URGENT ACTION

AGEING COUPLE FACE JAIL FOR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

An elderly couple are about to be put on trial because they practice Falun Gong. They may receive lengthy prison terms on account of their religious beliefs. They are in custody in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in northern China, and are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Falun Gong practitioners Yan Dongfeiand her husband Qiao Yongfang,each of them aged 60, have been held at the No. 1 Detention Center in the city of Hohhot (Mongolian spelling; in Chinese, "Huhehaote ") since 8 June. They were not formally arrested until 5 July on suspicion of "using a heretical organization to undermine implementation of the law". Other Falun Gong members convicted on similar charges have been sentenced to eight years or more in prison. The procuratorate has twice sent their case back to the police, for lack of evidence: this means it is likely to go to trial very soon. Family members were previously told that the couple’s case was "serious" and "complicated," and that Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang were not "cooperating" with the authorities. Defendants who do not admit their "guilt" tend to receive harsher sentences.

Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang have been allowed no visits or phone calls from their family since they have been in custody. They have been allowed only one visit from their lawyers, on 21 August, despite the lawyers' repeated efforts. A security official was present during the meeting, according to the lawyers, and this prevented the couple from speaking freely. During that meeting the lawyers learned that Qiao Yongfang had been tortured, resulting in injuries to his head, for which he is not known to have received adequate medical treatment. According to the lawyer, he appeared disoriented and depressed. It is not known whether Yan Dongfei has also been ill-treated.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English, Mandarin or your own language:

• Urging the authorities to release Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang immediately and unconditionally, unless they are charged with an internationally recognized crime and tried promptly in proceedings which meet fair trial standards;

• Expressing concern that they have been detained solely because of their religious beliefs, and are therefore prisoners of conscience;

• Calling on the authorities to guarantee that Yan Dongfei and Qiao Yongfang will not be tortured or ill-treated;

• Demanding that the authorities give them immediate access to their family, medical care and a lawyer of their choosing,

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 NOVEMBER 2009 TO: