here - PEN International

28political reform. Details of trial: Convicted of ‘inciting subversion ofstate power’ at a closed two-hour trial on 23 December 2011 for sevenpassages in four essays criticizing the Chinese political system andpraising the development of civil society. Place of detention: DetentionCenter of Suining City, Sichuan Province. Treatment in prison: Chenwas granted his first family visit in January 2012 after being held foreleven months in prison. Previous political imprisonment/problems:Chen Wei was a first year student at Beijing University of Technologyin 1989 and was dismissed from the university for his involvement inthe pro-democracy movement. In 1999, he was sentenced to 5 yearsimprisonment on “counter-revolutionary” offences for his involvementin the China Liberal Democracy Party. He is a signatory of Charter 08,a manifesto for democratic reform. (RAN 66/11 – 26 December 2011)Honorary member of: Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC).CHEN XI (aka CHEN Youcai)D.o.b.: 1954 Profession: Freelance writer and prominent human rightsactivist. Date of arrest: 29 November 2011 Sentence: 10 years in prisonDetails of arrest: Chen is a member of the Guizhou Human RightsForum, which was declared an ‘illegal organisation’ by the Guizhouauthorities on 5 December 2011, prior to International Human RightsDay (10 December). At least ten other members of the group werearrested since 28 November but all have since been released withoutcharge. Details of trial: Sentenced by a Guiyang court for ‘incitingsubversion of state power’ at trial which lasted less than three hours on26 December 2011. The speed of the legal process of Chen’s case isunprecedented. According to the court verdict, his conviction is based onseveral quotations from over thirty of his articles published on overseasChinese websites. He has decided not to appeal the verdict. Place ofdetention: On 17 January 2012 Chen Xi was transferred to the XingyiPrison, Guizhou province, to serve his sentence. Treatment in prison: Inearly February 2012, Chuen’s wife reported that she was allowed to visithim in prison and he has serious frostbite in his fingers. Prison officersrefused to accept the extra pieces of clothing she had brought for Chen.Previous political imprisonment/problems: Chen Xi has already serveda total of thirteen years in prison on “counter-revolutionary” offences forhis peaceful activism, three years from 1989-1992 and ten years from1995-2005. (RAN 1/12 – 6 January 2012)GUO QuanD.O.B: 8 May 1968. Profession: Internet writer and activist. Date ofarrest: 13 November 2008. Sentence: 10 years in prison. Expires: 12November 2018 Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested at his home inNanjing, capital of Jiangsu province for ’suspicion of subversion of statepower’. At the time of his arrest, the police confiscated Guo Quan’sarticles and his computer. He was held incommunicado at Nanjing CityPublic Security Bureau. Details of the trial: Guo Quan was formallycharged with ‘subverting the State power’ on 19 December 2008. On 16October 2009 a court in Jiangsu province sentenced Guo Quan to tenyears in prison and three years of deprivation of political rights for hispro-democracy activities and critical writings. Guo was charged for aseries of articles entitled ‘Herald of Democracy’ posted online betweenmid-2007 and November 2008, and for founding the opposition ChinaNew Democracy Party (CNDP). His sentence was upheld on appealon 25 December 2009. Place of detention: Pukou Prison, Nanjing,Jiangsu Province. Previous political imprisonment/problems: Guo isa former criminal-court judge and literature professor at Nanjing NormalUniversity, however, due to his political activities he has been bannedfrom teaching. He wrote several open letters to Chinese leaders and wasfrequently briefly detained by police, most recently in May 2008 whenhe spent ten days in prison after criticising the government’s response tothe 12 May 2008 Sichuan earthquake. (RAN 63/08 – 2 December 2008;Update #1 – 2 November 2009). Other information: Recipient of the2011 Hellman/Hammett award. Honorary member of: IndependentChinese PEN, Uighur PEN and Guatemalan PEN.HADAProfession: Owner of the Mongolian Academic bookstore and founderand editor-in-chief of The Voice of Southern Mongolia. Date of arrest:10 December 1995 Details of arrest: Hada completed a fifteen-yearprison term for his dissident writings on 10 December 2010 but hasapparently not been released. A family source confirmed on 4 May 2011that Hada’s wife and son have also been held since early December2010, apparently on politically motivated charges. Thought to havebeen charged on 17 January 2011 but no date has been set for the trial.WiPC seeking further details of the charges. Health concerns: Hadareportedly suffers from stomach ulcers and coronary heart disease, andhis health is said to have deteriorated significantly as a result of abuseand ill-treatment during his many years of detention. There are seriousconcerns for his welfare. Previous political imprisonment/problems:Hada was arrested on 10 December 1995 for his activities as founder andpublisher of the underground journal The Voice of Southern Mongoliaand for his leading role in the Southern Mongolian Democracy Alliance(SMDA), an organisation that peacefully promotes human rights andMongolian culture. He was convicted in 1995 of inciting separatismand espionage and sentenced to fifteen years in prison and four yearsdeprivation of political rights. His sentence expired on 10 December2010, when he was reportedly transferred to another prison in InnerMongolia. Professional details: Hada received a degree in 1983 from thedepartment of Mongolian language and Literature at the Inner MongolianTeacher’s College for Nationalities. In October 1989, he opened theMongolian Academic Bookstore in Hohhot, the Inner Mongolia capital.The bookstore was closed down immediately after his arrest in 1995,and all the books, research papers and other properties were confiscatedas criminal utilities and evidence. Hada, who co-founded the SMDAin 1992, published the organisation’s underground journal, The Voiceof Southern Mongolia. He also published a book, The Way Out for theSouthern Mongols, which reported alleged ill-treatment of the Mongolsof Inner Mongolia at the hands of the Chinese authorities, includingmass killings, deprivation of social and political rights, and suppressionof Mongol culture. Other information: Recipient of the 2011 Hellman/Hammett award. Honorary member of: PEN Canada, PEN America andIndependent Chinese PEN Centre.Tursunjan HEZIMD.o.b.: 1973. Profession: Former history teacher and founder of thenow closed popular Uyghur history website Orkhun (www.orkhun.com).Date of arrest: July 2009 Sentence: 7 years in prison Expires: July2016 Details of arrest: Reportedly arrested shortly after the 5 July 2009protests in Urumchi, which turned violent after police cracked down onpeaceful protesters. Hezim’s family was never informed of the chargesagainst him and his whereabouts remain unknown. No official reasonhas been given for his detention though he is believed to be targeted forhis peaceful cultural activism and writings. Details of trial: Reportedin March 2011 to have been sentenced in July 2010 to seven years injail by the Aksu district court at a closed trial. According to Amnesty