Antécédent de l'affaire: Zhao Changqing
On 29 June 2016 human rights defenders Ms Xu Caihong, Messrs Li Wei, Ma Xinli, and Liang Taiping were released on bail in Beijing. Messrs Zhao Changqing and Zhang Baocheng remain detained incommunicado.
Le 31 mai 2016, des policiers ont arrêté les défenseur-ses des droits humains messieurs Zhao Changqing et Zhang Baocheng et Mme Xu Caihong à Pékin. Leur détention serait liée à la commémoration privée organisée à la veille du 27e anniversaire de la répression militaire des manifestations prodémocratie à Pékin en 1989. Quatre autres défenseur-ses des droits humains qui participaient à l'évènement restent injoignables. Zhao Changqing a été libéré de prison le 16 octobre 2015 après avoir purgé une peine de deux ans et demi. Il a été condamné le 18 avril 2014 après avoir été inculpé pour "rassemblement illégal".
Zhao Changqing est un défenseur des droits humains qui a été emprisonné quatre fois à cause de ses activités pour la démocratie, les réformes politiques et la lutte contre la corruption. Il avait participé aux manifestations de 1989 pour la démocratie et après la répression violente, il avait tenté de rassembler des preuves de la fusillade. Il avait été frappé et détenu pendant quatre mois. En 1998, il a été condamné à trois ans de prison pour avoir "mis en danger la sécurité de l'État" pour s'être présenté aux élections locales en tant que candidat indépendant. Après avoir lancé une pétition en faveur d'une réforme politique en 2002, il a été condamné à cinq ans de prison pour "incitation à la subversion du pouvoir de l'État". En 2014, il a de nouveau été condamné à 2 ans et demi de prison pour avoir participé au Mouvement des nouveaux citoyens, un large réseau de personnes qui militent pour une plus grande transparence au sein des cadres du parti communiste chinois, une plus grande égalité au sein du système éducatif et à un gouvernement constitutionnel.
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- 30 Juin 2016 : Release of four human rights defenders who were detained following private memorial of Tiananmen Square crackdown
- 2 Juin 2016 : Au moins trois défenseur-ses des droits humains placés en détention après une commémoration privée de la répression de la place Tiananmen
- 22 Avril 2014 : Sentencing of human rights defenders Messrs Ding Jiaxi, Zhao Changqing, Li Wei and Zhang Baocheng
- 10 Juin 2013 : Crackdown on Anticorruption Activists Escalates
On 29 June 2016 human rights defenders Ms Xu Caihong, Messrs Li Wei, Ma Xinli, and Liang Taiping were released on bail in Beijing. Messrs Zhao Changqing and Zhang Baocheng remain detained incommunicado.
Xu Caihong is a Beijing-based human rights defender who has been detained numerous times over the past number of years because of her activism. She has assisted people who have travelled to Beijing to petition the central authorities following violations of their rights and has previously participated in commemorations of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Li Wei served two years in prison from 2013-15 due to his involvement with the New Citizens Movement which campaigned for greater transparency among Chinese Communist Party officials, greater equality within the education system as well as for Constitutional Government. In 2012 and 2013, he participated in a number of small protests in Beijing calling on Chinese officials to reveal their personal assets and was subsequently arrested and jailed.
Ma Xinli is a human rights defender who was involved with the New Citizens Movement and was detained for nearly a year in 2013 for calling on Chinese Communist Party officials to publicly disclose their assets. He was released on bail in February 2014.
Liang Taiping is a Hunan-based human rights defender and poet who has previously campaigned for the release of fellow human rights defenders and in support of Occupy Central protesters in Hong Kong.
Zhao Changqing is a human rights defender who has been imprisoned four times, totalling 11 years, as a result of his activities promoting democracy, rule of law and human rights. Zhao Changqing was jailed for four months after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Bejiing in 1989. In the immediate aftermath of the crackdown, he collected evidence detailing the army's killing of protesters before he was stopped by soldiers who searched him, found his notes and beat and detained him. In 1998 he wrote an open letter to the National People's Congress calling on the Chinese Communist Party to follow in the footsteps of Taiwan and make the transition to democracy and safeguard human rights.
Zhang Baocheng is an active participant in the New Citizens Movement. In 2014 he was sentenced to two years in prison because of his participation in demonstrations.
