ASA 17/046/2007- 03 October 2007
Li Heping, a Beijing-based human rights lawyer, was abducted and assaulted by a group of unidentified men on 29 September. They beat him with electro-shock batons and told him he should leave Beijing or risk further attack. He was released after about eight hours. Amnesty International is seriously concerned for his safety.
A group of around 12 men in plainclothes intercepted Li Heping at around 5.30pm on 29 September in the car park of his lawyersí firm. They put a hood over his head, bundled him into a car with no license plates and took him to an unknown location. He was held in the basement of a building where he was stripped to his underwear. The men then began beating him with bottles and electro-shock batons.
During the assault, his attackers reportedly shouted : ìGet out of Beijing otherwise we will beat you whenever we see youî. They told him he was a criminal and should practice law ëwithin permissible limitsí. They also warned him not to report the beating to anyone.
Li Heping was subsequently dumped in the woods in a suburb outside Beijing at around 1am on 30 September. He managed to hail a taxi, but when he returned home, he found that several of his personal belongings had been stolen, including his lawyerís identification card. His computer had been re-formatted, making it unusable, and the files had been erased.
As a result of the attack, Li Heping sustained bruises all over his face, shoulders, hands and body and lost a significant amount of hair. He also developed a headache, his face became swollen, and he suffered loss of hearing in his left ear.
The incident occurred one day after police from the National Security Protection Unit (guonei anquan baowei zhidui, guobao) of the Beijing Public Security Bureau verbally told Li Heping that he and his family should leave Beijing during the 17th Communist Party Congress, due to begin on 15 October. After the assault, Li Heping released a personal statement describing his experience. He firmly rejected demands that he should ëleave Beijingí.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Li Heping had built a reputation for defending sensitive cases, including Christians arrested for unofficial house church activities, members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, alleged victims of forced eviction and independent writers. He was defence lawyer for dissident, Yang Zili, and imprisoned environmental activist Tan Kai, and has appealed to the authorities on behalf of lawyer Gao Zhisheng. As a result of such activities, he had been placed under tight police surveillance and his freedom of movement has been restricted.
While the space for civil society activities has grown over recent years in China, activists who take on politically sensitive cases or try to rally others to their cause remain a key target for repression. Abuses against human rights activists have escalated as the authorities tighten controls in the run-up to two key events : the 17th Communist Party Congress in October, and the Beijing Olympics of August 2008. Several human rights lawyers and legal advisors have been subjected to arbitrary detention and torture or ill-treatment. Some have been imprisoned, while others have been placed under tight police surveillance in their own homes. The crackdown flies in the face of official promises to improve human rights in the run-up to the Olympics.
RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language :
calling on the authorities to provide immediate guarantees for Li Hepingís safety ;
urging the authorities to launch a full, immediate and impartial investigation into reports that Li Heping was arbitrarily detained, tortured and threatened by a group around 12 unidentified men with a view to bringing all those responsible to justice ;
expressing concern that Li Heping was already held under tight police surveillance and calling for all restrictions on his freedom of movement to be lifted ;
urging the authorities to ensure that Li Heping and other human rights activists in China can carry out their peaceful and legitimate activities without fear of arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, or other human rights violations.
APPEALS TO : Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli The State Council General Office 2 Fuyoujie, Xichengqu Beijingshi 100017 People’s Republic of China Fax : +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Email : gazette mail.gov.cn Salutation : Your Excellency
Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China ZHOU Yongkang Buzhang Gongíanbu 14 Dongchangíanjie, Dongchengqu Beijingshi 100741 People’s Republic of China Fax : +86 10 63099216 (it may be difficult to get through, please keep trying) Salutation : Your Excellency
Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau MA Zhenchuan Juzhang Beijingshi Gong’anju 9 Qianmen Dongdajie Dongchengqu Beijingshi 100740 People’s Republic of China Fax : +86 10 85222320 Email : 110 bjgaj.gov.cn Salutation : Dear Director
Ambassade de la République Populaire de Chine Avenue de Tervueren 463 1160 Bruxelles Fax : 02.762.99.66 Fax : 02.779.28.95 Email : guo-wensong fmprc.gov.cn
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 November 2007.
