Ms He Peirong

On 4 May 2012, Ms He Peirong was released from police custody in her home city of Nanjing. She had been detained for seven days following her role in assisting fellow HRD Mr Chen Guangcheng's escape.

Mr Chen Guangcheng escaped on 22 April 2012 from nineteen months of strict and unlawful house arrest in his home province of Shandong.

While Front Line Defenders welcomes the release of He Peirong from custody, it is seriously concerned by reports that human rights defender Mr Jiang Tianyong, who attempted to visit Chen Guangcheng in hospital on 3 May 2012, was detained by police for approximately eight hours and badly beaten. As a result of the severe beating, Jiang Tianyong has reportedly lost hearing in one of his ears and is struggling to hear out of the other.

Front Line Defenders urges the Chinese authorities to carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the allegation of abuse suffered by Jiang Tianyong while in detention.

Front Line Defenders also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of any other human rights defenders who have supported Chen Guangcheng and are currently being detained, including family members.

For more information, see www.lighthonestyhrd.org and Front Line Defenders' most recent appeals dated 3 May 2012 (http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/18229) and 27 April 2012 (http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/18162) respectively.

You can find additional information on the situation for human rights Defenders in China. HERE