Case history: Tang Tianhao
On 5 June 2015, human rights lawyers Tang Tianhao and Ma Lianshun were released from administrative detention in Qing'an country, Heilongjiang Province. Fellow lawyer You Feizhu was released on the evening of 4 June.
The three lawyers, along with lawyer Ge Yongxi, were detained in Qing'an between 28 May and 1 June following attempts to meet with their clients, who were in police custody
Tang Tianhao is a human rights lawyer from Chonqing who has defended Tibetan monks, Falun Gong practitioners and exposed the use of illegal black jails.
On 5 June 2015, human rights lawyers Tang Tianhao and Ma Lianshun were released from administrative detention in Qing'an country, Heilongjiang Province. Fellow lawyer You Feizhu was released on the evening of 4 June.
The three lawyers, along with lawyer Ge Yongxi, were detained in Qing'an between 28 May and 1 June following attempts to meet with their clients, who were in police custody. There is currently no further news on the situation of Ge Yongxi.
You Feizhu received a 15-day administrative detention sentence for 'picking quarrels and provoking troubles' on 28 May 2015. The human rights defender had travelled to Qing'an county in Heilongjiang province, along with fellow lawyer Ma Wei, to represent a number of citizens who had been illegally detained in the county the previous week, but was denied access to them. Ma Wei was released on 3 June, having been detained on the same day as You Feizhu.
On 1 June 2015, Tang Tianhao, Ma Lianshun and Ge Yongxi, as well as the lawyer Xu Zhong, went to Qing'an county to represent their detained colleagues. On their arrival, local police refused to disclose the whereabouts of You Feizhu and Ma Wei, and following numerous unsuccessful attempts to locate them, the lawyers reported them as missing persons to the police. They were detained later on the same date. Tang Tianhao, Ma Lianshun and You Feizhu were handed 15-day administrative detentions, while Xu Zhong was held for 26 hours before being released.
Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of human rights lawyers You Feizhu, Tang Tianhao and Ma Lianshun, but expresses its concern for the whereabouts of Ge Yongxi, and at the use of punitive measures by the Chinese authorities as a means of disrupting the legitimate work of human rights defenders and lawyers in China.
Between 28 May and 1 June 2015, authorities detained six human rights lawyers in Qing'an county, Heilongjiang province following the lawyers' attempts to meet with their clients.
You Feizhu, Tang Tianhao, Ge Yongxi and Ma Lianshun are currently serving out a 15-day period in administrative detention. Another lawyer, Mr Ma Wei, was detained on 28 May and reportedly released on 3 June. A sixth lawyer, Mr Xu Zhong, was detained for 26 hours. All six lawyers have a history of taking on human rights cases or exposing official abuses.
On 28 May 2015, lawyers You Feizhu and Ma Wei travelled to Qing'an county in Heilongjiang province to represent a number of citizens who had been detained in the county the previous week. The citizens had themselves gone to Qing'an to support the family of a man who was shot dead by police following an altercation in Qing'an train station on 2 May. When the three lawyers arrived at Qing'an Detention Centre, where it is believed their clients are being held, they were refused permission to access them. In protest, the lawyers chanted slogans outside the detention centre demanding that they be permitted to meet with their clients. That same day Ma Wei was reportedly disappeared, and the following day, You Feizhu's brother was informed that You Feizhu had received a 15-day administrative detention sentence for 'picking quarrels and provoking troubles'. Ma Wei was released from police custody on 3 June.
On 1 June 2015 lawyers Tang Tianhao, Ma Lianshun, Ge Yongxi and Xu Zhong went to Qing'an county to represent their two detained colleagues, You Feizhu and Ma Wei. On their arrival, local police refused to disclose the whereabouts of their two colleagues and following numerous unsuccessful attempts to locate them, the lawyers reported them as missing persons to the police. That same day all four lawyers were detained. Tang Tianhao, Ma Lianshun and Ge Yongxi have been handed 15 day administrative detentions while Xu Zhong was released after being held for 26 hours.
Human rights lawyers have previously been targeted in a similar manner in Heilongjiang. On 23 March 2014, four lawyers were detained following their visit to an unofficial detention centre in the province, where a number of people were being illegally held. Three of the lawyers in question were given 15 day administrative detention sentences, and one was detained for six days. All were beaten while in custody.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern regarding the ongoing detention of lawyers You Feizhu, Tang Tianhao, Ma Lianshun and Ge Yongxi. It believes that their detention relates solely to their peaceful and legitimate work both as lawyer and human rights defenders. Furthermore, Front Line Defenders notes with alarm that this is the latest in a series of punitive measures taken against human rights lawyers in China.
