Case History: Zhang Lin
On 9 September 2016 human rights defender Mr Zhang Lin was released from Tongling prison in Anhui. On 5 September 2014 he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by Bengshan District Court in Bengbu City, Anhui province. The human rights defender had been in detention since 19 July 2013 and was formally arrested on 22 August 2013 on charges of “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place”. He was tried on 18 December 2013 at the Bengshan District People’s Court in a relatively brief hearing that lasted only six hours. The verdict was not announced until 5 September 2014.
Zhang Lin has a long history of harassment. He was first imprisoned for two years in 1989 for the role he played in the student protests in his native Anhui province. In 1994, he was sent to a re-education through labour (RTL) camp for three years after co-founding a workers' rights organisation. He was sentenced to a further three years' RTL in 1998 following his attempt to re-enter China from the USA – where he had been granted political asylum – in order to resume his work with the domestic pro-democracy movement.
He was released in 2001 and continued to write articles on political reform and democracy before being arrested once again in 2005 and sentenced to five years in prison for “endangering state security”. Upon his release in 2009, Zhang Lin immediately resumed his work in defence of human rights and continued to be subjected to regular harassment and surveillance by authorities until his detention in April 2013.
On 5 September 2014, human rights defender Mr Zhang Lin was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by Bengshan District Court in Bengbu City, Anhui province. The human rights defender has been in detention since 19 July 2013 and was formally arrested on 22 August 2013 on charges of “assembling a crowd to disrupt order in a public place”. He was tried on 18 December 2013 at the Bengshan District People’s Court in a relatively brief hearing that lasted only six hours. The verdict was not announced until 5 September 2014.
Zhang Lin has been involved in the defence of human rights since his participation in pro-democracy protests in Anhui in 1989. He is a member of the banned China Democracy Party and in 2012, he was involved with the New Citizens Movement, a loose network of human rights defenders who campaign for constitutional government, for increased transparency among Chinese Communist Party officials and for greater equality within the education system.
On 19 July 2013, Zhang Lin was detained following months of harassment of both himself and his young daughter. On 27 February 2013, his daughter – then ten years old – was abducted from her primary school in Hefei City, Anhui province by four unidentified men and detained for a number of hours. That morning, Zhang Lin had also been taken from his home by police and was detained in the same police station, ahead of meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress.
When the two were released the following day, Zhang Lin's daughter was not permitted to return to school, when the principal said that the school could not readmit her unless it received a guarantee from the authorities that she would not be taken away again, due to the effects the incident had on other students and staff at the school. As news of her continued denial of schooling spread online, dozens of human rights defenders from around the country began to arrive in Hefei City from 8 April 2013 in an attempt to escort the girl to school. Following these protests, Zhang Lin was charged with “assembling a crowd to disrupt public order”. In early September 2013, Zhang Lin's two daughters fled China for the USA, where they now reside.
Front Line Defenders is concerned by the severity of the prison sentence handed down to human rights defender Zhang Lin. It is believed that this, the latest in a long pattern of harassment of Zhang Lin and his family members, is again solely motivated by the human rights defender's ongoing efforts to campaign for constitutional democracy and to promote and protect human rights in China.
17 April 2013 marked the seventh week in which Zhang Anni, the daughter of Anhui human rights defender Mr Zhang Lin, has not been able to attend classes in primary school as a result of her father's work in defence of human rights. Zhang Lin has a long history of human rights work which dates back to his involvement in the 1989 student protests in China. He has spent a total of 12 years in prison and re-education through labour (RTL) facilities because of his work in defence of human rights.
On 27 February 2013 at approximately 3.30pm Zhang Anni was taken from Hupo Primary School in Hefei City, Anhui province by four unidentified men. The ten year old was then reportedly detained without a parent or guardian in a police station for a number of hours, before being reunited with her father, also in detention, at 7pm that evening.
Earlier that morning Zhang Lin had himself been taken from his home by police and was detained in the same police station, ahead of the meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress in early March. Zhang Lin was told that he lacked a local resident's permit and so needed to apply for a temporary one in order to remain in the city. A mobile phone, computer and a sum of money were among items reportedly confiscated from him by police. Father and daughter were held that night in the police station and only released the following day when they were brought back to Zhang Lin's home town of Bengbu, Anhui Province. Zhang Anni has not been able to attend school in Hefei City since.
On 7 April 2013 Zhang Lin and his daughter returned to Hefei City and he attempted to bring Zhang Anni back to Hupo Primary School, but was reportedly informed by the principle that the school could not readmit her unless it received a guarantee from the authorities that she would not be taken away again, due to the effects the incident had on other students and staff at the school.
As news of Zhang Anni's continued denial of schooling spread online, dozens of human rights defenders from around the country began to arrive in Hefei City from 8 April in an attempt to escort the girl to school. A number were reportedly attacked by unidentified men when they approached the school later that day. Supporters have since staged relay hunger strikes in order to draw attention to the situation.
Front Line Defenders believes the continued denial of Zhang Anni's schooling is a direct result of her father's work in defence of human rights.
Front Line is deeply concerned by reports received regarding the alleged arrest of and legal action against pro-democracy activist and cyberdissident, Zhang Lin.
According to information received, on 29 January 2005, local police in Bengbu, in the province of Anhui, arrested Zhang Lin and several other individuals who had travelled with him to Beijing to attend a memorial service for the former, reformist Prime minister (1980-1987) and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (1987-1989), Zhao Ziyang. At the time of his arrest, local police reportedly told him he would be held in administrative detention for 15 days. When the order for the initial period of detention was due to expire, his wife was informed that Zhang Lin had been placed in criminal detention, a provision which allows an individual to be held for 37 days without ever being formally charged. On 19 March, Zhang Lin was formally arrested on allegations of “inciting subversion of state authority” for his contributions to several online-news sites. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
According to additional information received, on 21 June 2005, the in camera trial of Zhang Lin was concluded in five hours by the Intermediate People’s Court of Bengbu, Anhui Province. It is reported that the trial failed to respect the international standards of due process. In particular, Zhang Lin was denied access to his lawyer. Sources report that the date for his scheduled sentencing has passed, and that his case has been delayed and is being moved to provincial level.
Front Line fears that the legal action taken against Zhang Lin may be an attempt to silence independent voices who call for the promotion, protection and respect of human rights in China. Concern for the situation of Zhang Lin is heightened by the fact that he has reportedly been falsely imprisoned on three previous occasions.
