常州女权人士王小琍因签名声援王宇律师而被警察调查

(维权网信息员张宁宁报道）2015年7月14日晚9点许，王小琍回家，刚出电梯就被三位警察拦住，要求调查关于签名声援王宇律师的活动。王小琍说，现在已经很晚了，明天再说。警察坚持要当天调查，他们从晚7点就在王小琍居住住的楼周围等待，已经等了2个小时了。

王小琍要求警察出示证件，有个警官出示了证件，另一个拒绝出示。

在调查过程中，王小琍说，我向王宇律师咨询过有关拆迁的法律问题，感到王宇是有正义感的律师。警察说，既然要抓王宇必有法律依据。接着，警察问王小琍，为什么要签名？谁告诉你的？王小琍一一回答。

调查完毕，警察要王小琍签字。王小琍拒绝，理由是其中一位警察没有出示警官证，其身份不明，故拒绝签字。

王小琍是常州女权维护者，不断通过政府信息公开、行政复议申请、行政诉讼维护妇女权利，特别是为农村出嫁女的合法的权益，作出了不懈的努力。

陈泰和律师（教授）被秘密拘押，这是他和吴凎合影。Lawyer prof. Chen Taihe detained in secret location, picture with Wugan      #china #HumanRights

德国台湾协会发出声明抗议中国政府肆意逮捕维权律师
2015-07-15

七月十四号德国副总理，经济部长加布里尔访问中国。德国台湾协会十四号发出德文声明，抗议中国政府肆意逮捕维权律师，要求加布里尔在访问中国时向中国政府明确表态。

从七月九号开始，中国政府在国内大规模逮捕维权律师，这个消息在欧洲受到媒体广泛的关注。十三号德国副总理，经济部长加布里尔启程前往中国进行早已经计划好的访问。十四号午后，旅居德国的台湾侨民组织，台湾协会广泛地向德国媒体、各人权团体、德国各政府机构散发了一封公开声明信，要求加布里尔总理在访问中国的时候公开表明，对于中国这新的一波迫害人权的行动表示关切和谴责。为此，十四号晚，记者采访了参与起草的台湾协会声明的中南地区会长傅佩芬女士。

德国台湾协会成立于一九七一年，是早年台湾争取民主自由人士在德国成立的协会，协会虽然具有四十四年历史，但是近年来对台湾民主进程的关注、参与及协助力度没有减少。六月该协会邀请了台湾著名的为陈水扁前总统辩护的律师郑文龙和著名的人权律师陈为祥访问德国，与德国法律界、政府及人权团体进行了广泛的交流。

十四号晚，由于在采访的时候该声明的中文稿还没有发出，为此，傅佩芬会长解释说，“第一稿我们先写德文稿的原因是因为，我们知道德国的经济部长加布里尔在星期三要与习近平先生会面。我们希望在他会面之前能够看到我们的这个稿子。而且我们目前所在地是在德国、在欧洲，所以我们在德国的台湾协会的立场就是要先把德文稿发出去了。让德国社会能够尽快接受到我们的信息。”

为此，关于声明的内容，傅佩芬会长介绍说，“我们声明的内容第一是，表达我们对于这件事情的关切和震惊。因为中国政府逮捕这些律师的时候居然用的借口是，这些律师扰乱了公共秩序，企图影响国家的司法审判。那作为一个律师来说，在为他的当事人争取权利的时候，在捍卫他的当事人权利的时候，在为他的当事人辩护的时候，怎么可以说他是在扰乱公共秩序，怎么可以说他是在影响司法审判呢？”

关于台湾协会在声明中的呼吁，傅佩芬会长介绍说，“第一个我们呼吁中国政府，立即释放这些律师跟他们的家人，停止继续逮捕这些维权律师。那我们第二个呼吁就是呼吁德国政府，尤其是呼吁正在中国访问的德国的经济部长加布里尔，希望他在跟中国政府交往的时候必须要再次深思，单单靠贸易交易是不可能达到让中国政府在政治上有所改革的。”

傅佩芬会长说，不止台湾争取民主的历史，而且最近二十五年国际社会和中国打交道的历史已经证明，没有人权和政治要求作为前提和基础的经济交流，只会让专制政府更加放肆。“在天安门事件发生之后到现在已经二十五年了。在这二十五年来，我们发现中国政府在迫害人权方面，在迫害维权人士方面是变本加厉，没有任何改变。所以说要透过贸易来达到政治的改革、人权改革，是一个不切实际的神话。这种说法没有得到任何证明，反倒是我们得到了非常强烈的反证。”

在德国台湾协会的声明中，他们最后明确地表示了对于中国民众争取民主和自由的支持。对此，傅佩芬会长说，“我们第三个声明是表达我们对于这些维权律师还有中国人民的尊敬跟我们的支持。我们认为，也希望将来有一天自由也一定属于中国人民。”

 

（特约记者：天溢 ）

中国践踏人权事件不断 美国会批评习近平藐视法治
2015-07-15


中国连日来发生数起践踏人权的事件，包括大规模拘捕人权律师及维权人士、藏传佛教领袖丹增德勒仁波切猝死成都狱中。就此，美国国会及行政当局中国委员会的两位主席发表联合声明，批评中国国家主席习近平藐视法治。

美国国会及行政当局中国委员会（Congressional-Executive Commission On China，简称CECC）的两位主席、资深国会众议员史密斯和参议员马可·鲁比奥周二发表联合声明，批评中国国家主席习近平藐视法治，无视人权。

声明表示，对中国在全国范围内展开空前规模的对维权律师的打击行动深感震惊，这些不合理的拘留和审讯，是习近平主席不能容忍异议、藐视法治的最新例证。习主席承诺要依法治国，但却将法律，尤其是令人费解和模糊的国安法，作为压迫与控制的工具。

声明还提到，在7月10日的拘捕律师行动前夕，约百名律师联署抗议对锋锐律师事务所律师王宇的拘捕。该律所因敢于承接数十敏感案件反被警方指为“重大犯罪集团”。与此同时，现年65岁的西藏宗教领袖丹增德勒仁波切猝死狱中，他被中国政府以涉嫌“煽动分裂”等罪名判处20年徒刑，已被羁押了13年。尽管他一再以心脏问题请求保外就医，但始终不获中国当局回应。