While Front Line Defenders welcomes the release on bail of Xu Caihong, Li Wei, Ma Xinli and Liang Taiping, it urges the authorities in China to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defenders Zhao Changqing and Zhang Baocheng and drop all charges against them, which it believes are motivated directly by their legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.
Le 31 mai 2016, messieurs Zhao Changqing, Zhang Baocheng et Mme Xu Caihong ont été arrêtés par la police de Pékin. Leur détention serait liée à la commémoration privée organisée à la veille du 27e anniversaire de la répression militaire des manifestations prodémocratie à Pékin en 1989. Quatre autres défenseur-ses des droits humains qui participaient à l'évènement restent injoignables.
Download the Urgent Appeal (PDF)
Le défenseur des droits humains Zhao Changqing a été emprisonné quatre fois, pour un total de 11 ans, à cause de ses activités en faveur de la promotion de la démocratie, de l'état de droit et des droits humains. Zhao Changqing a été emprisonné quatre mois après la répression de la place Tiananmen à Pékin en 1989. Au lendemain de la répression, il avait rassemblé des preuves détaillant les meurtres de manifestants par l'armée, avant d'être arrêté par des soldats le 7 juin; ces derniers l'avaient fouillé, avaient trouvé ses notes et l'avaient frappé et placé en détention. En 1998, il a écrit une lettre ouverte au Congrès national populaire appelant le Parti communiste chinois à suivre les pas de Taïwan pour entamer une transition vers la démocratie et les droits humains. Il a été accusé "d'incitation à la subversion du pouvoir de l'État" et emprisonné pendant trois ans. En 2002, il a organisé une campagne de signature pour appeler à la libération de son collègue défenseur des droits humains M. Yang Jianli, emprisonné par les autorités chinoises. Il a été arrêté et l'année suivante, il a été condamné à cinq ans de prison, de nouveau pour "incitation à la subversion du pouvoir de l'État". En 2011 et 2012, Zhao Changqing a lancé plusieurs rassemblements à Pékin dans le cadre du Mouvement des nouveaux citoyens pour débattre de l'état de droit, de la bonne gouvernance et de l'égalité au sein du système éducatif, et pour appeler les autorités chinoises à être plus à l'écoute des demandes du peuple chinois.. À cause de son rôle au sein de ce mouvement, il a été arrêté en 2013 et en 2014, il a de nouveau été condamné à deux ans et demi de prison.
Zhang Baocheng participe activement au Mouvement des nouveaux citoyens, de nombreuses personnes qui militent pour plus de transparence parmi les cadres du parti communiste chinois, pour plus d'égalité au sein du système éducatif et pour un gouvernement constitutionnel. En 2014 il a été condamné à deux ans de prison pour avoir participé à des manifestations liées au mouvement.
Xu Caihong est une défenseuse des droits humains basée à Pékin; elle a été détenue plusieurs fois au cours des dernières années à cause de son militantisme. Elle a assisté des personnes qui se sont rendues à Pékin pour adresser des pétitions aux autorités centrales, après la violation de leurs droits, et elle avait précédemment participé aux commémorations de la répression de la place Tiananmen.
Dans la matinée du 31 mai 2016, la police de Pékin a arrêté Zhao Changqing chez lui. Vers 7h30 le même matin, alors que Zhang Baocheng quittait son appartement pour conduire sa femme, Mme Liu Juefan, au travail, ils ont tous les deux été arrêtés et conduits au poste de police. Liu juefan a été libérée peu après et reconduite chez elle. La police est arrivée vers 8h40 pour perquisitionner leur appartement. Deux ordinateurs et un appareil photo ont été saisis. Xu Caihong aurait aussi été arrêtée tôt dans la matinée du 31 mai 2016 et elle est détenue au poste du district de Fengtai, pour avoir "provoquer une querelle et des troubles". Zhao Changqing et Zhang Baocheng seraient aussi détenus en vertu des mêmes accusations, pourtant cela n'a pas encore été confirmé.
Le 28 mai 2016, Zhao Changqing, Zhang Baocheng, Xu Caihong et quatre autres défenseur-ses des droits humains ont participé à une rencontre privée chez Zhao Changqing pour commémorer les victimes du massacre de la place Tiananmen en 1989, à la veille du 27e anniversaire de la répression des 3 et 4 juin. Après la rencontre, les participants ont posté une photo d'eux-mêmes sur internet, assis devant un poster rappelant la répression de la place Tiananmen et appelant à la libération de leurs collègues défenseurs des droits humains Guo Feixiong et Yu Shiwen. Les quatre autres participants messieurs Li Wei, Ma Xinli, Liang Taiping et Mme Li Meiqing seraient injoignables depuis la matinée du 31 mai 2016.
