicing witchcraft, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the Saudi government to cease its increasing use of charges of "witchcraft" which remains vaguely defined and arbitrarily used.
UK: Set Judicial Inquiry on Complicity in Torture
(London) – The UK government should immediately order an independent judicial inquiry into the role and complicity of British security services in the torture of terrorism suspects in Pakistan, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
Chinese activists under threat after Obama visit
Chinese authorities must stop the harassment and arbitrary detention of dozens of human rights lawyers and activists who were targeted during US President Obama’s visit to the country earlier this week, Amnesty International said on Friday.
Security forces have kept dozens of lawyers and activists under house arrest or under surveillance during President Obama’s visit and prevented them from having any contact with foreign journalists reporting on the visit.
“It is a very negative sign that the Chinese government now actually steps up its repressive tactics during sensitive public events,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director.
“This is a clear signal to China’s civil society, as well as to the United States, that the Chinese government will not abide by its international human rights obligations even when it knows the whole world is watching.” Said Sam Zarifi.
On the morning of November 19th Jiang Tianyong, a lawyer, was blocked by police at the gate of his home in Beijing’s Haidian district as he was walking his daughter to school. Jiang had just returned from the US two days earlier.
Jiang Tianyong was held for 13 hours and questioned by police in Yangfangdian district police station near his home in Beijing.
The police did not provide him with any documentation authorizing his detention. When Jiang challenged the lawfulness of his detention the police told him that he was held for “attacking the police”.
Police also questioned his seven year-old daughter at school while he was in custody. He was released on November 19th, but the police told him that “the issue is not ended yet”. On the morning of November 20th at least six police officers were stationed at the gate to Jiang Tianyong’s house. The police initially blocked him from leaving but relented after negotiation.
“The Chinese government’s intimidation and harassment of lawyers and activists shows a complete disregard for human rights, the law and legal professionals,” said Sam Zarifi. “These are not the actions of a government that is committed to the rule of law.”
Other human rights lawyers including Li Xiongbing, Li Heping and Mo Shaoping also faced harassment, with three or four police officers stationed in front of their homes. Some of the police officers remain outside the lawyers’ homes.
Before President Obama’s visit to the country many activist and petitioners complained of state intimidation with police being posted outside their homes in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere in the country.
During the visit, some activists were escorted out of Beijing or were held in unofficial places of detention often knows as “black jails”.
Human rights activist and lawyers in China face violations of their own human rights, including torture and other ill-treatment, intimidation and arbitrary detention for their peaceful human rights work.
Lebanon: Heed UN Call to Reveal Detainee’s Fate
(Beirut) – Lebanese authorities should investigate the circumstances surrounding the detention and disappearance of Nawar `Abboud, Human Rights Watch and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) said today. A UN panel declared on November 10, 2009, that Lebanese authorities had arbitrarily detained him a year ago and then failed to provide convincing answers concerning his disappearance.