两位主席认为，习近平一方面要与美国发展“新型”关系，另一方面却是继续奉行镇压政策。可悲的是，中国对于新的理念及思维关上了大门，而这些理念和思维对塑造美中未来关系所需要的经济创新、政治透明和外交合作来说至关重要。声明批评习近平越来越大胆的无视基本人权的作为，这些问题必然会影响9月的首脑会议。

他们在声明中反问：“国家主席如此对待自己的公民，是否配得上华盛顿的红毯欢迎？”

中国维权律师关注组总干事陈洁文周三接受本台采访时称，中美近期在亚投行、南海局势等议题上歧异不断，相信人权不会成为习近平9月访美的关键议题，但是国际社会及人权组织对此次大规模拘捕行动的反弹，可能会给访问带来的一些负面气氛。

陈洁文：“我不认为美国会不接见习近平，因为除了人权问题以外，双方还有许多国防战略的议题，美国方面或许会作出表态，但我不认为他们会有态度很激烈的反映。但我们从NGO的角度，希望美国能够在这个过程中，抓住机会表态，表达他们支持人权，或能把会见延期也是好事。”

截至到周三，中国大范围抓捕维权律师的行动仍在继续。据海外维权网统计，事件共涉及167人，被刑拘 、监视居住10人；被失踪、带走、失联 16人；被短暂拘留、约谈、传唤已获释141人。

而北京社会活动家胡佳表示，中国人权状况恶化速度之快出乎意料，国际社会应采取强有力干预措施，不仅包括抵制习近平访美，还包括抵制中国申办冬奥会：“在人类历史上这么大范围地抓捕律师是习近平的独创，中国的这些律师尤为不易，有法律没法治，有宪法没宪政的国家里在夹缝中生存。去年以来有多少律师被停牌，人身安全受威胁，遭遇牢狱之灾。习近平本身就是法治的破坏者，他还宣扬法治，没有比这个还荒谬和滑稽的了。我们的可以推动的方向就是，首先是中国7月31日冬奥会举办权的问题，在法治问题如此恶劣的地方，怎么能举办如此纯洁的的冬奥呢？其次，习近平访美是他今年的重头戏，他想在国际社会面前风光大秀的时候，能让他去顺顺当当访美吗？这不仅是美国的问题，这是整个国际社会，在人权法治以及无以后退领域上，为这些无辜律师发出声音。”

与此同时，美国纽约民运团体及各界人士约数十人，周二下午游行至中国驻纽约总领事馆前示威，抗议中国抓捕维权律师和活动人士。

据媒体报道，示威人士在领馆对面及签证办公室门前高举被中国政府拘押人士的头像，高喊“释放维权律师”等口号。有示威人士将习近平比喻为“习特勒”，并在中领馆大门前竖起中指。

（特约记者：忻霖   责编：胡汉强/申铧）

王全平律师成立义辩律师团 官媒发文“藐视”美国批评
2015-07-14



本周二，中国再有多名维权律师及维权人士被带走、约谈或传唤。这场从7月10号开始的律师界的“浩劫”仍在继续。而对于来自全球的关注，中国官媒刊文“藐视”。与此同时，曾被约谈的王全平律师日前发起义辩律师服务团，呼吁律师界同仁为被关押的人士提供法律帮助。

中国当局“扫荡”维权律师及维权人士的行动持续发酵，截至周二上午8点，全国共有138人遭到不同程度的打压，其中10人已被刑拘或监视居住。

周二下午，上海民运人士杨勤恒、山东人权律师刘书庆被警方约谈；上海网友王法展被警方从公司带走。此外，10天前刚刚被取保的北京税务师杜延林下午接到国保电话，要找他了解一些网上的情况。

北京律师迟夙生周二告诉本台，截至目前，她虽然只是受到了一些提醒，但也随时做好了被捕的准备。

“目前为止，我这里只是提醒我，还没有到别的人那种程度。但是我们都时刻准备着，我们可能每个人都不一定安全。”

面对这场运动式的扫荡，周二再次被约谈的广东律师王全平发起成立了“710义辩律师团”，并私人捐款十万作为代理律师的交通差旅费。

王全平在律师团公告兼《讨伐奸佞书》中写道：今年7月10日前后，全国有众多的律师被抓捕、被约谈警告的不计其数。这在中国法治史上是空前绝后的恶性事件，在全世界都没有发生过。这是现代的“焚书坑儒”，当局的倒行逆施必将遗臭万年，并受到正义人们的强烈谴责！在这万马齐喑的时刻，我们更要克服恐惧、精诚团结，担当起历史的责任，我要正告当局：律师的职责就是维护法律尊严，没有枉法就没有死磕，维权律师是抓不完的。

王全平律师在公告最后写道，一旦自己因为声援710受难律师失去自由，将委托北京陈建刚律师及广东葛永喜律师作为第一批辩护人。

对于王全平的义举，“六四”学运领袖周锋锁在其推特上写道：王全平律师在大搜捕来临之际，顶风而上，虽千万人吾往矣。在被传唤时留下了安排，国保要求他封口，不要为被捕维权律师发声，他严辞拒绝。他被带往看守所几个小时后释放。如今他再次公开呼吁，正气无敌。

截至周二发稿前，记者仍未能联系上王全平律师。而不少律师均向记者表示，如果有需要为被捕的律师担任辩护工作，将义不容辞。

北京律师程海周二向本台表示：“现在律师要各个方面来采取行动，可能会代理律师们写一些控告状，来控告一些公安人员犯罪。”

中国官方《人民日报》旗下《环球时报》周二发表社论，认为美国对维权律师被抓的反应“可以藐视”，又指中国律师界对警方这次行动存在困惑，一是“同病相怜”，二是来自对民主法治边界的长期争议。文章认为，西方价值观近年来对这个领域，渗透大量影响，令一些相当重要的基础性共识，遭受破坏。

此前，美国国务院批评中国有组织地扣留一些以和平方式维护他人权益的人士，尤其是那些以合法方式质疑政府政策的人，敦促中国释放他们。

程海表示，维权律师与访民在法院门外示威抗议的举动确实存在一些争议，不过作为律师，都希望能在法庭上为当事人据理力争，而不是无法阅卷、无法会见、无法在法庭上发言。法庭外的抗争，是迫不得已之下的选择。

（特约记者：扬帆；责编：胡汉强/申铧）

 China's Crackdown on Rights Lawyers  Shows No Sign of Abating
2015-07-14


China intensified its sweeping crackdown on human rights lawyers and legal activists on Tuesday, as the country’s state media shrugged off growing international condemnation and lawyers under threat warned that the country’s already fragile rule of law would be further weakened.

