AI Index: ASA 17/001/2006
19 January 2006
UA 14/06
Human rights lawyer
Gao Zhisheng has survived an apparent attempt on his life which he believes was
instigated by the authorities. In recent months, police officers have reportedly
threatened him and his family. Amnesty International believes that their lives
may be in danger.
At around 10.30pm on 17 January, Gao Zhisheng was driving
in the city of Beijing when a car travelling in front of him stopped suddenly,
and he narrowly avoided colliding with it. According to Gao Zhisheng, the car
in front had its licence plates covered with newspaper. As Gao Zhisheng got out
of his car, the car that had stopped in front of him reportedly started moving
towards him, forcing him to jump out of its path in order to save himself from
being run over. A military vehicle had been following behind his car, also with
covered licence plates, leading Gao Zhisheng to believe that the incident was
instigated by the authorities. Both vehicles left the scene immediately afterwards.
Gao
Zhisheng has stated that he has been threatened and harassed by the authorities
since October 2005, when he sent an open letter to the Chinese President Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen Jiabao, urging them to respect religious freedom and end the “barbaric”
crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China. Gao Zhisheng claims that
police officers have warned him that he has “crossed the line” and put
himself in a “difficult position.” He was briefly detained by the police
in Beijing on 13 January, reportedly after he noticed police officers filming
him. This prompted him to start filming the police himself, which led to him being
detained. He claims police officers warned him while he was detained: “You
know if we wanted to kill you, it would be as easy as killing an ant!”
Gao
Zhisheng’s family has reportedly been subjected to police surveillance and intimidation.
He claims that on 19 December 2005 he received a telephone call from a police
official who said: “We are keen to investigate facts, just like you. We have
gathered a lot of information about you, including your home, your wife and your
children…we even know which bus your children usually take to go to school.”
Background Information
Gao Zhisheng is a director of the Beijing-based
Shengzhi Law Office – one of a small number of law firms in China which have taken
on high-profile human rights cases. Gao Zhisheng has defended a number of activists,
including Yang Maodong (also known as Guo Feixiong), who was detained for almost
three months in late 2005 after he provided legal advice to villagers in Taishi,
Guandong province attempting to unseat their allegedly corrupt village leader;
Zheng Yichun, a journalist and former professor who has been sentenced to seven
years imprisonment for his on-line writings; and Pastor Cai Zhuohua, who has been
imprisoned for three years for ‘illegal business practices’, including printing
and selling copies of the Bible.
In November 2005, the operations of Shengzhi
Law Office were suspended by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice for one year.
In December, Gao Zhisheng’s licence to practice law was revoked. These events
appear to be linked to his work in defence of activists, and in particular his
publication of the open letter on the subject of religious freedom. Since being
forced to stop practising law, Gao Zhisheng has issued an investigative report
about the crackdown on Christian House Church leaders in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region of northwest China. He has also publicly resigned from the Chinese Communist
Party, which might have contributed to the incidents of threats and harassment.
Recommended
Action
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Chinese
or your own language:
urging the authorities to guarantee the safety of
Gao Zhisheng and his family;
calling on the authorities to conduct a full
and impartial investigation into the allegations of the attempt on Gao Zhisheng’s
life, with a view of bringing those found guilty to justice;
urging the authorities
to allow Gao Zhisheng to continue his peaceful human rights activities free from
fear of hindrance, harassment, intimidation or arbitrary detention, and to restore
his license to practice law;
calling on the authorities to ensure that all
human rights defenders in China are able to carry out their legitimate human rights
activities in line with constitutional guarantees on the protection of human rights
and international human rights standards.
Appeals to:
Prime
Minister of the People’s Republic of China
WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli
The
State Council
9 Xihuangcheng Genbeijie
Beijingshi 100032, People’s Republic
of China
Fax: + 86 10 65961109 or 2260
(c/o Minister of Foreign Affair)
Email:
gazette@mail.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
of the People’s Republic of China
WU Aiying Buzhang
Ministry of Justice
10
Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chao Yangqu
Beijing 100020, People’s Republic of China
Fax: + 86 10 65292345
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear
Minister
Minister of Public Security of People’s Republic of China
ZHOU
Yongkang Buzhang
Gong’anbu
14 Dongchang’anjie, Beijing City 100741,
People’s
Republic of China
Fax: + 86 10 63099216 (it may be difficult
to get through;
please keep trying)
Salutation: Dear Minister
Copies to:
Director of
the Beijing Public Security Bureau
MA Zhenchuan Juzhang
Beijingshi Gong’anju
9 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongchengqu
Beijingshi 100740, People’s Republic of
China
Email: 110@bjgaj.gov.cn
Her Excellency Mme FU Ying
Ambassador
Embassy
of the People’s Republic of China
15 Coronation Drive
Yarralumla ACT 2600
Fax:
(02) 6273 4878
Email: chinaemb_au@mfa.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Please
send your appeals immediately.
http://www.amnesty.org.au/Act_now/action_centre/ap/china_urge_authorities_to_protect_human_rights_lawyer
Posting date: 22/Jan/2006
Original
article date: 19/Jan/2006
Category: Australian News