Front Line Defenders exhorte les autorités de la Chine à:
1. Libérer immédiatement et sans condition les défenseur-ses des droits humains Zhao Changqing, Zhang Baocheng et Xu Caihong et abandonner toutes les charges qui pèsent contre eux, car il semble que tout cela soit uniquement motivé par leur travail légitime et pacifique en faveur des droits humains;
2. Informer les familles de Zhao Changqing et Zhang Baocheng de leur lieu de détention, et autoriser les défenseurs et Xu Caihong à accéder immédiatement et sans restriction à des avocats de leur choix;
3. Informer les familles de l'endroit où se trouvent Li Wei, Ma Xinli, Liang Taiping et Li Meiqing, car il semble qu'ils soient détenus par la police, et les autoriser à accéder immédiatement et sans restriction à des avocats;
4. Assurer que le traitement des défenseurs des droits humains pendant leur détention préventive, corresponde à toutes les conditions établies dans les « Principes fondamentaux relatifs à la Protection de Toute Personne contre Toute Forme de Détention ou Emprisonnement » adoptés par l'Assemblée Générale de l'ONU dans sa résolution 43/173 du 9 décembre 1988 ;
5. Cesser immédiatement de cibler tous-tes les défenseur-ses des droits humains en Chine et garantir qu'en toutes circonstances ils-elles puissent mener à bien leurs activités légitimes en faveur des droits humains, sans craindre ni restrictions ni représailles.
On 18 April 2014, human rights defenders Messrs Ding Jiaxi and Zhao Changqing were sentenced to 3.5 years and 2.5 years' imprisonment respectively, while Messrs Li Wei and Zhang Baocheng were both given prison sentences of 2 years.
The four human rights defenders were convicted of “illegal assembly” over their role in small-scale demonstrations associated with the New Citizens Movement.
The four human rights defenders were convicted of "gathering a crowd to disturb public order." They were arrested and charged in Beijing in late March and early April of 2013. The trials against the human rights defenders began on 8 April 2014, and the attorneys of Ding Jiaxi and Li Wei left the proceedings on 9 April 2014 in protest at the procedures, which they perceived to be unfair. Ding Jiaxi's lawyer was not permitted to enter the court on the day of the sentencing. Reportedly, a number of foreign diplomats were denied entry to the hearings.
The human rights defenders were among more than a dozen anti-corruption activists detained last year in Beijing and Jiangxi Province after participating in or organising demonstrations calling for government officials to publicly disclose their assets. Mr Xu Zhiyong, considered to be the leader of the movement, was sentenced to four years in jail on 26 January 2014 having been found guilty of “gathering crowds to disrupt public order”. On 29 January 2014 Mr Yuan Dong was sentenced to 18 months in prison on a similar charge, while Ms Hou Xin was also found guitly but did not receive a sentence. Many more human rights defenders affiliated with the movement remain in detention, in allegedly dire conditions, as they await trial on charges such as “illegal assembly,” “inciting subversion of state power,” “disturbing social order,” and “extortion.” Although Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution guarantees citizens’ right to assembly, the 1989 Law on Assembly, Procession, and Demonstration (the Assembly Law), and the 1992 implementing regulations, outline a series of restrictive requirements that in application effectively bar citizens from exercising the right. Under the regulations, all demonstrations must be approved by the police; however, in practice, police in China rarely approve public protests, particularly those that seem likely to be critical of the government. In some instances, people who apply for approval are not only denied permission, but are also harassed or detained for making the application.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the sentencing of Ding Jiaxi, Zhao Changqing, Li Wei and Zhang Baocheng, as it is solely related to their legitimate and peaceful human rights work. Front Line Defenders raised concerns regarding the judicial harassment faced by anti-corruption activists in China on 10 June 2013.
More than a dozen anti-corruption activists in Beijing and Jiangxi Province were detained between late March and late May after participating in or organizing demonstrations calling for government officials to publicly disclose their assets, China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch, and Independent Chinese PEN said today. The Chinese government should release the anticorruption activists and drop all charges against them, the organizations said.
