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China: Disappeared human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng sent back to jail for 'parole violations'posted on: 2011/12/19

On 16 December 2011, the Chinese official state news agency Xinhua reported that human rights defender and lawyer Mr Gao Zhisheng had had his probation revoked and had been sent back to jail to serve a three-year prison sentence.

China: Human rights defenders at risk as draft amendments to Criminal Procedure Law would effectively legalise enforced disappearancesposted on: 2011/12/13

Front Line Defenders is extremely concerned by proposed amendments to China's Criminal Procedure Law, which if passed, will effectively lead to the legalisation of enforced disappearances for up to six months of people held on suspicion of “endangering state security”, “serious bribery” or “terrorism”.

China: Continued house arrest and isolation of Liu Xia, one year after her husband Liu Xiaobo received the 2010 Nobel Peace Prizeposted on: 2011/10/10

Ms Liu Xia, the wife of human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mr Liu Xiaobo, continues to be held under house arrest and largely incommunicado in her home in Beijing, one year after the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to her husband.

China: More details emerge of brutal beating of human rights defender Mr Chen Guangcheng and wife Ms Yuan Weijing posted on: 2011/06/17

In a letter smuggled out of their home and which only surfaced on 15 June 2011, Ms Yuan Weijing describes in detail the savage beating that she and her husband, human rights defender Mr Chen Guangcheng, received following the online circulation of a video documenting their ongoing house arrest in February 2011. Front Line issued an appeal on the beating on 11 February 2011 - see http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/14407. Chen Guangcheng is a blind, self-taught human rights lawyer who served four years imprisonment as a result of his work exposing human rights abuses in Linyi City, Shangdong Province. Chen Guangcheng was released from prison on 9 September 2010, and since then he and his wife have been subjected to strict house arrest.

China: Imprisoned human rights defender Qi Chonghuai sentenced to a further eight years in prison two weeks before his due release dateposted on: 2011/06/13

On 9 June 2011, imprisoned human rights defender Mr Qi Chonghuai was sentenced to a further eight years' imprisonment for 'embezzlement' and 'extortion and blackmail'. Qi Chonghuai was due to be released on 25 June 2011, having served a four year sentence for 'extortion and blackmail' which was handed down on 13 May 2008 and backdated to his initial arrest on 25 June 2007.

China: Human rights defenders Ms Li Tiantian, Mr Liu Shihui and Mr Yuan Xinting remain missing following their disappearances three months agoposted on: 2011/05/24

Human rights defenders, Ms Li Tiantian, Mr Liu Shihui and Mr Yuan Xinting, remain missing following their disappearances three months ago amidst a Chinese government crackdown in response to anonymous calls for protest posted online in mid-February 2011. Li Tiantian and Liu Shihui are human rights lawyers and Yuan Xinting is a human rights defender and editor. No information has been received regarding the whereabouts of the human rights defenders and there are serious concerns for their physical and psychological well-being.

China: Human rights lawyer Li Xiongbing disappeared by policeposted on: 2011/05/04

Human rights defender Mr Li Xiongbing was disappeared by police in Beijing on 4 May 2011. Li Xiongbing is a lawyer who regularly takes on human rights cases. He also works for Aizhixing, a Beijing-based NGO which promotes the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. In the past number of years, Li Xiongbing has been subjected to various forms of harassment by police, including surveillance, house arrest and travel restrictions.

Further Information

At 9am on 4 May Li Xiongbing left his home in Beijing. Throughout the day, family members, colleagues and friends were unable to reach Li Xiongbing by telephone. At approximately 5pm, Li Xiongbing's wife, Ms Wu Haiying, received a call from her husband saying that he would not be back for a number of days. The line then went dead and Wu Haiying was unable to subsequently get through to her husband.

China: Sentencing of human rights defender Mr Liu Xianbin to 10 years imprisonmentposted on: 2011/03/28

On 25 March 2011, human rights defender Mr Liu Xianbin was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by the Suining Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan Province. Liu Xianbin is a veteran democracy and human rights activist who was a founding member of the Sichuan branch of the China Democracy Party (CDP) in 1998, and has previously served two terms in prison for his activism. He has been in detention since his arrest on 28 June 2010 (see Front Line Urgent Appeal dated 7 July 2010).

China - Four weeks after their disappearance, human rights defenders Messrs Jiang Tianyong and Teng Biao remain missing amidst escalating crackdownposted on: 2011/03/16

Human rights defenders Messrs Jiang Tianyong and Teng Biao remain missing following their disappearances on the 16 and 19 February 2011. Jiang Tianyong and Teng Biao are Beijing-based human rights lawyers who have had their licenses to practice law revoked as a result of their human rights work.

China: Human rights defender Mr Zhao Lianhai sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prisonposted on: 2011/03/02

On 10 November 2010, human rights defender Mr Zhao Lianhai was sentenced by a court in Beijing, to two-and-a-half years in prison on charges of inciting social disorder.