The mass arrest drive that opened with a raid on the high-profile public interest law firm Fengrui last week deepened as rights lawyers across the country – including some who had advised the earlier batches of detainees -- were summoned, detained or questioned.

The China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG), a Hong Kong-based non-profit organization, said that as of Tuesday evening, 169 lawyers, legal staff or activists had been detained, arrested, subject to forced disappearance, held incommunicado or questioned and released. In some cases the lawyers’ drivers and even children were caught in the police net.

Guangdong rights lawyer Wang Quanping, who recently set up the July 10 Justice for Defense Lawyers group, said in an online statement that the ongoing detention of attorneys is "the worst thing to happen to the rule of law in China, in the past or in the future."

"It's like a modern version of book-burning," Wang wrote. "This retrograde step by the government will condemn them to notoriety for the next 10 millennia."

Lawyers across China braced for a late night knock on the door, but some remained defiant.

"I was surrounded [by police] who handed me two sheets of paper. I guess that was the summons, requiring me to go to the local police station,” Suzhou-based rights lawyer Ben Bo told RFA.

“I refused to cooperate. Over my dead body. I don't cooperate with those people. My friends and family are all here [at my place] now to keep watch," he said.

Ben said the standoff had continued into the evening Tuesday.

"I don't rule out the possibility that they will come in the middle of the night and take me away, but I'm not going with them voluntarily," he said.

Beijing lawyer Su Chifeng said she is making mental preparation for a visit from state security police.

"For now, they have just been in touch to warn me; it hasn't got as bad yet as it has for other people. But I am making preparations [to be summoned or detained] at any time. I don't think any of us feels safe right now," she told RFA.

Beijing-based rights lawyer Cheng Hai said China’s legal community needed to stand together and use their legal skills to defend themselves against state lawlessness.

"Lawyers need to mobilize in every possible way, to sue the state and some police officers for illegal actions," he told RFA on Tuesday.

'Neo-totalitarian' Xi

Lawyers have already reported having threats made against their family members' jobs and children's schooling, as China brings maximum pressure to bear to prevent them speaking out about injustice.

The U.S. State Department has voiced concern about the crackdown and the draconian new national security law recently passed by China’s rubber-stamp parliament under which the roundup is apparently being carried out.

“We are deeply concerned that the broad scope of the new national security law is being used as a legal facade to commit human rights abuses,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in statement issued Sunday night in Washington as reports of the detentions were confirmed.

“We strongly urge China to respect the rights of all of its citizens and to release all those who have recently been detained for seeking to protect the rights of Chinese citizens.”

The U.S. appeal fell on deaf ears in Beijing, which used state media to taunt Washington and denounce the lawyers as “rabble rousers” and part of a “criminal gang” – statements experts saw as a sign that Beijing had already reached a verdict on the lawyers without any trial.

“The latest U.S. statement will have no real effects except making Chinese people feel slightly uncomfortable,” said the Global Times, a Communist Party mouthpiece known for nationalistic rhetoric.

“The crackdown of the criminal gang involving several rights lawyers is a step toward realizing China's social stability,” it said.

Writing for the “ChinaFile” column in the U.S. journal Foreign Policy, Eva Pils, an expert on Chinese human rights lawyers, called the mass arrests the latest step in President Xi Jinping’s “apparent campaign to eradicate independent civil society and to concentrate power.”

“ It manifests his neo-totalitarian ambitions — trying to reclaim control of all aspects of society, which requires that all social activities must be reconceived and reorganized along corporatist lines, and under the firm leadership of the ruling party,” wrote Pils, a reader in transnational law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.

The crackdown inspired Chinese activists around the world to launch a campaign to get 100,000 people to sign an online petition to the White House demanding that President Barack Obama cancel Xi’s scheduled visit in September.

In China’s southwestern region of Guangxi, meanwhile, rights lawyer Yang Zaixin said he couldn't comment much under what he said was the worst pressure the legal profession has been under since he became a lawyer more than 20 years ago.

"I have received a directive telling me to shut my mouth, so it's not convenient for me to comment," Yang said.

"They say that a gentleman should die a hero's death, and that if he can't do that, he shouldn't die. But why should he have to die? Perhaps even if he did, nothing would be gained by it."

Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Written in English by Paul Eckert.

Tibetans Gather in Chengdu to Urge Return of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's Body
2015-07-14



Protest poster outside Chinese consulate in San Francisco, July 14, 2015.
Photo courtesy of an RFA listener



Around a hundred Tibetans gathered on Tuesday outside a prison in Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu to call on Chinese authorities to release the body of Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, while U.S. lawmakers and others slammed China’s treatment of the popular religious teacher and voiced sorrow at his death in prison in unexplained circumstances.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, died on Sunday in the 13th year of a life sentence imposed for what rights groups and supporters have described as a wrongful conviction on a bombing charge. He was widely popular among Tibetans for his efforts to protect Tibetan culture and the environment.

“About a hundred have now arrived at the prison site where Rinpoche died, though it is difficult to give an exact figure,” Jamyang Nyendrak, a Tibetan living in exile in Europe, told RFA’s Tibetan Service on Tuesday.

Nine, including two sisters of the dead monk already present in Chengdu, had traveled there from Lithang (in Chinese, Litang) county in Sichuan’s Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Nyendrak said, citing contacts in the region.

