Sentencing
/ Arbitrary detention
China
January 31, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the following situation
in China.
Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been
informed by the Network
of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD) about the sentencing of Mr. Liu Feiyue, founder and Director of the website Civil
Rights & Livelihood Watch, which published information on
human rights violations, especially abuses against activists and dissidents in
psychiatric detention facilities[1].
According to the information received, on January 29,
2019, the Suizhou City Intermediate People’s Court in Hubei Province found Mr. Liu Feiyue guilty of “inciting subversion of State power” and sentenced him to five
years in prison with deprivation of political rights for three
years, along with a 1,010,000 RMB (approx. 150,000 USD) fine.
Suizhou
police initially detained Mr. Liu Feiyue on November 17, 2016, and formally arrested him a month
later, on December 23, 2016. Mr. Liu was allowed to meet with his lawyers for
the first time only on May 25, 2017, after police had previously denied all
visits from his lawyers on “national security” grounds. On December
6, 2017, Mr. Liu was indicted on charges of “inciting subversion". Authorities
also accused Mr. Liu of accepting funding from overseas”[2].
In April 2018, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
issued an opinion that declared Mr. Liu Feiyue’s detention
arbitrary[3].
On August
7, 2018, Mr. Liu was finally put on trial before the Suizhou City Intermediate
People’s Court, after being held for 20 months in pre-trial detention. Mr.
Liu’s supporters were not allowed into the courtroom for the hearing, and were
detained by the police outside the courthouse and at train and bus stations in
Suizhou, or prevented from leaving their homes.
At the time
of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr. Liu
Feiyue remains detained at Suizhou City No. 1 Detention Center in
Hubei Province.
The Observatory strongly condemns the conviction, sentencing, and
ongoing arbitrary detention of Mr. Liu Feiyue, which seem to be merely aimed at punishing him for his legitimate
and peaceful human rights activities, and urges the
Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of the People’s
Republic of China to urge them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical
integrity and psychological well-being of Mr. Liu Feiyue and all human rights defenders in China;
ii. Repeal the guilty verdict and release Mr. Liu Feiyue
immediately and unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary and it only
seems to aim at punishing him for his human rights activities;
iii.
Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level
- against Mr. Liu Feiyue
and all human rights defenders in the country so that they are able to
carry out their work without hindrance, and put an end to reprisals against
family members seeking justice on behalf of detained or disappeared human
rights defenders;
iv. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its Articles
1, 6(c) and 12.2;
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights and other international human rights instruments signed or
ratified by China.
Addresses:
·
Mr. Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the
People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 659 611 09 (c/o Ministry of Foreign
Affairs), Email: premier@mail.gov.cn
·
Mr. Guo Shengkun, Minister of Public
Security of the People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216, Email: gabzfwz@mps.gov.cn
·
H.E. Mr. Zhaoxu Ma, Ambassador,
Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations in
Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 793 70 14, E-mail: chinamission_gva@mfa.gov.cn
·
H.E. Mr. QU XING, Ambassador, Embassy
of the People’s Republic of China in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32-2-7792895;
Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn
Please also write to the diplomatic
representations of China in your respective countries.
***
Geneva-Paris, January 31, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken
quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme
is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights
Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
[2] The indictment accused Mr. Liu
of “six major criminal offenses” and cited as evidence of “inciting subversion”
his writings and publications of reports of human rights abuses on the Civil
Rights & Livelihood Watch website. The indictment also listed applying and
accepting overseas funding to support the NGO’s operations as a “criminal act”.
An earlier charge of “leaking State secrets” was dropped from the indictment. For
more information on the case, see https://www.nchrd.org/2016/12/liu-feiyue/
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session81/A_HRC_WGAD_2018_22.pdf
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