Caselist - PEN International

38Jail, Siping Road 5, Urumqi City 830013, Xinjiang Uyghur AutonomousRepublic, P.R.China. Treatment in prison: Yasin has been permitted novisitors since his arrest and there are serious concerns for his well-being.Professional details: Nurmuhemmet Yasin is an award-winning andprolific freelance Uighur writer. He has published many highly acclaimedliterary works and prose poems in recent years, including the poetrycollections First Love, Crying from the Heart, and Come on Children. Heis said to be a mature writer with an established literary credential amongUighur readers. He is married with two young sons. Honorary memberof: American, English and Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC).YUAN XianchenD.o.b.: 2 November 1964 Profession: Human rights activist and dissidentwriter. Date of arrest: 29 May 2008 Sentence: Four years in prison.Expires: 28 May 2012 Details of arrest: Arrested by the Public SecurityBureau of Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, for writing and distributingdissident articles, and giving interviews with overseas media. Details oftrial: Sentenced on 4 March 2009 by the Intermediate People’s Court ofJixi City, to four years in prison and five years of deprivation of politicalrights, for ‘Inciting subversion of State power’ under Article 105(2) of theChinese Criminal Code. Reports say that there were four counts againsthim: distribution of the article ‘Save China, Implement ConstitutionalDemocracy’ to attendants at the National People’s Congress in Beijingin 2005; giving interviews to the Epoch Times and other media; draftingover twenty articles against socialism; and receiving funds from localand overseas organisations. There are allegations that Yuan was ill-treatedwhile in police custody and that a confession obtained in this mannerwas use at the trial. Place of detention: Dongfeng Prison, Haerbin City,Heilongjiang Province. Honorary member of: Independent ChinesePEN Centre (ICPC).ZHANG QID.o.b.: 30/03/1983 Profession: Internet writer and activist. Date ofarrest: 26 June 2008 Sentence: 4 years in prison Expires: 25 June 2012Details of arrest: Arrested on suspicion of ‘inciting subversion of Statepower’ whilst travelling in the area affected by the earthquake in Sichuanprovince which struck on 12 May 2008. He was formally charged on 20June 2008 on suspicion of ‘illegally obtaining state secrets’, apparentlyfor taking a photograph of an abandoned tank, but this charge waslater dropped and he was tried on the more serious charge of ‘incitingsubversion’ for his critical online writings and activism. Details oftrial: Zhang was tried in a one-hour closed trial by the IntermediatePeople’s Court of Chongqing City on 15 June 2009 and convicted of‘inciting subversion of state power’ for his online dissident writings. Hewas sentenced to 4 years in prison on 8 July for eight articles publishedonline. Place of detention: Yuzhou Prison, Chongqing City, PR China.Treatment in prison: Held incommunicado. Other information: ZhangQi is the Chongqing co-ordinator of the online political group Pan-BlueAlliance, which reportedly supports the government in Taiwan. Honorarymember of: Independent Chinese PEN Centre.Imprisoned: InvestigationAblikim ABDIRIYIM: Political activist. Arrested in June 2006 andsentenced to nine years in prison on 17 April 2007 on charges of ‘postingsecessionist articles online’. Abdiriyim is the son of a renowned activistand belongs to the Uighur ethnic minority group. He was reportedlycharged with trying to post two articles online, that he had downloadedon the Internet. According to the verdict, ‘these articles distorted China’human rights and ethnic policies’. He is being held incommunicado.Chinese official sources name the articles concerned as ‘Issues to beaware of and prohibited in Jihad’ and ‘Struggle toward independence’.Abdiriyim’s family reported that during his trial, he was denied legalrepresentation. International PEN is seeking information that wouldclarify his position on the use of violence to achieve change. (AI considershim to be a prisoner of conscience).LI Tie: Activist and internet writer, aged 48. Reportedly arrestedon 15 September 2010 by the Wuhan City Public Security Bureau onsuspicion of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ for his critical articles.The charge was changed to the more serious ‘subversion of state power’on 22 October 2010. Li is known for his articles about democracy andconstitutional government published online on overseas Chinese languagewebsites such as Democratic China and the news portal Boxun. He is alsoa signatory of Charter 08. At a hearing on 18 April 2011 his lawyer wasrejected by the court and two court-appointed lawyers were assigned.Held at the