Document - China: Further information: Falun Gong couple face jail, torture
Further information on UA: 163/09 Index: ASA 17/024/2010 China Date: 28 May 2010
URGENT ACTION
FALUN GONG COUPLE FACE JAIL, TORTURE
Falun Gong practitioners Yan Dongfei and her husband Qiao Yongfang will be put on trial on 3 June. They may receive lengthy prison terms and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang, who are both 60, have been charged with "using a heretical organization to subvert the law." The law stipulates prison terms of three to seven years for this offence, but Falun Gong practitioners convicted of this offence have been sentenced to eight years or more.
The couple have been held since 8 June 2009 in the No 1 Detention Centre in the city of Hohhot (Mongolian; in Chinese, "Huhehaote"). Over the last year the procuratorate has sent their case back to the police for lack of evidence three times. The Huimin District People's Court has now told their lawyers that the trial has been scheduled for 3 June. Thecouple are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment in custody. According to sources in China,Qiao Yongfang now hastrouble seeing,hearingand walking.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Mandarin or your own language:
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urging the authorities to release Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang immediately, as they are prisoners of conscience;
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expressing concern that the couple have been detained solely because of their beliefs, and in violation of their right to freedom of expression;
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calling on the authorities to guarantee that the couple will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
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calling on the authorities to give the couple immediate access to their family and any medical attention they may require.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 9 JULY 2010 TO:
Huimin District People's Court
Huiminqu Renmin Fayuan
Yun Zhangsheng
Jin Chuan Kaifa qu
Huhehaote Shi 0471-3606010
Nei Menggu Zizhiqu
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Head of the Court
Huimin District People's Procuratorate Huiminqu Renmin Jiancha Yuan
Yan Zhengwei
Gang tie lu 298 hao
Huhehaote Shi 010000
Nei Menggu Zizhiqu
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Head of the Procuratorate
And copies to:
Political and Legal Committee
Zhengzhi Falu Weiyuanwei
Li He Shuji
Bei Mashenmiao Jie
Huhehaote Shi 010000
Nei Menggu Zizhiqu
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Secretary
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the second update of UA 163/09. Further information: : www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA 17/029/2009
URGENT ACTION
FALUN GONG COUPLE FACE JAIL, TORTURE
ADditional Information
The spiritual movement Falun Gong was banned in China as a "threat to social and political stability" after its practitioners held a peaceful sit-in on Tiananmen Square in July 1999. The government launched a campaign of intimidation and persecution, directed by a special organization called the 610 Office. Since then, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily detained. Those accused of being Falun Gong leaders or organizers have been jailed. Others have been held in psychiatric hospitals, but the vast majority have been held in Re-education Through Labour facilities. Re-education Through Labour is a form of administrative detention, imposed without charge, trial or judicial review
Torture and other ill-treatment are endemic in all forms of detention, although China ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1988. Amnesty International also receives regular reports of deaths in custody, many of them caused by torture, in a variety of state institutions, including prisons, RTL facilities and police detention centres.
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Further information on UA: 163/09 Index: ASA 17/024/2010 Issue Date: 28 May 2010