Monks and nuns had also arrived from Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s monastery in Sichuan’s Nyagchuka (Yajiang) county, he said.

"Many left for Chengdu secretly on their own," Nyendrak said.

On Monday, Chinese police fired live rounds and tear gas to disperse a crowd of over a thousand who had gathered outside government offices in Nyagchuka to demand the return of the popular religious teacher’s body and call for an explanation of the circumstances of his death, Nyendrak said.

“Many who were injured were transported to hospital for treatment,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, about 50 protesters gathered at the Chinese consulate in New York, briefly shutting it down, said New York-based human rights activist Rose Tang. Another 40 protested outside the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, sources said.

'Speak clearly, impose a price'

Also on Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers in Washington observed a moment of silence to honor Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and called in a hearing for more effective U.S. policies to support human rights in China and Tibet.

Speaking at the hearing called by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson urged the U.S. government to “speak more clearly and impose a price, and articulate what that price will be to the Chinese government when it does things like refuse to return the body of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche to his family and community.”

A scheduled U.S. dialogue with China on counterterrorism should now be canceled, Richardson said.

“To have a counterterrorism dialogue with a government that prosecuted Tenzin Delek Rinpoche on charges of terrorism is appalling,” Richardson said.

Also testifying at the hearing, movie actor and longtime Tibet supporter Richard Gere noted that the popular Tibetan monk had had “tens of thousands of students, Tibetans and Chinese, and I think that was basically the problem.”

“This was someone who was bridging cultures,” Gere said.

“I think that is probably how he crossed the line with the Chinese government.”

Reported by Guru Choegyi for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney.

you hate religion only becasue you are stupid enough

Lack of information

A relative living in South India meanwhile voiced frustration at the lack of information surrounding the well-respected monk’s death, noting that family members had been able to visit him in prison only once, in November 2013.

“Nobody can say for sure whether Rinpoche died this year or last year, or even where he died,” the source, Geshe Lobsang Yonten, told RFA.

“During the last two years, no one was allowed to see him,” he said.

When last seen by his family, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche had shown signs of ill health, the Washington-based rights group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a July 13 statement.

“They found out that he had had some sort of heart problem, possibly a heart attack, that part of his body was shaking uncontrollably, and that he had lost consciousness on numerous occasions,” ICT said.

ICT added that before being taken into custody in 2002, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche had founded schools for nomad children and homes for the elderly, had worked to protect local forests, and was well-known for his efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan culture—activities that may have brought him into conflict with local authorities.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death is a “shocking development,” Columbia University Tibet scholar Robbie Barnett said.

“This is a case where the authorities never produced any credible evidence in response to widespread doubts about the charges laid against him,” Barnett said.

Reported by Guru Choegyi, Lobsang Choephel, Norbu Damdul, and Kunsang Tenzin for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney.

info

In a nationwide sweep starting on 10 July, numerous lawyers who had previously defended human rights activists in criminal cases have been arrested across China. Nothing is yet known about the whereabouts of many lawyers; it is likely that they will be charged and sentenced to long terms in prison. The security agencies have claimed their actions were taken in response to potential threats to national security. The national security law was passed by the National People’s Congress on 1 July. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already criticised the law.

China: Halt Police Operations Targeting Human Rights Lawyers as “National Security” Threat
Jul 13, 2015 • 8:02 pm
Release Detained Lawyers & Activists Immediately

(Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, July 13, 2015) – Massive police operations across China starting July 9, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Security, are a serious affront to civil liberties. The deteriorating human rights conditions in China under President Xi Jinping have now reached a point of crisis. The raids, involving abductions, detentions, disappearances, summons, and searches, have affected more than 100 lawyers and activists, with the number still growing as of the time of this report. To date, 6 have been put under criminal detention, 3 are being held under residential surveillance in undisclosed locations, at least 11 were taken into police custody and disappeared, and more than 100 have been questioned by police and released. CHRD condemns the Chinese government’s assault on human rights lawyers as “national security” threats, as claimed in state media, and demands the immediate and unconditional release of all individuals who are detained so far. CHRD is concerned that those who have disappeared into police custody are likely to be subjected to torture.

Putting New Security Laws to Practice

The large-scale operation began soon after China’s draconian National Security Law took effect – on July 1, and one day after China angrily denounced the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as “unprofessional” following his criticism of the law. The High Commissioner described the law as “extraordinarily broad,” and said that “coupled with the vagueness of its terminology and definitions,” it “leaves the door wide open” for further restrictions on human rights and civil society in China. The concerted raids demonstrate how the new law can be put to use to legitimize and embolden massive countrywide security operations against any perceived threats to the government.

The coordinated police operations also demonstrate how authorities can put to use China’s draft Internet Security Law, which would legalize invasive and strict cyber-policing and authorize shutting off the Internet to entire regions for “security” purposes. Social media sites favored by rights activists and lawyers have been disrupted following the raids, with users inside China generally experiencing difficulties in logging into their accounts, according to reports gathered online. In the same article (linked above) from the state media Xinhua agency detailing the operations and discrediting the lawyers, police pointed to one particular social media service, Telegram, as the platform that lawyers and activists have been using to “plot” and “organize” “criminal activities.” Many of the released lawyers and activists have indicated that that they were warned against posting messages online about the raids. The day the raid began, a massive DDOS (distributed denial of service) attack began on Telegram’s Asia-Pacific server, coordinated from East Asia. While it is unclear who is behind the attack, the timing of the DDOS attack and the police raids may prove not a mere coincidence.

Police Raids on Law Firms and Lawyers

The police operations have focused on the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, with the abduction and detention of the director, several of its lawyers, paralegals, and administrative staff. The July 11 Xinhua article accused the firm of running a “criminal syndicate,” serving as “a platform for masterminding serious illegal activities to incite “social disorder” and gain “profits.” Xinhua cited the Ministry of Public Security to confirm the criminal detentions of six lawyers and staff at the Fengrui Law Firm, including the director of the firm, Zhou Shifeng (周世锋), lawyers Wang Yu (王宇), Wang Quanzhang (王全璋), Huang Liqun (黄力群), assistant Liu Sixin (刘四新), and lawyer Bao Longjun (包龙军), and also referred to “many others” as criminally detained without naming them.