No.2 Detention Centre in Wuhan City. Honorary memberof: Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC).ZHU Yu Fu: Internet writer, founder and editor of the China DemocracyParty’s magazine, and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre.Reportedly detained 5 March 2011 and charged on 10 April 2011 bythe Public Security Bureau of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, onsuspicion of “inciting subversion of state power” for his critical articles.The case against him was reportedly withdrawn by the prosecution on 25October 2011 but he has not yet been released. WiPC seeking an update.Place of detention: Zhu is currently being held at the Detention Centerof Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Previous political imprisonment/problems: Zhu Yu Fu had spent a total of nine years in prison beforethis latest arrest. Other information: Recipient of the 2011 Hellman/Hammett award.Conditional releaseWANG Rongqing:D.o.b.: 9 December 1943 Profession: Magazine editor and dissident. Dateof arrest: 25 June 2008 Sentence: Six years in prison. Expires: 9 May2014 Details of arrest: Reportedly taken from home in June 2008, but notformally charged until 31 July 2008. Thought to be charged for his membershipof the banned China Democracy Party (CDP), for editing a publicationcalled Opposition Party and posting articles on the Internet. Details oftrial: Wang was sentenced to six years in prison on 8 January 2009 by theHangzhou city Intermediate People’s Court in the eastern province of Zhejiang,for ‘subversion of state power’. Place of detention: Held at JiangganDistrict Detention Centre in Hangzhou city. Treatment in prison: Said tohave been denied family visits since his arrest. Health concerns: Wangsuffers from renal failure and requires haemodialysis three times a week.He has been hospitalised since 10 February 2009, and was diagnosed withkidney failure in March 2009. In November 2009 he was reported to becritically ill. Conditional release: He was released on six months’ medicalparole on 12 January 2010, which has now been extended indefinitely. Hishealth has reportedly stabilized as the authorities have provided him withmedical insurance as well as a minimum living allowance. Previous politicalimprisonment/problems: A veteran pro-democracy activist, Wang hassuffered harassment and brief detentions by the authorities since the late1970’s when he joined the Democracy Wall movement. He later becamea leader member of the banned CDP, and in 2005 he was detained for sixmonths for organising the CDP in Zhejiang. In 2006 he was arrested for onemonth for his writings calling for religious freedom.ReleasedHUANG Jinqiu (aka Qingshui Jun): Internet essayist, writer and journalist.Arrested on 13 September 2003 and sentenced to twelve years inprison for ‘organising, planning and performing subversion of state powerby publishing a large number of reactionary articles on the Internet in hiscapacity as member of the preparatory committee of the China PatrioticDemocratic Party’. Well known in the overseas Chinese internet communityfor his essays published on the Chinese-language news website ‘Boxun.com’ under the pen-name Qing Shuijun (Mr Clear Water). Released on 20October 2011 after a third reduction of his original sentence.TANG Cailong (aka Huaxia Pifu): Freelance writer and formergovernment official. Arrested on 2 September 2010 by officials from thePublic Security Bureau of Anyue County, Sichuan Province, for publishingonline articles exposing alleged official corruption. On 30 September 2010,he was formally arrested on the charge of ‘inciting subversion of Statepower’. The case was turned back from the prosecution to the police forfurther investigation due to lack of evidence. Released on 9 November2011 after the prosecution withdrew the case against him. Placed undersurveillance for one year.ZUO Xiaohuan: Freelance writer, human rights activist and former teacher.Detained by officers from the National Security Bureau of Mianyang City,Sichuan Province on 25 April 2010 for his civil rights activism and criticalreports and articles published on Internet. Also accused of giving criticalinterviews to the overseas media. Charged on 28 May 2010 with ‘suspicionof inciting subversion of the State power’. His case was turned back twicefrom the prosecution to the police for further investigation due to lack ofevidence. Released on 11 November 2011 after the prosecution withdrewthe case. Placed under residential surveillance.Case closedMehbube ABLESH (f): Uighur journalist and poet. Reportedly arrestedin August 2008 after posting online two articles critical of the provincialleadership and government policies in the Xinjiang Uighur AutonomousRegion. She was handed down a three-year sentence