Human rights defenders

20 March 2008

In China, being a human rights defender can be dangerous. Peaceful human rights defenders risk house arrest, surveillance, imprisonment, torture and execution.

These ordinary people have their phones tapped, their homes raided, their assets frozen, their businesses closed and their relatives harassed. Sometimes they are tortured in secret detention centres, or they're executed for vague crimes.

Bloggers and lawyers harassed

In China human rights activists are prosecuted in politically-motivated trials, charged with vague crimes such as separatism, subversion, disturbing public order and revealing state secrets.

Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu is in prison for four years for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble”. Rights activist Hu Jia has been jailed for three and a half years for “inciting subversion of state power”. And human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng is missing.

China harasses and jails bloggers who post pro-democracy articles, tenants who organise eviction protests and lawyers who defend the human rights of others.

Chinese criminal law helps authorities to suppress dissent and the vague descriptions of what Chinese police can deem illegal and what is a crime create a culture of oppression and fear.

It’s getting worse

The harassment and surveillance of Beijing-based human rights defenders has increased as the Games have got closer.

We are worried this may continue during the Olympics, as well as in the lead up to other major public events, like the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Last March, at the time of the National People’s Congress authorities detained more than 2,000 petitioners and activists.

Abuses against activists elsewhere in China also appear to be rising. Last year Shanghai housing rights activist Chen Xiaoming, who in 2006 received an award from a Swiss-based rights organisation, died shortly after he was released from prison on medical parole.

His family found him in a hospital emaciated, vomiting blood and barely conscious. Chen Xiaoming, who had a pre-existing chronic illness, had reportedly been stripped, physically abused and held at a secret location for eight months.

Censored society

What does Internet repression have to do with this? Well, many of the laws used against peaceful human rights defenders would lose their power if the Internet and media weren’t censored.

In an uncensored society, activists could share their experiences, minority groups could be heard and more Chinese people would be aware of their basic rights. In an open society dissent could not be so easily suppressed.

Free those in jail

China is violating international human rights standards and must release every human rights defender who’s in prison right now. And it must review and reform criminal and criminal procedure law.

We are calling for a China where human rights defenders and activists can highlight issues they are concerned about without fear of punishment or harassment.

Find out more

For more information about the harassment and jailing of human rights defenders in China have a look at our Olympic Countdown reports:

In every country human rights defenders are crucial in helping draw attention to abuses and getting justice for victims. To find out more about human rights defenders globally click here.