China: Assault, detention and house arrest of human rights lawyers Messrs Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian and Teng Biaoposted on: 2011/02/17

Human rights lawyers Messrs Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian and Teng Biao were assaulted, detained and/or placed under house arrest by police in Beijing on 16 February 2011.

Further Information

The three human rights lawyers had met for lunch with a number of other human rights lawyers and activists to discuss the continuing illegal house arrest and mistreatment of human rights defender Mr Chen Guangcheng and his wife Ms Yuan Weijing, who were the subject of a Front Line Urgent Appeal dated 11 February 2011.

At approximately midday on 16 February 2011, Jiang Tianyong, Tang Jitian and Teng Biao gathered with a group of other lawyers and human rights defenders to discuss ways in which they might offer help to Chen Guangcheng and his family. However, from 12.15pm onwards, the restaurant began to be surrounded by a number of policemen from the Beijing Public Security Bureau, who remained outside until the lunch broke up at 2.30pm.

Later that afternoon, Jiang Tianyong, having left the restaurant, was detained by police and taken to Yangfangdian police station in Haidian District, Beijing for interrogation.

China: Human rights defender Tian Xi sentenced to one year in prisonposted on: 2011/02/15

On 11 February 2011, human rights defender Mr Tian Xi was sentenced by Xincai County People's Court in Henan province to one year's imprisonment for 'destroying public property'.

Further Information

Tian Xi is an HIV/AIDS activist who contracted the virus, along with Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, following a blood transfusion at the People's No. 1 Hospital in Xincai, in 1996, when he was nine years old. As Tian Xi has been detained in police custody since August 2010, he is due to be released in August 2011. It is reported that he intends to appeal his sentencing.

According to his lawyer, Mr Liang Xiaojun, Tian Xi appeared weak in court and is being held in an unheated cell in Shangcai County Detention Centre together with six other prisoners with HIV or AIDS.

In late July 2010, Tian Xi was asked by the Xincai Communist Party Secretary to return to the County from Beijing, where he had been advocating on behalf of individuals infected with HIV by contaminated blood from State-sponsored blood sales and hospital transfusions in the 1990s.

The Party Secretary had reportedly promised Tian Xi that his own case for compensation would be resolved if he returned.

China: Human rights defender Chen Guangcheng badly beaten after video detailing his ongoing house arrest is releasedposted on: 2011/02/11

Human rights defender Mr Chen Guangcheng and his wife, Ms Yuan Weijing, have reportedly been badly beaten following the release of a video, which they secretly recorded, documenting their house arrest.

Further Information

In the video, which surfaced on 9 February 2011, Chen Guangcheng detailed the ill-treatment that he and his family have suffered under house arrest in China. Chen Guangcheng is a human rights lawyer who was released from prison on 9 September 2010, having served over four years imprisonment as a result of his work exposing human rights abuses in Linyi city, Shandong province. Since then, he and his family have been subjected to a strictly enforced house arrest.

It is reported that the severe physical assault of Chen Guangcheng and his wife was conducted by State security officers from Linyi city and police from Shuanghou town, Shandong province.

China: Harassment of human rights defender Ms Ni Yulanposted on: 2011/01/07

Human rights defender Ms Ni Yulan faces her 19th day without electricity or internet connection due to ongoing police harassment. Her water supply has also been cut for the majority of this time.

Further Information

Ni Yulan is a lawyer who has been involved in human rights defence for 11 years. She has been persistently targetted by police since offering legal aid to a Falun Gong practitioner in 1999. In 2002 Ni Yulan attempted to document on camera her neighbours' forced eviction and the demolition of their home. She was noticed by the police, and subsequently dragged to a police station and beaten so severely that she was left permanently disabled. She is currently confined to a wheelchair.

As of 7 January 2011, human rights defender Ni Yulan has had the electricity and internet connection cut for 19 consecutive days in the Beijing hotel room where she is currently staying, as a result of police pressure on the owners of the hotel. She has had only intermittent access to water during this time.

Gao Zhisheng - Currently missing in Chinaposted on: 2010/12/07

Human rights defender and self-taught lawyer Gao Zhisheng was named one of China's top ten lawyers by the Ministry of Justice in 2001. However, after beginning to investigate and draw attention to allegations of abuse against members of China’s religious minorities, he became subject to harassment, detentions and forced disappearances himself. The whereabouts of Gao Zhisheng are currently unknown. He has not been heard from since 20 April 2010.

Further Information

In 2004 and 2005 Gao wrote three open letters to the Chinese leaders calling on the government to bring to a halt the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. As a result of this Gao’s license to practice law was revoked, his law firm shut down and his family began to face harassment from Chinese security forces. In February 2006 Gao organised a “Relay Hunger Strike for Human Rights,” which involved human rights defenders and citizens fasting for 24 hours in rotation. This was launched to protest against state harassment and abuse of human rights defenders and the lawyers who represented them.