Since May 7, 10 of the 15 have been formally arrested, indicating that they are likely to be prosecuted and convicted. The charges against the 15 include “illegal assembly,” “inciting subversion of state power,” “disturbing social order,” and “extortion.” The crime of inciting subversion carries up to 15 years in prison, while the other crimes have an upward penalty of five years in prison.
“When President Xi Jinping calls for a tough response to corruption it’s hailed as innovative policy, but when ordinary people say the same in public, his government regards it as subversion,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “The fight against graft and for the rule of law rest in part on respect for freedom of expression and assembly, not the suppression of those rights.”
On March 31, police detained four activists in Beijing: journalist Hou Xin, securities trader Yuan Dong, retiree Zhang Baocheng, and bus driver-turned-inventor Ma Xinli.
They were detained for “illegal assembly” after holding large banners with slogans such as “require officials to publicly disclose assets” and “unless we put an end to corrupt officials, the ‘China Dream’ can only be daydreams,” in Xidan Cultural Plaza in Beijing’s Xicheng district. Accountant Wang Yonghong unfurled a similar banner calling for asset disclosure in Beijing on April 14; he was taken into custody the next evening for “disturbing social order.” In the following days, Beijing authorities also took into custody activists who are suspected of having participated in or organized the campaign, including legal scholar Sun Hanhui, writer Zhao Changqing, lawyer Ding Jiaxi, activist Li Wei and activist Qi Yueying. With the exception of Qi Yueying, who was detained for “extortion,” the rest were taken into custody for “illegal assembly.”
Since May 7, except for Hou Xin, who is on bail, nine of these activists – Zhang Baocheng, Ma Xinli, Yuan Dong, Zhao Changqing, Ding Jiaxi, Qi Yueying, Li Wei, Wang Yonghong, and Sun Hanhui – have been formally arrested. Qi Yueying is currently being held in Chaoyang District Detention Center while the others are all held in Beijing No.3 Detention Center. Police have questioned them about their “asset disclosure campaign,” according to some of their lawyers.
On April 22, in Jiangxi Province’s Xinyu City, a group of activists demonstrated in support of the detained Beijing activists and of the nationwide campaign to call for officials to disclose their assets. On April 27, Jiangxi police took some of them into custody. Among those, five – Liu Ping, Wei Zhongping, Li Sihua, Li Xuemei, and Zou Guiqin – remain in detention. Liu Ping has been formally arrested for “illegal assembly,” while Li Sihua and Wei Zhongping have been detained for “inciting subversion of state power.” But the precise charges against Li Xuemei and Zou Guiqin remain unclear. They are believed to be held in Xinyu Detention Center.
Although article 35 of the Chinese constitution guarantees citizens’ right to assembly, the 1989 Law on Assembly, Procession, and Demonstration (the Assembly Law), and the 1992 implementing regulations, outline a series of restrictive requirements that in application effectively bar citizens from exercising the right. Under the regulations, all demonstrations must be approved by the police; however, in practice, police in China rarely approve public protests, particularly ones that seem likely to be critical of the government. In some instances, people who apply for approval are not only denied permission, but are also harassed or detained for making the application.
Since formally assuming power in March 2013, President Xi Jinping has described fighting corruption as one of his top priorities. Most recently, his efforts appear to have targeted lavish displays of wealth such as banquets, and led to the removal from office of a number of high-ranking government officials, such as the deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission.
However, Chinese activists and citizens are campaigning for the government to go further, urging that it pass a law requiring government officials to disclose their assets. In December 2012, a group of intellectuals drafted a public letter calling on Chinese Communist Party Central Committee members to disclose their assets; over 7,000 people signed. Activists have also displayed banners and handed out fliers across the country, and encouraged participation in this loosely organized, national “asset disclosure campaign.”
Activists across the country have demonstrated support for those recently detained in Beijing and Jiangxi Province. A number of lawyers have organized teams of lawyers to offer legal advice and representation to these individuals, and in Shanghai and Beijing, petitioners gathered and displayed banners calling for the release of these activists. A group of well-known activists involved in the asset disclosure campaign issued a public letter to the Chinese government to call for the government to release the activists and implement the asset disclosure policies.
“We urge the government to drop all charges and release all human rights defenders currently in custody simply for peacefully exercising their freedoms of expression and assembly,” said Andrew Anderson, deputy director of Front Line Defenders.
