On April 13, 2009, public officials beat Beijing lawyer and human rights defender Cheng Hai to a bloody pulp. That was the same day the ‘National Human Rights Action Plan of China’ was launched.
The brutal attack in Chengdu, in broad daylight, is only one example of the alarming violence and intimidation against lawyers who defend human rights in China. The lawyer called the police, but when the police arrived, the attackers said they were public officials from the Jinyang General Management Office, Wuhou District, Chengdu, so no charges were filed.
The group, Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) claims that Cheng Hai was beaten only because he is defending a Falun Gong practitioner.
Cheng was going to see the mother of Tao Yuan, a member of the group Falun Gong who is in prison in Chengdu for “publicizing an evil cult.” Cheng is asking that he be released for medical reasons. But Cheng was surrounded by 4-5 people who violently beat him, continuing to kick him even when he was on the ground.
The lawyer called the police, but the attackers said they were officials from the Jinyang General Management Office (district of Wuhou, Chengdu), a government agency charged with coordinating the various offices of the police and the courts, and the ultimate guarantor of social order. They called the incident a “misunderstanding.” The police left without even taking any report of the beating.
Cheng is an expert lawyer. He was a member of the Yitong law firm in Beijing until a few months ago, when he and some other colleagues were dismissed for two reasons. First, they defend human rights and second, they asked that the heads of the Beijing Lawyer’s Association, be elected instead of appointed by the Communist Party.
Cheng is also known for his defense of Xu Na, an award-winning artist, who was sentenced to three years in prison on Nov. 25, 2008, in Beijing because she practices Falun Gong. She is the widow of Yu Zhou, a popular folk-band member, and Falun Gong adherent who died from abuse in police custody 11 days after his arrest.
Human Rights Watch China (HRWC) claims that Guo Feixiong, in prison, has not been allowed to see his lawyer, Hu Xiao, who traveled more than 1,500 kilometers in order to appeal his sentence.
In 2005, Guo Feixiong, as a lawyer, helped the inhabitants of the village of Taishi (Guangdong) to expel the corrupt village chief. In September of 2006, he was arrested for “illegal commercial activities,” and in November of 2007, was sentenced to five years in prison. He is contesting his arrest and sentencing, saying that his confession was exacted under torture.
Human Rights Watch China (HRWC)claims that he was: interrogated for 13 days straight without being allowed to sleep; hung from the ceiling by his arms and legs; subjected to electric shocks applied to his genitals; tied to his bed for 42 days; and repeatedly beaten in prison. Last October, his lawyer went from Beijing to visit him in prison in Meizhou (Guangdong), but waited for a number of days without receiving permission to see him.
CHRD charges that violence against lawyers who defend human rights is increasing in the country, as in the recent beating of Yang Zaixin, who helps farmers in the county of Hepu (Guangxi), who have been deprived of their land.
Said Wang Songlian, CHRD’s Research Coordinator, “If China is indeed serious about ‘improving the rule of law,’ it should make protecting human rights lawyers like Cheng and holding those who beat him accountable a priority.”
Sources:
http://new.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14975&size=A
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china/falun-gong-musician-persecuted-lawyer-7694.html
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200904/20090414144022_14919.html