The unnamed “many” include prominent lawyers Li Shuyun (李姝云), Li Heping (李和平), Sui Muqing (隋牧青), Xie Yang (谢阳), Gou Hongguo (沟洪国, aka Ge Ping, 戈平), and Zheng Enchong (郑恩宠). The nature of the detentions and locations of these lawyers are currently unknown or unconfirmed. Li Heping was taken away on July 10, when his home and firm in Beijing were also searched. Sui Muqing in Guangzhou, Xie Yang in Hunan, and Guo Hongguo in Tianjin have been put under “residential surveillance” in unknown police-designated locations. Disbarred Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong had his home searched on July 11 and was taken away. Liu Xiaoyuan (刘晓原), a senior partner at Fengrui Law Firm, disappeared for three days and has been threatened with disbarment. Unless police notify the families within 24 hours of the whereabouts of these lawyers, and allow their own attorneys to visit, both of which are required by laws, these lawyers are considered to have been “disappeared.”

From information disclosed by released lawyers and activists so far, it has become clear that the aim of the mass raid was to intimidate the lawyers into silence and force them to withdraw their support to lawyer Wang Yu and her law firm, Beijing Fengrui. Many of the detained or questioned lawyers signed an open letter to protest Wang Yu’s disappearance. Police seemed to have use the list of signatures as their “guide” to hunt down the lawyers and tried to intimidate them into submission.

Violations of Procedural and Legal Rights

Legal rights and procedural rights of the detained or disappeared lawyers have been trampled on by unrestrained police power. The operations have so far been conducted in a manner more commonly used against violent criminal gangs, including using early morning break-ins, abductions, hoods to cover heads of those taken into custody, massive police presence, and state media smear campaigns to heighten the level of the seriousness of the “crimes” that the lawyers are accused of, with no presumption of innocence.

Breaking in private residence and abduction: Authorities began the operation by breaking into lawyer Wang Yu’s apartment and abducting her at dawn. Wang Yu went out of contact after she sent out alerts of unidentified people trying to break the lock on her apartment around 4 AM on July 9. According to the neighbors, guards told them the heavy police presence was a raid on drug dealers and one person was detained. The following day, friends went to her home but she had vanished. In the same morning, police abducted the director of her law firm from his hotel room in the outskirts of Beijing and took him away with his head covered with a black hood.
Raids of residences and offices without search warrants: Police in Beijing searched the offices of three law firms on July 10: Beijing Fengrui, lawyer Li Heping’s firm (Globe-Law Law Firm), and the office of Beijing lawyer Li Jinxing (李金星), known as “Action to Redress Grievances Office.” They also searched the residences of Li Heping and Li Shuyun in Beijing and Zheng Enchong in Shanghai. Police did not display any search warrants, and only stated they were acting on behalf of Tianjin police or identified themselves as police from Tianjin.
Detention without formal notifications: It is unclear what “crimes” most of the lawyers under criminal detention have been suspected of committing. Nor has there been any information about where they were taken or detained. Families have not received any notifications about the nature of the detentions. China’s Criminal Procedure Law (Article 117(2)) allows police 24 hours to decide to put a suspect under criminal detention or otherwise release them.
Secret detention and forced disappearance: The whereabouts of a dozen or so lawyers and activists or staff at the affected law firms remain unknown. And the exact locations of the three individuals put under “residential surveillance” are unclear. None of the detainees have been allowed any visits.
Denied access to legal counsel: None of the detainees has been allowed to see any lawyer of their own at this point. All of them have been detained for more than 24 hours. Some of them have been detained for five days.
Massive round-up of lawyers to silence potential protest: A dozen lawyers and activists who arrived at Fengrui upon getting the news of the detentions on July 10 were seized, including Zhang Weiyu (张维玉), Jiang Tianyong (江天勇), and Wang Cheng (王成). Many more lawyers and activists have since been rounded up for interrogation and intimidation in more than 20 provinces and municipalities across China. (See the updated list on CHRD’s website). Most of those detained have been released after being questioned, in many cases for more than 12 hours, about the online open letter to support Wang Yu and told to withdraw their signatures. China’s Criminal Procedure Law (Article 117(2)) sets the limit at 12 hours for summons or detention for questioning. Police warned them to stay out of the Fengrui case and to not speak publicly about the operation, apparently for fear of protests by these lawyers, online or in public spaces, which have recently become routine reactions to such incidents of flagrant violations of civil liberties. In some cases, the detained lawyers were forced to promise that they would not get involved in this and other “sensitive” rights defense cases.
Criminalizing the Legitimate Exercise of Human Rights

The Ministry of Public Security, according to Xinhua article, apparently ordered the raids to retaliate against the rights lawyers for their increasingly organized network. Police accused Fengrui law firm’s director, Zhou Shifeng, of running a “criminal syndicate” with the lawyers and others at the firm that coordinated with those in the “rights defense circles,” including lawyers, bloggers and other netizens, and petitioners, and that they masterminded more than 40 “sensitive incidents” since 2012. This included hiring the maverick activist Wu Gan (吴淦), who was formally arrested in early July on charges of “inciting subversion” and “creating a disturbance,” as a special advisor.

What the Ministry of Public Security, according to the article, listed as “sensitive incidents” include recent advocacy campaigns when Chinese netizens and civil society activists and lawyers spoke out, criticized, or in some cases, gathered to protest official obstruction of justice or government impunity to suspects of rights abuses. These include the “Anqing Incident,” when a policeman shot a petitioner to death at a train station in Heilongjiang Province in early May, with the official narrative widely questioned by the public. Wu Gan was one of the most outspoken critics of the government’s handling of the case. Another “sensitive incident,” according to the Xinhua article, is the “Jiansanjiang incident” where four lawyers were detained and tortured in 2014 after they insisted on meeting their clients (Falun Gong practitioners) detained at a “black jail.”

