Case History: Pu Zhiqiang
On 22 December 2015, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing handed down a three year sentence to human rights defender and lawyer Mr Pu Zhiqiang, suspended for three years. He was found guilty of "inciting ethnic hatred" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". The guilty verdict means that Pu Zhiqiang is now prohibited from further practising law.
Pu Zhiqiang is one of the earliest and most well-known human rights lawyers in China. He participated in the Tiananmen protests in 1989 and has taken on a number of freedom of speech cases. The human rights defender has also defended the dissident artist Ai Weiwei, victims of China’s labour camp system, and Communist Party members seeking redress for torture they endured during extralegal corruption investigations.
On 22 December 2015, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing handed down a three year sentence to human rights defender and lawyer Mr Pu Zhiqiang, suspended for three years.
He was found guilty of "inciting ethnic hatred" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble". The guilty verdict means that Pu Zhiqiang, one of the earliest and most well-known human rights lawyers in the country, is now prohibited from further practising law.
Pu Zhiqiang participated in the Tiananmen protests in 1989 and as a lawyer has taken on a number of freedom of speech cases. The human rights defender has also defended the dissident artist Ai Weiwei, victims of China’s labour camp system, and Communist Party members seeking redress for torture they endured during extralegal corruption investigations.
The criminal charges relate to a series of seven tweets that Pu Zhiqiang sent critical of government policy and Communist Party officials. On the afternoon of the 22 December the human rights defender was reportedly released from the detention centre where he had been held for 19 months and escorted to a house designated to him by the police, where he would stay under surveillance for ten days. He had been in detention since his arrest on 4 May 2014, following his attendance at a private commemoration ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the killing of protestors around Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Front Line Defenders calls on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally quash the sentence against the human rights defender, as it is believed it isan attempt to prevent him from carrying out hispeaceful and legitimate work in defence of human rights.
On 13 June 2014, human rights lawyer Mr Pu Zhiqiang was formally arrested and charged with “creating a disturbance” and “illegally obtaining personal information.” The human rights defender was detained on 5 May 2014 as part of a crackdown on human rights defenders in advance of the 25th Anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, following his attendance of a private commemoration of the protests and their subsequent violent suppression.
It is unclear what actions the charges against Pu Zhiqiang relate to, and it is believed that further accusations will be added to the list. The formal arrest order follows the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau's rejection on 9 June 2014 of the human rights defender's application for release on medical bail. Pu Zhiqiang's release was denied on the basis that it would “pose a danger to society.” The human rights defender has reportedly been subjected to daily interrogations lasting up to 10 hours.
Pu Zhianqiang's niece, Ms Qu Zhenhong has also been formally arrested after being detained since 15 May 2014. The human rights lawyer was a member of Pu Zhianqiang's legal defence team and works in his law firm. It is reported that Qu Zhenhong was detained in relation to charges of “illegally obtaining personal information,” and that her arrest is closely tied to her uncle's.
On 4 and 5 May 2014 a number of human rights defenders in Beijing were taken in for questioning by police following their participation in a commemoration of the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
Human rights lawyer Mr Pu Zhiqiang, detained on charges of “causing a disturbance,” and Mr Hu Shigen are being held in at Beijing No.1 Detention Centre, while Messrs Xu Youyu and Hao Jian, and Ms Liang Xiaoyan and Ms Liu Di remain out of contact.
On 3 May 2014 the aforementioned human rights defenders, in addition to a number of others, gathered at a private residence in Beijing to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square. In a statement released after the meeting, participants, who included relatives of those killed during the protests, called on the Chinese government to launch an official investigation into the events in 1989 and to compensate the victims. They also released a photograph of themselves standing behind a banner saying, “2014 Beijing June 4 Anniversary Seminar.”
On 4 May 2014, at around 11pm, Pu Zhiqiang was summoned for questioning about the event by police. At around 4pm on 5 May, his home was searched and a mobile phone, a computer and books were reportedly seized. Police in Beijing subsequently released a statement saying that he had been detained on charges of “causing a disturbance.” Pu Zhiqiang is a well-known human rights lawyer who has taken on a number of freedom of speech cases and who himself participated in protests in 1989.
Hu Shigen, a writer who spent 16 years in prison on account of his pro-democracy activities, was taken from his home by police on 4 or 5 May. Xu Youyu, Hao Jian and Liang Xiaoyan (a participant in the 1989 protests) were also taken away over those two days and are being held incommunicado. Liu Di, a cyber-activist who has previously spent a year in prison, was detained on the evening of 5 May.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the questioning and detention of Pu Zhiqiang, Hu Shigen, Xu Youyu, Hao Jian, Liang Xiaoyan and Liu Di, as their detention is solely related to their legitimate and peaceful human rights work, in particular their call for accountability regarding the crackdown on 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square.
