China: Petitioner sentenced to two years in labour camp

354 字
2008 年 7 月 18 日 21:12
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
英文
(c) 2008 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.

Text of report by Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy on 17 July

[Report: "Liaoning Petitioner Sentenced to Reeducation through Labour for Two Years for Petitioning at Wu Bangguo's Residence"]

17 Jul 2008 - Our centre has learned that a petitioner from Liaoning named Lu Xiujuan was recently sentenced by the Tieling city reeducation through labour committee in Liaoning to reeducation through labour for two years after throwing appeal materials into the residence of Wu Bangguo in Zhongnanhai on 9 June. According to her fellow villagers, Lu Xiujuan went to petition in Beijing because she was sentenced to reeducation through labour for two years in 2003 for petitioning, and she refused to accept the ruling.

Our centre telephoned Lu Xiujuan's home but no one answered. Her fellow villagers in Dagangtun village, Daming township, Diaobingshan city, Liaoning, told us that Lu Xiujuan petitioned in 2001 after her brother was wounded in a quarrel with the village chief and did not receive a fair treatment in the case. She was infuriated after she was sentenced to reeducation through labour for two years in 2003 because of her petition. She repeatedly went to Beijing to petition against her sentence after her release. Her fellow villagers told us that Lu Xiujuan was arrested on 9 June when she tried to throw appeal materials into Wu Bangguo's residence. Lu Xiujuan was sentenced to reeducation through labour for another two years and has been sent to the Tieling Labour Camp.

All localities are taking strict measures to prevent petitioners from heading for Beijing before the Olympics. A 54-year-old petitioner from Nanchang, Jiangxi, committed suicide in Beijing on 15 July. The public order section of the Chongwen subbureau of the Beijing Public Security Bureau confirmed this news to us.

The international community and legal experts in China have all along criticized "reeducation through labour" because it can deprive citizens of personal freedom for up to three years without trial.

Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 17 Jul 08