In specific terms, the recent raid is likely intended as a stern warning to China’s embattled but increasingly unified human rights lawyers and activists. At the same time, the mass rounding up is a part of the overall suppression of civil society that has taken place under President Xi Jinping since he came to power over two years ago. In 2014, Xi’s government detained or jailed the highest number of human rights lawyers in any single year since rights lawyers emerged in China a few decades ago. Human rights lawyers Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜), Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强), Tang Jingling (唐荆陵), Wang Yonghang (王永航), and Xia Lin (夏霖) all remain behind bars. This year, authorities’ growing intolerance of outspoken lawyers protesting breaches of due process rights has led to constant clashes, many of which have turned violent. In the last three months, at least four lawyers were seriously injured in four separate violent incidents.

The dramatic crackdown on lawyers is also a measure of the government’s nervousness about their growing strength, an increasingly organized mutual support network within legal communities, and the lawyers’ rising prominence and influence in society, especially among disenfranchised groups that have been mistreated, including politically persecuted human rights defenders. The crackdown is an extension of the government’s long-term strategy to smother civil society, which it is legislating through the draft Overseas NGO Management Law and its provisions to cut off international support to Chinese NGOs. Most of the lawyers affected by the raids are affiliated with a loose circle of more than 200 lawyers, known as “China Human Rights Lawyers Group,” who routinely issue statements to protest rights violations, travel to support fellow lawyers, and challenge authorities obstruction of their client’s due process rights in court. After authorities shut down several independent groups in the past few years, including Gongmeng (the Constitutional Initiative), New Citizens’ Movement, Transition Institute, and Yirenping, the lawyers’ informal group is perhaps the only remaining widespread and organized alliance that is independent from the government.

Beijing Fengrui Law Firm may seem an obvious first target for authorities in its long-term strategy to crush the rights defense movement, since it has employed several of the country’s most courageous lawyers and recently employed leading activists, such as Wu Gan. The firm’s director, lawyer Zhou Shifeng, may have defied tremendous pressure to employ these rights lawyers and activists. For years, police and legal affair authorities have pressured law firms to fire or not hire rights lawyers. Many firms have acted cautiously for fear of losing their license to operate; rights lawyers who are forced to leave their firms or try to change firms often run into difficulty in getting new firms to hire them. It is clear that authorities failed to intimidate Fengrui Law Firm with the threat of sanctions, and they could not discredit Fengrui lawyer Wang Yu with a nasty state media led smear campaign last month. Instead, authorities have decided to “destroy” Fengrui, as the Xinhua article declared.

Recommendations

CHRD urges the Chinese government to unconditionally release all detained lawyers and others swept up in the raids; to end its reprisals against human rights lawyers for exercising their independence or protecting the judicial process from government interference; and to bring its National Security Law, the draft Internet Security Law, and the draft Overseas NGO Management Law into complete compliance with international human rights standards.

The international community should take actions to gain the release of the detained individuals. Strong protests by government, international agencies, and NGOs in March and April were followed by the release of five Chinese feminists and women’s rights activists. A concerted international campaign—#FreeRightsLawyers—will make a difference. More specifically, CHRD urges that:

the US government puts the September visit by President Xi Jinping on hold until his government completely halts the massive police operations, releases all detainees and prisoners of conscience, and lift its extraordinary measures against freedom of expression, association, and assembly;
the US, EU and its member countries, and other like-minded governments speak up publicly to condemn China’s retaliation against human rights defenders, including lawyers, during high-level visits and their human rights dialogues with China;
and the UN General Assembly holds China accountable for its breaches of its voluntary pledges and obligations as a member of the Human Rights Council (HRC), and its failure to implement Universal Periodical Review recommendations it “accepted,” in the coming months leading up to China’s likely bid in 2016 for membership in the HRC for the next three-year term (2017-19).
 

Lawyers held in the police raid starting on July 9-10 include (clockwise from upper left): Bao Longjun (包龙军), Wang Yu (王宇), Zhou Shifeng (周世锋), Sui Muqing (隋牧青) Huang Liqun (黄力群), Wang Quanzhang (王全璋)
Lawyers held in the police raid starting on July 9-10 include (clockwise from upper left): Bao Longjun (包龙军), Wang Yu (王宇), Zhou Shifeng (周世锋), Sui Muqing (隋牧青) Huang Liqun (黄力群), Wang Quanzhang (王全璋)
The annexed document is a list of the individuals detained or disappeared in the raids, which CHRD has crossed-checked and updated. To date, 6 are under criminal detention, 3 are being held under residential surveillance in undisclosed locations, 11 were taken into police custody and disappeared, and up to 100 have been summoned for questioning by police and later released.

 

Contacts:

Renee Xia, International Director (Mandarin, English), +1 240 374 8937, reneexia@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @ReneeXiaCHRD

Victor Clemens, Research Coordinator (English), +1 209 643 0539, victorclemens@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @VictorClemens

Frances Eve, Researcher (English), +852 6695 4083, franceseve@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @FrancesEveCHRD

Wendy Lin, Hong Kong Coordinator (Mandarin, Cantonese, English), +852 6932 1274, wendylin@chrdnet.com, Follow on Twitter: @WendyLinCHRD

Follow CHRD on Twitter: @CHRDnet

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter Strässer verurteilt Verhaftungswelle gegen Anwälte in China

Erscheinungsdatum
13.07.2015

Anlässlich der seit dem 10. Juli andauernden Festnahmewelle gegen Rechtsanwälte erklärte der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Menschenrechtspolitik und Humanitäre Hilfe, Christoph Strässer, heute (13.07.):

"Die Festnahme von bis zu 100 Anwälten und Mitarbeitern in Anwaltskanzleien in China verurteile ich. Das Ausmaß der Festnahmen und die öffentliche Diskreditierung der Anwälte in den staatlichen Medien sind präzedenzlos. Mit dieser Verhaftungswelle setzt die chinesische Regierung ein deutliches Signal: Kritik am System wird unterbunden, und sogar Anwälte müssen mit harten Strafen rechnen, wenn sie ihrer ureigenen Aufgabe, der Verteidigung ihrer Mandanten, nachgehen. Dieses Vorgehen steht in eklatantem Widerspruch zum erklärten Willen der chinesischen Regierung, Rechtsstaatlichkeit zu fördern.         

