Arbitrary arrest/ Enforced disappearance/ Risk of torture and ill-treatment
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People’s Republic of China.
TheInternational Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the arbitrary arrest and disappearance of Lhaten, a farmer aged about 44 years from Shingtsang Village, Taktse County, Lhasa Municipal, in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). OMCT fears that he may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
According to the information received, on 1 November 2011 at around 3:00 pm, Lhaten received a phone call from a teacher from Taktse County Primary School, where his son is studying, asking him to pick up his son. When he arrived at the school, several policemen in plain clothes were reportedly waiting for him. He was then taken away in a black car. His current whereabouts and fate remain unknown.
Lhaten was reportedly suspected by the authorities of having “connection” with Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan film maker who was sentenced, in December 2009, to six years imprisonment, charged with subversion, for making a documentary entitled “Leaving Fear Behind” ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games in China. However, the authorities have reportedly disclosed no reason for Lhaten’s arrest and no charges are known to have been brought against him.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the safety of Lhaten, as his whereabouts and fate remain unknown.OMCT fears that he may be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment. OMCT urges the competent authorities to guarantee his physical and psychological integrity at all times, in accordance with international human rights law, in particular the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and to immediately locate and disclose his whereabouts. Enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment constitute serious human rights violations and are strictly prohibited under international law.
OMCT further calls on the competent authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times, including immediate and unconditional access to a lawyer of his choice.
Actions Requested
Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China urging them to:
i. Immediately locate and disclose the whereabouts of Lhaten;
ii. Guarantee, in all circumstances, his physical and psychological integrity;
iii. Grant him immediate and full access to a lawyer of his choice and his family, as well as guarantee that he is examined by independent doctors and receives adequate medical care if necessary, in accordance, inter alia, with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
iv. Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
v. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Guojia Zongli, The State Council General Office, 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
· Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
· Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong’anbu, 14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216
· Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Ch. De Surville, CP 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Suisse, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int, Fax : +41 22 793 70 14
Please also write to the embassies of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.
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Geneva, 21 November 2011
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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