New information
CHN 005 / 0809 / OBS 126.1
Judicial harassment / Residential arrest
People’s Republic of China
December 24, 2009
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The Observatory has been informed by Human Rights in China (HRIC) and Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) about the opening of the trial of Mr. Liu Xiaobo, a prominent human rights activist and scholar, and co-author of the “Charter 08”, a petition calling for political reforms and the protection of human rights in the country.
According to the information received, on December 23, 2009, at 9 am, the trial of Mr. Liu Xiaobo for "inciting to subvert State power" took place before Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court and only lasted three hours, under near total security lock down outside the courtroom. The trial took place only twelve days after Mr. Liu’s indictment, and his lawyers, concerned that they have not had enough time to review the 20-volume case file and prepare their defence, requested that the trial be postponed. Court officials rejected this appeal, stating that “it was not possible”. The timing of the trial, two days before Christmas, also raises suspicion that the authorities wish to quickly sentence Mr. Liu while most diplomatic staff and journalists in Beijing are away during the holiday season. The verdict is expected to be issued on December 25, 2009.
On the eve of the trial, several activists and supporters of Mr. Liu Xiaobo were contacted by the police and threatened against organising any shows of support online or in front of the court during the trial. The police also warned some of these supporters not to leave their homes in the next three days, and explicitly forbade them from travelling to Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court. One activist was told that police would block supporters “at all costs” from reaching the courthouse. Others were placed under tight surveillance or warned to stay home by police ahead of the trial.
In addition, Mr. Liu's wife was denied a permit to attend her husband's trial on the grounds that she was a "witness" for the prosecution. During one of her visits with her husband over the past year she was interrogated by police, and the record of her responses is now being used as the basis for involving her in her husband’s case.
Personnel from about a dozen foreign embassies in Beijing, including those of the United States, Germany and Australia, requested to observe the trial but were told that all the observer passes had already been given out. Mr. Liu’s lawyers are reportedly under strict orders from the State Judicial Bureau not to grant any interview until after the verdict.
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Liu Xiaobo was charged on June 24, 2009 with “inciting to subvert State power“, pursuant to Article 105 of the Criminal Code, after he had co-authored the “Charter 08”. Mr. Liu Xiaobo has been held under “residential surveillance” since December 8, 2008, without any due to process and regular access to a lawyer, and was arrested on June 23, 2009 (See background information).
The Observatory strongly condemns the judicial harassment faced by Mr. Xiaobo and believes that these acts of harassment merely aim at sanctioning his peaceful activities in expressing his views on how to promote democratic reform and protection of human rights in China, and as such are a flagrant violation of the provisions of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998.
The Observatory further recalls that in April 2009, the PRC submitted a document to the UN in order to support its candidacy to the Human Rights Council, in which it affirmed that the People’s Republic of China was “committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Chinese people”. As a member of the Human Rights Council, China “shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”.
The Observatory also urges the European Commission Delegation as well as European Union (EU) Member-States embassies in the PRC to call upon the Chinese authorities to comply with the relevant international norms and standards and take action on this situation, in line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders.
On December 8, 2008, Mr. Liu Xiaobo was placed under “residential surveillance” at an undisclosed location in Beijing. “Residential surveillance” is a form of pre-trial detention that can be used up to six months without a charge being issued. According to Article 57 of China’s Criminal Procedural Law (CPL), a suspect subjected to residential surveillance must be held either in her/his home or a designated dwelling if s/he has no permanent residence. Detaining Mr. Liu in an undisclosed location despite the fact that he has residence in Beijing therefore breaches this legal provision. According to Article 58 of the CPL, the maximum limit for residential surveillance is six months. Mr. Liu Xiaobo’s “residential surveillance” term should therefore have expired on June 08, 2009. Because the Public Security Bureau (PSB), the Procuratorate and the Court all have the authority to impose residential surveillance on the same individual consecutively.
At the time of his arrest, the police also searched his home and confiscated his computers, mobile phones, books, magazines, printed papers and a draft of the “Charter 08”[1].
Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China, urging them to:
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.
Geneva - Paris, December 24, 2009
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
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