Human rights lawyer Chen Jiangang abducted during family vacation
Human rights defender Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) arrived home safely on the evening of 8 May 2017, five days after police interrupted his family vacation in China’s Yunnan Province. Local police failed to present a warrant before taking the defender, his wife, their two children, and two family friends into custody. After his family and friends were released, Chen Jiangang was returned to Beijing under police escort, a journey which covered over 3000 kilometers and lasted over 80 hours.
Chen Jiangang is a human rights lawyer, known most recently for his willingness to take on sensitive cases related to China’s “709” crackdown on human rights lawyers, activists, and other defenders. Chen Jiangang took on legal cases for numerous other detained human rights lawyers, among them Li Heping, Wang Quanzhang, and Jiang Tianyong. Chen Jiangang also represents detained human rights lawyer, Xie Yang, whose trial was recently rescheduled without any justification. Chen Jiangang’s release of documents alleging that Xie Yang had suffered multiple instances of torture during the latter’s ongoing incarceration drew considerable attention from both Chinese authorities and the international community.
Human rights defender Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) arrived home safely on the evening of 8 May 2017, five days after police interrupted his family vacation in China’s Yunnan Province. Local police failed to present a warrant before taking the defender, his wife, their two children, and two family friends into custody. After his family and friends were released, Chen Jiangang was returned to Beijing under police escort, a journey which covered over 3000 kilometers and lasted over 80 hours.
Three officers took turns driving the vehicle carrying Chen Jiangang to Beijing from his holiday destination in southern China. The three officers—two from the “Domestic Security” arm of China’s Ministry of Public Security, responsible for issues involving political dissidents, and one from the Legal Bureau—had traveled from Beijing solely to collect the defender. At no point did any of the officers present a warrant for the continued suspension of Chen Jiangang’s liberty and instead, informed Chen Jiangang throughout the journey that he was not suspected of any crime. The officers stated that the defender and his family had been picked up because they were traveling too close to China’s southern border.
Chen Jiangang’s escort kept him under close surveillance during the four-day trip to Beijing. He was permitted to use his cell phone throughout the trip, which allowed him to stay in touch with family and provide updates of his location.
The human rights defender believes that his forced escort was intended to occupy him during the trial of human rights lawyer, Xie Yang, who is a former client. Xie Yang, a victim China’s 2015 “709 Crackdown”, suffered numerous human rights violations during the 22 months he spent in pre-trial detention. In a testimony delivered to Chen Jiangang in January 2016, Xie Yang described acts of torture committed against him by guards at the Changsha No.2 Detention Centre. Chinese authorities forced Chen Jiangang to remove himself from Xie Yang’s case in March 2017. During Xie Yang’s trial on 8 May 2017, while Chen Jiangang was finishing his journey to Beijing, Xie Yang denied that he had faced any torture during his detention, directly contradicting the signed testimony he had delivered to Chen Jiangang four months prior.
Chen Jiangang was delivered to his home in Beijing at 5.00pm on 8 May 2017, coinciding almost perfectly with the conclusion of Xie Yang’s trial.
In the early afternoon of 3 May 2017, human rights defender, Chen Jiangang (陈健刚)’s family vacation was interrupted by the arrival of almost fifty police officers at a restaurant where the defender was dining with his family. The defender and his travel companions were abducted from the restaurant and detained at Jinghong City police station for several hours. Chen Jiangang’s family and friends were released on 3 May 2017 but the human rights defender remains in custody.
Chen Jiangang is a human rights lawyer, known most recently for his willingness to take on sensitive cases related to China’s “709” crackdown on human rights lawyers, activists, and other defenders. Chen Jiangang took on legal cases for numerous other detained human rights lawyers, among them Li Heping, Wang Quanzhang, and Jiang Tianyong. Chen Jiangang also represents detained human rights lawyer, Xie Yang, whose trial was recently rescheduled without any justification. Chen Jiangang’s release of documents alleging that Xie Yang had suffered multiple instances of torture during the latter’s ongoing incarceration drew considerable attention from both Chinese authorities and the international community.
On 3 May 2017, Chen Jiangang, his wife, their two children, and two friends were preparing to eat lunch during a trip to China’s southwestern Yunnan Province when they were abruptly surrounded by a group of military police, SWAT officers, and other law enforcement officers, many with firearms drawn.The defender and his five travel companions were taken from the restaurant to the Jinghong City police station, where they were kept for several hours. Chen Jiangang’s family and friends were released on the evening of 3 May 2017. Chen Jiangang remains in the custody of National Security officers, who are currently transporting the human rights defender by car from Yunnan Province to Beijing, almost 3,000 kilometres away.
Chen Jiangang is being closely monitored by the National Security officers who have abducted him and are now transporting him to Beijing. Despite the illegal kidnapping of the defender and his family and travel companions, and the confiscation of their personal possessions, no warrant for any of these activities has been presented. So long as the human rights defender remains in the illegal custody of these officials, his security cannot be guaranteed.
Front Line Defenders strongly criticizes the abduction and detention of Chen Jiangang, his family, and his friends. These are illegal acts, intended to discourage the human rights defender’s courageous work protecting the rights of Chinese citizens and other human rights defenders.
