国际法律家委员会敦促中国当局释放律师
国际法律家委员会 2014年9月1日
【注:国际法律家委员会简介(International Commission of Jurists)】会员包括60著名法学家(法官和律师),其中有澳大利亚、加拿大、南非和前联合国人权事务高级专员和爱尔兰总统玛丽·罗宾逊等。秘书处在瑞士日内瓦。
1952年,国际法律家委员会正式建立。联合国经济及社会理事会、联合国教育、科学及文化组织、欧洲委员会、非洲联盟是其重要的合作和咨询机构。
秘书处和欧盟委员会进行宣传和政策工作,旨在加强律师和法官更好的保护和促进人权、法治。国际法律家委员会已经遍布全球70多个国家,有源源不断的人加入,主要是律师、法官、法律学者和大学法律系学生。
中国必须立即释放所有因执业或实践人权而被捕的律师们,国际法律家委员会在今天给中国主席习近平的一封信中说到。
这封信描述了在过去几个月里由可靠的媒体和非政府组织所报道的一系列的拘捕。也有其他律师的执业证被吊销。
“这些律师看来是仅仅因为在一些事务上试图做他们的法律工作或是践行他们言论和集会的自由而被捕,这些事务被中国政府认为具有政治敏感性。”国际法律家委员会独立法官和律师中心的负责人Matt Pollard说。
“应该释放所有因此种情形被捕的律师,并允许他们继续执业。”他补充到。
“多份关于中国破坏国际标准对人权律师任意拘禁和进行其他干涉的报告对于中国所声称的践行法制是一个严峻的挑战。” Pollard说。
国际法律家委员会注意到,许多拘捕和停业似乎成为当局试图打压纪念1989年天安门事件25周年活动的延伸的一部分。
联系人:
Matt Pollard, 高级法律顾问,独立法官和律师中心,邮箱: matt.pollard(a)icj.org
背景:
据报道,在五月下旬常伯阳律师(组图)试图去会见他被关押在当地警察局的当事人,随后他也被逮捕。显然,他的当事人是因参加”二月二日纪念中国前领导人胡耀邦、赵紫阳“一事而以涉嫌“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”被拘留。常律师同样以涉嫌“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”被拘留,但并没有证据证明,他也参与了此次公祭。6月初,常律师的罪名被更改为“非法经营罪”,官方并未给出任何解释。目前,常律师仍被关押中。
浦志强律师在出席一个私人纪念活动三天后,于2014年5月6号被刑事拘留。直至6月13日,浦志强律师才以“非法获取个人信息”和“寻衅滋事罪”被正式指控。在拘留期间,浦律师无法得到及时和必要的医治,也无法保外就医。他目前仍在被关押中。
据报道称,姬来松律师在参加纪念活动后,于2014年5月27日被拘。他最初以涉嫌“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”被拘留,后又以“寻衅滋事罪”被正式批捕。中国当局又以他危害国家安全为由拒绝他会见律师。他目前仍在关押中。
2014年3月21日,张俊杰律师在黑龙江调查他的一个被关押在黑监狱的当事人的情况时被警察从酒店带走。与他一起同行的有王成、唐吉田、江天勇三名律师。这三位律师因他们的人权活动被中国方面吊销了律师执照。张俊杰以“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”被行政拘留了5天,另外三位被行政拘留了15天。
丁家喜,一位关注反腐败的律师,在参加了一个参与者举横幅、演讲要求政府高级官员公开其财产的公共活动后,于2013年4月被捕。2014年4月丁家喜以“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪’被判处有期徒刑3年零6个月。在2013年11月份,丁律师的律师程海在会见监狱里的丁家喜时被警察殴打。随后,在庭审上,程律师退庭表示对法庭众多程序违法行为的抗议。2014年8月,北京司法局以程海律师违反庭审纪律,对他处以暂停执业1年的处罚。
许多被拘留的律师称他们被折磨或是遭受到其他残忍的、不人道的、有辱人格的待遇。并被拒绝见到律师或者家人。
China-ICJ urges China to release lawyers-Advocacy-open letter-2014 (PDF全文)
(以上为译文,请以英文原文为准。原文链接:
http://www.icj.org/the-icj-urges-chinese-authorities-to-release-lawyers)
The ICJ urges Chinese authorities to release lawyers
China must immediately release all lawyers detained for carrying out their professional functions or for exercising their human rights, the ICJ said in a letter today to President Xi Jinping.
The letter describes a number of arrests and detentions credibly reported by newsmedia and non-governmental organizations over the past several months. Other lawyers had their professional license to practice revoked.
“These lawyers appear to have been arrested solely for trying to do their job, or exercising their freedoms of expression and assembly, on matters the Chinese government considers politically sensitive,” said Matt Pollard, Head of the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
“All lawyers detained in such circumstances should be released and allowed to get on with their work,” he added.
“The multiple reports of arbitrary arrests and other interference with human rights lawyers in violation of international standards is a serious challenge to China’s claim that it is committed to the rule of law,” Pollard said.
Many of the arrests and revocations appear to have been part of a broader attempt to suppress events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and crackdown, the ICJ notes.
Contact:
Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser, Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, e matt.pollard(a)icj.org
Background
Lawyer Chang Boyang (photo) was reportedly arrested in late May when he sought to meet clients being held at a local police station. The clients were being detained on suspicion of “gathering in a public place to disturb public order”, apparently as a result of taking part in a memorial tribute on February 2 for former Chinese leaders Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang. When Chang Boyang arrived at the police station to meet them, he was reportedly also detained for “gathering in a public place to disturb public order”, in the absence of any evidence that he was even present at the event. The charges were apparently subsequently changed, with little explanation, in early July to “suspicion of illegal commercial activities”. He remains in custody.
Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was reportedly taken into criminal custody on 6 May 2014, three days after attending a private commemoration event. He was held without charge until 13 June, when he was formally charged with “creating a disturbance” and “illegally obtaining personal information”. While in custody, he was not provided prompt and necessary medical treatment and an early release on medical bail. He remains in custody.
Lawyer Ji Laisong was reportedly taken into custody on 27 May 2014, also after attending a commemoration event. He was reportedly initially accused of “creating a disturbance” but he was charged with “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public space”. Chinese authorities allegedly did not allow him to access his lawyer alleging that his case involved matters of state security. He remains in detention.
Other lawyers have been targeted while defending the human rights of their clients. On 21 March 2014, lawyer Zhang Junjie was taken from his hotel room in the Heilongjiang Province, where he had apparently traveled to investigate the detention conditions of his clients in an unofficial place of detention (“black jail”). He was accompanied by Wang Cheng, Tang Jitian and Jiang Tianyong, lawyers who had been stripped of their licenses to practice law by Chinese authorities reportedly because of their human rights activities. Zhang Junjie was apparently held under administrative detention for five days for “disrupting public order”, while the other three were held under a 15-day administrative detention without a trial.
Ding Jiaxi, a lawyer involved in anti-corruption initiatives, was arrested in April 2013, reportedly after he participated in a public event where participants held up banners and made public speeches calling for high-level government officials to disclose their assets. He was convicted of “gathering a crowd to disrupt order of a public place” and sentenced to three years and six months of imprisonment in April 2014. His lawyer, Cheng Hai, was reportedly assaulted by police officers during a prison visit in late November 2013 and later resigned in protest against the innumerous procedural violations occurred throughout Ding’s trial. In August 2014, judicial authorities in Beijing have reportedly ordered a one-year suspension of legal practice to Mr. Cheng Hai for allegedly “disturbing court order.” Ding Jiaxi remains in custody.
A number of the detained lawyers allege they were tortured or subjected to other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and denied access to their legal counsel and family members.
China-ICJ urges China to release lawyers-Advocacy-open letter-2014 (full text in pdf)