July-December 2010 caselist - PEN International

– 21 May 2008; Update #1 to RAN 27/08 - 17 June 2008; Update #2 – 25November 2008)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’s articlesand 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. On16 October 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). Previous political imprisonment/problems: Guo is a former criminal-court judge and literature professorat Nanjing Normal University, however, due to his political activities hehas been banned from teaching. He wrote several open letters to Chineseleaders and was frequently briefly detained by police, most recently inMay 2008 when he spent ten days in prison after criticising the government’sresponse to the 12 May 2008 Sichuan earthquake. (RAN 63/08– 2 December 2008; Update #1 – 2 November 2009).HU JiaD.O.B: 25 July 1973. Profession: Leading activist and dissident writerDate of arrest: 27 December 2007. Sentence: Three and a half years inprison. Expires: 26 June 2011 Details of arrest: Reportedly arrestedfrom his home by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on 27December 2007 on “suspicion of incitement to subvert state power” forhis critical writings and activism. Place of detention: Beijing Prison,Huangcun Town, Daxing District, Beijing, P.R China. Details of trial: On3 April 2008, Hu Jia was convicted of ‘inciting subversion of state power’for his critical online writings and dissident activities, after being triedon 18 March 2008 at the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’sCourt. According to his lawyer, evidence presented against him in courtincluded five articles published on banned overseas Chinese websitesand two interviews given to the foreign media. He is also believed to betargeted for an open letter he signed, “The Real China Before the Olympics,”which demanded an end to human rights abuses in the run-up to theOlympic Games to be held in Beijing in August 2008. Health concerns:Hu Jia suffers from long-term health problems including cirrhosis of theliver, and there are serious concerns that his health is deteriorating inprison due to lack of adequate medical treatment. On 30 March 2010 HuJia was admitted to the Beijing Municipal Prison Hospital for tests forsuspected liver cancer following a sharp deterioration in his health. Anapplication for medical parole by Hu’s wife, Zeng Jinyan, was refusedwhen the tests proved to be negative. Hu was returned to prison in mid-April, and was reported by his wife who visited him on 19 April to be‘very thin’ but ‘in fairly good spirits’. Other information: Hu Jia’sfamily have also been subjected to harassment and severe restrictionsof movement since his arrest, and there are serious concerns for his wifeZeng Jingyan, who had a one-month-old baby at the time of Hu’s arrestand is herself under effective house arrest. Hu’s arrest appears to havebeen part of a crackdown on dissidents in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.On 10 October 2008 it was announced that Hu Jia had won theSakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought awarded by the European Parliament.Previous political imprisonment/problems: Hu and his wifeZeng Jinyan were placed under residential surveillance on 18 May 2007,as they were about to set off on a tour of Europe to promote their documentaryfilm “Prisoners of Freedom City”. Hu is known for his activitieson environmental and AIDS issues, and had been briefly detained inFebruary 2006. Honorary member: Independent Chinese PEN. (RAN1/08 – 9 January 2008; Update #1 – 7 April 2008; Updated #2 – 15 May2008; Updated #3 – 6 May 2010)HE DepuD.o.b: 28 October 1956 Profession: Dissident activist/writer. Date ofarrest: 4 November 2002 Sentence: Eight years in prison. Expires:24 January 2011 Details of arrest: Taken from his home by the policefor questioning and held incommunicado in a form of ‘residence undersurveillance’ until formally detained on 27 January 2003. He was asignatory of an open letter of 20 November 2002 calling for politicalreform. Details of trial: Tried on 14 October 2003 in a two-hour trialon charges of “inciting subversion” for collaborating with the bannedChinese Democratic Party (CDP) and publishing essays on the Internet.Sentenced on 6 November 2003 to eight years in prison and two-yeardeprivation of political rights. On 20 December 2003 Beijing’s CourtNo.1 dismissed He Depu’s application for an appeal. Health concerns:Said to be in very poor health, to have lost a great deal of weight, anumber of teeth, and to be suffering from a liver complaint. In need ofvitamins and medication. Treatment in prison: Ill-treated in prison anddenied access to family visits. In a letter to the President of the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC) dated 26 April 2008 and smuggled outof prison, he reports that prison conditions were worsening, particularlyfor political prisoners. Professional details: Took part in the DemocracyWall Movement in 1979 and founded the magazine Beijing Youth whichwas subsequently banned. Helped launch the now-banned China DemocracyParty (CDP). Previous political imprisonment/problems: Lost hisjob with the Social Sciences Academy after standing as a candidate inthe local election in 1990. Briefly detained several times for his politicalactivities. Honorary member of: Suisse Romande, Independent ChinesePEN.[Released on expiry of sentence on 23 January 2011].HUANG Jinqiu (aka Qingshui Jun)D.o.b.: 3 September 1974 Profession: Internet essayist, writer and journalist.Date of arrest: 13 September 2003 Sentence: 12 years in prison,reduced by one year and ten months in November 2007, and again by23 months in November 2009. Expires: 12 December 2011 Detailsof arrest: Arrested on 13 September 2003 after returning to China inAugust 2003 following three years overseas on a scholarship studyingjournalism at the Central Academy of Art in Malaysia. Well known inthe overseas Chinese internet community for his essays published onthe Chinese-language news website ‘Boxun.com’ under the pen-nameQing Shuijun (Mr Clear Water). In early September 2003, Huang Jinqiuvisited his parents in Shandong Province; his last article was publishedon 10 September 2003, entitled ‘Me and My Public Security Friends’.Details of trial: Huang’s trial began on 22 June 2004 at the ChangzhouIntermediate People’s Court. It is reported that the court was unable toreach a verdict initially because of lack of evidence, but after the casewas referred back to the prosecution further evidence was submittedand he was convicted on 27 September 2004 of ‘organising, planning41