Asia

Several Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Believed to be Detained by Police

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

HONG KONG, China—

Chinese authorities detained human rights lawyer Li Heping on Friday. Police searched Mr. Li’s home in Beijing, seizing computers and documents. They then took Mr. Li away. His detainment is only the latest in a series of crackdowns on lawyers who defend dissidents and human rights advocates.

Mr. Li has worked on behalf of some of China’s most well known dissidents and rights advocates. His clients included Chen Guangcheng, a blind civil rights activist and legal advocate who escaped house arrest in 2012 and later moved to the United States.

Within the 24 hours preceding Mr. Li’s detainment, three other human rights attorneys disappeared, as well as a paralegal. It appears that the lawyers were detained as part as a growing investigation by Chinese authorities, but the details surrounding their disappearances remain unclear. Police have yet to confirm that they have the four lawyers and paralegal in custody.

Zhou Shifeng, Wang Yu, and Li Shuyun, all lawyers at the Fengrui Law Firm, disappeared on Thursday and Friday. The Fengrui Law Firm’s offices were searched, and police carried away at least three computers. As of Friday afternoon, some of the firm’s other lawyers had also gone missing, as well as its financial director and driver.

Mr. Zhou had just successfully won the release of a client, a news assistant for a German newspaper who had been detained by authorities for nine months. He is said to have been led away from his Beijing hotel by what appeared to be plainclothes police. His colleagues and wife have not heard anything from him since.

Ms. Yu, a human rights attorney, disappeared from her home on Thursday. Before being taken, Ms, Yu made it known through texts and social media that her power and internet had been shut off and that people were attempting to enter her home. Security guards at Ms. Yu’s apartment complex stated that police surrounded Ms. Yu’s building, saying that it was a drug bust. About a week before, while representing a client, Ms. Wu was thrown out onto the street by court bailiffs because she insisted on being at a cross examination.

Ms. Yu. (Photo courtesy of the Epoch Times)

Maya Wang, a Human Rights Watch researcher, has stated that Fengrui’s lawyers and paralegal could have been detained because of the Fengrui Law Firm’s employment of Wu Gan, an activist who publicized controversial cases on the internet. Mr. Wu was detained by police in May.

Other lawyers and human rights advocates in the region believe that the crackdown on human rights lawyers is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to use criminal investigations to destroy China’s rights defense movement. The movement has challenged restrictions on freedom of expression as well as restrictions on the Chinese legal and political systems.

 

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Chinese Authorities Appear to Detain 4 Human Rights Lawyers – 10 July 2015

Radio Free Asia – Beijing Rights Lawyer ‘Missing’, Believed Detained: Lawyer – 10 July 2015

The Epoch Times – Chinese Rights Lawyer Taken From Home By Police – 9 July 2015

Amnesty International – Urgent Action: Seven Missing in Feared Attack on Law Firm – 10 July 2015

 

 

 

Still No Clear Solution for the Rohingya Migrant Crisis

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar –

More than a month has passed since the Rohingya migrant crisis made international news headlines, but there is still no apparent progress in finding the migrants a permanent home. There is also no sign that Myanmar will seek to correct the conditions from which the Rohingya migrants fled.

In May, international attention was drawn to the Rohingya crisis after journalists took photos of migrants crowded onto boats and stranded in waters near Thailand and Malysia. The migrants were a mix of Rohingya fleeing from persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis fleeing from economic hardship in Bangladesh.

Myanmar did allow over 700 migrants to come back ashore in early June. Two of the migrants told Reuters that 200-300 of the migrants who came ashore were Rohingya. The rest were Bengladeshis. The Rohingya were kept inside a warehouse upon coming ashore and the Bangladeshis were driven away in buses. Journalists covering the story were asked to leave.

Migrants brought ashore in Myanmar in early June. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters)

Myanmar denies that it discriminates against the Rohingya, despite the fact that it does not grant the Rohingya citizenship rights. In the 1990s, Myanmar began issuing “white cards” that gave the Rohingya temporary residence and other limited rights, but not citizenship. White card holders were permitted to vote in Myanmar’s 2008 constitutional referendum and 2010 general elections. In a constitutional referendum earlier this year, however, Myanmarese President Thein Sein cancelled the white cards in response to pressure from Buddhist nationals.

Myanmar has also stated that persecution of the Rohingya is not the cause of the migrant crisis. Myanmar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wunna Maung Lwin has pointed to the number of Bangladeshis on the ship that was allowed to come aboard in May as proof that the crisis was a problem related to human trafficking in the region.

At an international meeting on the migrant crisis in May, the United Nations raised the issue of citizenship and other United Nations delegates blamed Myanmar for the crisis. Myanmar responded that it could not be singled out in regard to the crisis.

In early June, President Obama stated that Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingya needed to come to an end in order for Myanmar to achieve its transition to democracy.

So far, Gambia and the United States have offered to help resettle the migrants.

Australia stated that it would not resettle the migrants. While Japan dedicated $3.5 million in emergency assistance to the migrants, it did not offer to resettle any of the migrants.