for “incitingsplittism” (separatism) in the articles. Released on expiry of her sentencein August 2011.LU Gengsong: Writer and human rights activist. Arrested on 24August 2007 following the on-line publication of articles critical of theauthorities. Sentenced to four years in prison for ‘inciting subversion ofstate power’. Lu is known for his reporting on human rights violationsand his political commentaries published on the Internet. He is also anactive member of the banned China Democracy Party (CDP). Releasedon expiry of his sentence on 23 August 2011.Abdulghani MEMETEMIN: Writer, teacher and translator from theXinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Detained on 26 July 2002and sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of “sending secret stateinformation out of the country”. For providing information on a voluntarybasis to the East Turkistan Information Centre (ETIC), a Uighur rights andpro-independence group run by exiled Uighurs in Germany and describedby China as a terrorist group although the group is not known to haveadvocated violence. Released on expiry of his sentence on 15 July 2011.YANG Maodong (aka Guo Feixiong): Dissident writer, independentpublisher and civil rights activist. Arrested on 14 September 2006 andsentenced to five years in prison for ‘illegal business activity’ though isbelieved to be targeted for his critical writings and civil rights activism.Released on 13 September 2011 on expiry of his sentence.RAN Yunfei: Writer and editor of the Sichuan Literature Magazine,member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC). Reportedlyarrested on 21 February 2011 and charged with “suspicion of incitingsubversion of state power” for his Internet writing. On 10 August 2011Ran Yunfei was released from prison and put under residential surveillanceat his home for six months.ZHENG Yichun: Poet, professor and freelance journalist. Arrested on3 December 2004 and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment and 3 yearsdeprivation of political rights on charges of ‘incitement to subversion ofstate power’ for his critical writings, many of which were posted on-lineon overseas websites. Released on expiry of his sentence on 19 December2011.TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION(TAR)Imprisoned: Main casesDHONKHO Jangtse (aka Rongke, pen-name: Nyen), BHUDHA(pen-name: Buddha the Destitute) and KHELSANG (KALSANG)Jinpa (pen-name: Garmi)Profession: Writers. Date of arrest: 21 June, 26 June and 19 July2010 respectively. Sentence: Four years, four years and three years inprison respectively. Expires: 20 June 2014, 25 June 2014 and 18 July2013 respectively. Details of arrest: Reportedly detained in June andJuly 2010 after they published essays about the 2008 crackdown in Tibetin the Tibetan-language journal Shar Dungri (Eastern Snow Mountain).This collection of writings was the first known material in Tibetan on the2008 protests to have been published in the People’s Republic of China.The magazine was quickly banned, but not before copies had circulatedin areas of Qinghai and Gansu provinces and beyond. Details of trial:The ‘Eastern Snow Mountain’ writers were put on trial by the NgabaIntermediate People’s Court, Sichuan Province, on 21 October 2010 oncharges of ‘splittism’. The families were informed that they could nothave lawyers of their choice, although the writers did have some legalrepresentation. On 30 December 2010 Dhonkho and Bhudha weresentenced to four years in prison, and Kelsang Jinpa to three years,for “incitement to split the nation”. Professional details: Bhudha,aged 34, is a medical doctor by profession who works as an editor andwriter in his spare time. He has published poems and short stories inthe journal Panggyen Metok (Pasture Adorning Flowers) and edited theTibetan-language journal Duerab Kyi Nga (Modern Self). Believed tobe charged for the essay ‘Hindsight and reflection’ published in SharDungri in 2008. Dhonkho is a prize-winning poet and writer, born in1978. He is a member of the Sichuan Writers Guild and has publishedseveral collections of poetry including Lharson (Revitalisation) andThablam (Means). Believed to be charged for the essay ‘What humanrights do we have over our bodies?’ published in Shar Dungri underthe pen name ‘Nyen’ (the ‘Wild One’) in 2008. Kelsang Jinpa, a poetand writer originally from Sangchu county, Amdo, Gansu province. Hasreportedly published poetry and stories in the journal Panggyen MetokPasture Adorning Flowers) and co-edited the Modern Self periodical.Believed to be charged for his article written under the pen name ‘Garmi’(‘the Blacksmith’), ‘The case for lifeblood and life-force’, published inShar Dungri in 2008. Honorary members of: Independent Chinese PENCentre (ICPC).39