Ich bin darüber hinaus zutiefst beunruhigt, dass diese Aktion der Sicherheitsbehörden mit dem neuen nationalen Sicherheitsgesetz gerechtfertigt wird. Durch die vagen Formulierungen und die weite Fassung des Begriffs ‚nationale Sicherheit‘ sind Maßnahmen der Sicherheitsbehörden abgedeckt, ohne dass eine unabhängige Kontrolle oder Korrektur dieser Maßnahmen möglich wäre.         

Ich rufe die chinesische Führung auf, die verhafteten Anwälte freizulassen und deren Berufsausübung sowie die Verteidigung ihrer Mandanten nicht weiter zu beschränken. Außerdem fordere ich die chinesische Regierung auf, sich am selbst propagierten Willen zu mehr Rechtsstaatlichkeit messen zu lassen. Das nationale Sicherheitsgesetz in seiner jetzigen Form entspricht nicht rechtsstaatlichen Grundsätzen. Gesetze, die eine Einschränkung der bürgerlichen Rechte aufgrund der Bedrohung der nationalen Sicherheit erlauben, müssen klar definiert sein und eine unabhängige Kontrolle ermöglichen."


Info

Seit dem 10. Juli wurden in China landesweit zahlreiche Anwälte verhaftet, die in der Vergangenheit die Strafverteidigung von Menschenrechtsaktivisten übernommen hatten. Über den Verbleib zahlreicher Anwälte ist noch nichts bekannt; mit Anklagen und Verurteilungen zu hohen Haftstrafen ist zu rechnen. Die Sicherheitsbehörden rechtfertigen ihr Vorgehen mit der potentiellen Bedrohung für die nationale Sicherheit. Das nationale Sicherheitsgesetz wurde am 01.Juli durch den nationalen Volkskongress verabschiedet. Der VN-Hochkommissar für Menschenrechte hat das Gesetz bereits kritisiert.

germany


http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2015/150713_MRHH_Strässer_verurteilt_Verhaftungswelle_China.html?nn=479784



Human Rights Commissioner Strässer condemns the arrest of scores of lawyers in China

date of issue
14.07.2015

Christoph Strässer, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, issued the following statement yesterday (13 July) regarding the ongoing crackdown under which large numbers of lawyers have been arrested since 10 July:

 "I condemn the arrest of up to 100 lawyers and staff from law firms in China. The scale of the detentions and the state media’s efforts to publicly discredit the lawyers are without precedent. The Chinese Government is sending a clear message through these coordinated arrests – criticism of the system will be silenced, and even lawyers must expect severe punishment for performing their most basic duty, that of defending their clients. This crackdown is in dramatic contrast to the Chinese Government’s declared intention to promote the rule of law.

I am furthermore most profoundly concerned by the fact that the new national security law has been cited in justification of the actions taken by the security authorities. Given its vague language and the broad definition of the term “national security”, measures taken by the security agencies are protected by the law, without any provision being made for the independent review of such measures or any correctives thereto.

I call on the Chinese leadership to release the lawyers who have been arrested and to refrain from any further action to restrict them in the exercise of the profession and the defence of their clients. I moreover call on the Chinese Government to stand and be judged by its self-professed desire to strengthen the rule of law. The national security law in its current form is not compatible with rule‑of‑law principles. Laws that permit civil rights to be curtailed in response to threats to national security must be clearly defined and subject to independent review."

04:58 PM， 14.7.2015

+49  15757433477

1600 now

 Thailand Expels Nearly 100 Uyghurs to Uncertain Fate in China
2015-07-09 



Thailand said on Thursday it had forcibly repatriated nearly 100 Uyghurs to China, a move that drew criticism from human rights groups and protests in Turkey over the expulsion of the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority that suffers harsh repression under Chinese rule.

Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, Thailand’s prime minster, told reporters his country was “not part of the dispute” between China and Uyghurs and had received guarantees from Beijing that the Uyghurs forced onto planes late on Wednesday would be treated fairly.

“They will be provided with justice and safety. China confirmed they will be given access to fair justice,” Prayuth told reporters at the government house in Bangkok.

“If they are not implicated in any offenses, they will be released and given land for making a living. But if any are implicated with crimes, they will be tried,” he said.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said it was shocked at the deportation of a group believed to include women and children who did not wish to return to China.

“While we are seeking further clarifications on what happened exactly, we are shocked by this deportation of some 100 people and consider it a flagrant violation of international law," said Volker Türk, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, in a statement issued by the U.N. agency.

"I strongly urge the Thai authorities to investigate this matter and appeal to Thailand to honor its fundamental international obligations, notably the principle of non-refoulement, and to refrain from such deportations in the future," he added.

On Wednesday, the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) warned of the impending repatriation and appealed for international intervention.

The WUC said it was “gravely concerned” about the fate of the Uyghurs, noting that the consequences of their repatriation were likely to include criminal allegations used to justify punishments that would be inflicted on them upon their arrival in China.

“It is anticipated that the Chinese government is behind this covert, and indeed heinous, operation which aims to bring these Uyghurs back to harsh punishment, which possibly includes capital punishment,” the WUC said.

The forced deportation came despite the resettlement in Turkey last week of 173 women and children from among the detainees in Thailand, following long-lasting negotiations between the two countries.

Maj. Gen. Weerachon Sukhontapatipak, deputy spokesperson for the Thai government, said in Bangkok the repatriation was ‘in line with a citizen verification procedure, which indicated them as Chinese and they must follow China’s justice.”

The earlier release of Uyghurs to Turkey was a different matter, he told reporters at a news conference.

“In regards with the 170 Uyghurs Thailand sent over to Turkey late June, this is an indication for Thailand’s compliance with international-standard citizenship verification process. They are verified being Turkish, so they were sent to Turkey,” said Sukhontapatipak.

“We admitted it is a very sensitive security issue. However, Thailand has continual discussions with both China and Turkey,” he added.

“There are about 50 Uyghur who are pending citizenship verification completion,” said Sukhontapatipak.