Neither China nor India, Asia’s two most populous countries, have offered to help the migrants either. Both China and India border Myanmar and are major trading partners with Myanmar. Neither country has put pressure on Myanmar to reevaluate its discriminatory policies against the Rohingya Muslims.

For China, Myanmar is a top source of foreign investment. Also, since the Rohingya do not have Chinese ethnicity, they are not of much concern to China. At a United Nations Security Council meeting last month, China stated that Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya is an internal issue for Myanmar to resolve.

In the past, India has offered aid and resettlement to refugees fleeing from Myanmar, and currently hosts more than 10,000 Rohingya.

Many in India and other Asian countries view the problem of refugees as stemming from Western imperialism. There is therefore a sense in such countries that responsibility for the refugees should be left to the West and institutions like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Not many of the Asian countries are members of international conventions protecting refugees.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – China and India Are Sitting Out Refugee Crisis – 28 June 2015

Council on Foreign Relations – The Rohingya Migrant Crisis – 17 June 2015

Reuters – Myanmar Says Persecution Not the Cause of the Migrant Crisis – 4 June 2015

Reuters – Myanmar Lands 700 Migrants, U.S. Says Rohingya Should be Citizens – 3 June 2015

 

Attack by Ethnic Uighurs was Likely Fueled by China’s Religious Controls

By Christine Khamis, Impunity Watch Reporter

 

BEIJING, China –

A clash between Ethnic Uighurs and Chinese police on Monday led to the death of an estimated 18 people in Kashgar, a city in the Xinjiang region in western China. The attack by the Uighurs on a police checkpoint was reported by Radio Free Asia.

Radio Free Asia, or RFA, is a Washington-based news service that employs Uighur reporters. Chinese news media fails to report much of what the RFA and pro-Uighur websites report on attacks against Chinese authorities.

RFA has reported that a car attempted to go through the police checkpoint in the Xinjiang region without stopping. A police officer attempted to stop the car and the car backed up, crushing the officer’s leg. Two individuals got out of the car and stabbed two traffic officers. Several other attackers arrived at the scene, as well as armed police officers. 15 of the attackers and 3 police officers were killed during the attack.

The RFA’s report has been corroborated by members of the neighborhood where the attack occurred. A police officer also confirmed the attack but wished to remain anonymous because he was not allowed to speak with foreign news organizations.

There is a long history of tension and conflict between the Uighurs and Chinese authorities. Tensions especially intensified in 2009 when there was ethnic rioting in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s regional capital. Hundreds of people have been killed during attacks throughout the past three years.

The Uighurs are an ethnic Turkish group comprising more than forty percent of the 22 million people in the Xinjiang region. Most Uighurs are Muslim. Beijing has increasingly controlled the Uighurs’ right to practice Islam, including allowing fewer mosques and strict oversight of religious schools.

In July 2014, some Muslim civil servants were not allowed to fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. In some areas of the Xinjiang region, Uighurs are subject to fines or detention for wearing veils or having beards.

 

Members of ethnic Uighur population. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

 

The Xinjiang region has expanded economically and with that expansion, a number of Han Chinese have settled in the region. The Han Chinese are said to have the best employment options in the region and many of them do well financially. This has also fueled animosity among Uighurs.

Some of the Uighurs are separatists who want to create an independent East Turkestan, and some of those separatists commit similar attacks against Chinese authorities.

An Amnesty International report in 2013 stated that Chinese authorities criminalized “what they labeled ‘illegal religious’ and ‘separatist’ activities” and cracked down on “peaceful expressions of cultural identity”.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – China Police Checkpoint Attack ‘Kills 18’ in Xinjiang – 24 June 2015

Bloomberg Business – Attack in China’s Xinjiang Region Kills at Least 18, RFA Reports – 24 June 2015

New York Times – Deadly Clash Between Police and Ethnic Uighurs Reported in Xinjiang Region of China –24 June 2015

Reuters – Bomb Attack In Restive Xinjiang and Police Response Kill at Least 18: Radio Free Asia – 24 June 2015

BBC – Why Is There Tension Between China and the Uighurs? – 26 September 2014

Amnesty International – Annual Report: China 2013 – 25 May 2013

Hong Kong’s Election Reform Plan Unlikely to be Approved

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

HONG KONG, China —

Electoral reform allowing for a direct election of Hong Kong’s next chief executive is unlikely to be passed into law in a vote by Hong Kong lawmakers this week.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council is expected to vote on the reform by the end of the week. The reform will become law if two-thirds of the Hong Kong Legislative Council approves it, but pro-democracy legislators have vowed to veto the reform. Pro-democracy legislators make up about one-third of the Legislative Council.

The reform, while a step forward in the realization of Hong Kong’s drive for a more democratic electoral system, only allows for a certain number of pre-approved, pro-Beijing candidates to participate in the election for Hong Kong’s next leader.

The current chief executive in Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying, supports the reform proposals and has stated that Hong Kong should pass the election reforms into law and then work to improve on the new electoral system.

Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong’s current chief executive. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

The Chinese government has pledged to establish direct elections of Hong Kong’s chief executive by 2017. Currently, a 1,200 member committee comprised primarily of pro-Beijing individuals chooses Hong Kong’s chief executive.

Hong Kong is a former British colony that was returned to China in 1997 through an agreement between Great Britain and China. When China gained sovereignty over Hong Kong, it was under a “One Country, Two Systems” model that gave Hong Kong a separate legal system and freedoms of speech and press. As part of the “One Country, Two Systems” model, Great Britain and China agreed that Hong Kong would have a significant amount of autonomy for 50 years and that an electoral system supporting free election of leaders would eventually be developed.

Pro-democracy advocates argue that the proposals fall short of the democratic system that was promised when Hong Kong once again became part of China. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, called the Basic Law, was established in 1997. The Basic Law calls for Hong Kong’s electoral process to evolve into a system in which voters elect a new chief executive from among other candidates selected by a committee with broad representation.

The National People’s Congress, the national legislature of the People’s Republic of China, set a timeline for the transition to democratic election of the chief executive in 2007. The National People’s Congress must, however, approve any changes to the Basic Law, including those concerning Hong Kong’s electoral system.

Supporters of the proposals say that the proposals are an improvement to the current system because Hong Kong’s citizens will be able to choose between multiple candidates. The chief executive position will have more legitimacy and will have to be elected by a majority of the voters.

When the reform proposals were first presented last year, Hong Kong broke out into mass protests. Pro-democracy activists occupied the streets in an effort to get authorities to approve open nominations of chief executive candidates, but were unsuccessful.

According to a poll conducted by a group of Hong Kong universities from June 11 through June 15, adults in Hong Kong favor the election reform proposal by a narrow margin.

Pro-democracy groups in China have stated that they will protest if the election reform proposals are passed.

 

For more information, please see: 

CNN – Is Hong Kong’s Fight for Democracy in its Final Round? – 17 June 2015

New York Times – Hong Kong Lawmakers Begin Debate Over Election Plan – 17 June 2015

Reuters – Hong Kong Debates Election Reform Plan With Veto Likely – 17 June 2015

BBC – Hong Kong’s Democracy Debate – 16 June 2015

New York Times – Hong Kong Election Plan Appears Unlikely to Win Lawmakers’ Approval – 16 June 2015

 

 

Eight Suspects in Malala Yousafzai Attack Acquitted

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan– 

Pakistani officials disclosed last Friday that eight out of 10 men accused of conspiring in the attack of activist Malala Yousafzai have been acquitted and released.

Ms. Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in October 2012 while traveling to school in the northwestern Swat Valley region of Pakistan. Prior to the shooting, Ms. Yousafzai continued to attend school despite the ongoing threat of fundamentalists opposed to the education of girls. She also had been anonymously blogging for the BBC about the realities of living in the Swat region and about the importance of education for girls.

Malala Yousafzai. (Photo courtesy of PBS)

Ms. Yousafzai survived the shooting and went on to become internationally known as an advocate for the education of girls. She was also the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in December.

Ms. Yousafzai is now 17 years old and lives in Birmingham, England with her family. She and her family are unable to return to Pakistan because of continuing threats from the Taliban.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Ms. Yousafzai’s shooting. Pakistani officials believe that Pakistani Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah is one of the main suspects behind the attack, along with Mr. Fazlullah’s spokesman and two other men. The suspects are believed to be hiding out in Afghanistan.

The 10 men accused of conspiring in Ms. Yousafzai’s shooting were put on trial at a military-run internment center in Swat, Pakistan. In April, a Pakistani prosecutor told journalists that all 10 men had confessed to the attack on Ms. Yousafzai and police stated that the men were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

On Friday, the court that tried the 10 men issued its written judgment. The judgment revealed that only two of the men had been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Pakistan’s deputy police chief Azad Khan has stated that the eight men were released because there was not enough evidence to convict them. Mr. Khan also said that the secrecy surrounding the trial led to the mistaken reports claiming that all 10 men had been convicted. Public prosecutor Sayed Naeem, who stated in April that all 10 men had been convicted, said on Friday that reporters misquoted him at the time. Mr. Naeem also stated that he has already filed an appeal of the acquittal of the eight men.

The release of the eight men exemplifies the challenges that Pakistan’s judicial system faces. Courts in Pakistan often try Islamist militants in secret trials to maintain the safety of judges, police, and witnesses. There are poor evidentiary standards used in such trials as well as a well-documented practice of getting suspects to confess through the use of torture.

 

For more information, please see:

PBS – Men Who Planned Attack Against Malala Go Free in Pakistan – 6 June 2015

Associated Press – Pakistan Police Say 8 Men in Malala Attack Were Acquitted – 5 June 2015

CNN – Pakistan: 2 Convicted, 8 Acquitted in Connection to Malala Yousafzai Attack – 5 June 2015

New York Times – Pakistan Says Court Has Freed 8 of 10 Accused in Attack on Malala Yousafzai – 5 June 2015

Reuters – Pakistan Court Frees Eight Men Charged With Attack on Schoolgirl Malala – 5 June 2015