Leaving China in droves

In Turkey, local protesters responded to the expulsion by smashing windows and ransacking parts of the honorary Thai consulate in Istanbul.

“Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, has had a direct phone conversation with the Turkish prime minister and asked him to maintain security for the Thai diplomats and Thai citizens in Turkey. He has great concerns on the issue.” Sukhontapatipak said.

The detainees had remained in limbo more than a year into their detention, with Beijing demanding they be repatriated to China.

During the last couple of years, Uyghurs have been leaving China in droves to escape persecution and repression by authorities who consider them separatists and terrorists and have cracked down on their religion and culture.

Chinese authorities have blamed an upsurge of violence in Xinjiang since 2012 on terrorists and Islamist insurgents seeking to establish an independent state.

Several Asian nations—including Thailand—have bowed to demands by Beijing to repatriate Uyghurs fleeing persecution in Xinjiang, despite warnings from rights groups and the Uyghur exile community that they may face prison sentences upon their return.

Reported by RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert.

OME | NEWS | TIBET

Chinese Police Open Fire as Marchers Protest the Death of Popular Tibetan Monk
2015-07-13


Over a thousand Tibetans gathered on Monday in Sichuan province’s Nyagchuka county to mourn the death in prison of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, an influential and well-respected Buddhist monk, with Chinese security forces at one point firing shots to disperse protesters, Tibetan sources in the region and in exile said.

Though police opened fire “to control the crowd,” there were no immediate reports of injuries in the incident, a Tibetan living in Australia told RFA’s Tibetan Service, citing local contacts.

Separately, the India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) confirmed that shots had been fired near government offices in Nyagchuka (in Chinese, Yajiang) county’s Thang Karma township.

“The security forces shot at the Tibetans. They also lobbed teargas shells to disperse the crowd,” TCHRD said on July 13, quoting a source.

“Security forces have been deployed in the area and the road between Lithang [Litang] and Nyagchuka counties has been blocked. Travel to the area has been strictly restricted,” TCHRD added.

The protesters had gathered to demand the return to Nyagchuka of the body of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, whose unexplained death at age 65 in the 13th year of a life sentence in prison was revealed by Tibetan sources and confirmed by local Chinese authorities on July 12.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who was widely popular among Tibetans for his efforts to protect Tibetan culture and the environment, had been imprisoned since 2002 following what rights groups and supporters described as a wrongful conviction on a bombing charge.

His initial death sentence in the case was later commuted to life imprisonment, but an assistant, Lobsang Dondrub, was executed almost immediately, prompting an outcry from rights activists who questioned the fairness of the trial.

Two of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s sisters had traveled two weeks ago to Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu to visit him in prison, but they were repeatedly blocked by authorities in their attempts to see him, a Tibetan living in Australia told RFA.

“They were told that they could see him next day, or next Monday, or next Sunday, and so on,” RFA’s source said, citing contacts in his native town in the region.

“On July 12, the Chinese authorities told them that they could see Rinpoche at 11:00 a.m., but they were then informed at about 12:00 noon that he had passed away,” the source said.

在泰全体中国难民紧急求救
(博讯北京时间2015年7月15日 综合报道)
     
    【博闻社综合】2015年07月08日，泰国政府强行遣返109名在泰国申请政治庇护的维吾尔族中国公民以后，引起世界各国的高度重视。美国、欧盟以及土耳其等国反响激烈。
     


    据悉，泰国政府下一步将遣返前来向联合国申请政治避难的受迫害的中国民运人士、宗教人士和法轮功习练者。
   
    7月14日，寄居在泰国各地的受中国政府迫害民运人士、法轮功学员、宗教人士举行聚会声讨中共的违反国际法的行为，呼吁国际社会重视中国人权和联合国公约的普遍约束力。
   
    紧急求救文电如下：
     在泰全体中国难民紧急求救
   
    2015年07月08日，泰国政府不顾全世界人民的反对，屈从于中共的压力和收买，强行遣返109名在泰国申请政治庇护的维吾尔族中国公民。随之，中共动用其宣传机器，对世界高调宣称被遣返的中国维吾尔族公民是“犯罪人员”、“恐怖分子”甚至说他们“企图加入ISIS圣战”等等，其目的就是要将这些被遣返回中国的维吾尔族公民治以重罪。可以想象，这些被遣返的中国难民回国之后必将遭受中共更加残酷的迫害甚至直接处决。如果联合国难民署和国际社会不加以坚决制止，中共当局还会以所谓的“加强国际合作”，“打击非法移民”等理由要挟泰国政府把更多的在泰国申请避难的中国公民遣送回国，这无疑将是人类历史上的又一次人道主义灾难。
   
    这些来到泰国申请庇护的中国公民，都是在中国境内因为种族、信仰、政治理念或者参加了政治团体等原因不堪中共的残酷迫害而逃亡出来，为了追求基本人权的合法公民，也是维护人类正义良心的公义人士。他们舍弃亲人故土来到异国他乡是为了追求自由，获得基本的人权。不幸的是中共这个邪恶的专制政权，为了达到目的无所不用其极，所有的国际准则对于邪恶的中共都没有任何约束力，它的宣传和承诺都是欺骗和陷阱。中共不仅仅在境内迫害被他统治的人民，（近期中共大规模抓捕维权律师，震惊世界），而且，他们还频频将黑手伸向海外，通过收买、恫吓泰国政府企图变本加厉地迫害从中国境内逃亡出来的中国公民。
   
    面对中共黑手的操纵和离我们越来越近的恐怖现实，我们的危险迫在眉睫。为此，我们在泰国的法轮功受难者、政治异议人士、种族 (主要是维吾尔族) 和宗教等受迫害者近300人 ， 特向联合国难民署以及全世界发出紧急求救：请关注我们的生命权、自由权，信仰权等基本人权，拯救我们于危难之中。
   
     滞留泰国的中国难民
     2015年7月14日
    此呈：联合国总部、联合国难民署各分支机构、相关国际人权机构 [博讯综合报道] (博讯 boxun.com)
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update： total159 today 

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