12 February 2010
CHINA: Prominent dissident writer Liu
Xiaobo’s appeal rejected
RAN 64/08
– Update #3
International PEN’s Writers in Prison
Committee continues to call on PEN Centres
world wide to take action on behalf of Liu
Xiaobo and others detained in China. Liu
Xiaobo, former President of Independent
Chinese PEN Centre, was sentenced to eleven
years in prison on 25 December 2009. He was
convicted of ‘incitement to subversion’ for
his role in publishing Charter 08, a
document calling for political reform and
human rights, and articles published online
since 2005. On 25 December 2009
International PEN issued a press release
protesting the sentence. To read this go to
Liu Xiaobo Press release On 11 February 2010
it was reported that his appeal had been
rejected by a Beijing court. PEN continues
to demand the immediate and unconditional
release of dissident writer Liu Xiaobo and
all those detained in violation of Article
19 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, to which China is a
signatory.
PEN Centres are asked to continue to take
action on behalf of Liu Xiaobo and all
writers detained in China by:
1) Sending letters of protest to the Chinese
authorities in Beijing as well as the
Chinese embassies in your own country – see
below for guidance
2) Staging public events and writing
articles for publication in the press.
3) Electing Liu Xiaobo as an Honorary Member
of your Centres and by doing so provide long
term support and advocacy for him and his
family. For details of the International PEN
Honorary Membership scheme, read the PEN
WiPC Guide to Defending Writers Under Attack
(Part V, pgs 15-20). Please let us know if
you do so and we will ensure that your
Centre is networked with others working on
Liu’s case.
Background
Liu Xiaobo was arrested on 8 December 2009
and held under ‘residential surveillance’, a
form of pre-trial detention, at an
undisclosed location in Beijing until he was
formally charged on 23 June 2009 with
‘spreading rumours and defaming the
government, aimed at subversion of the state
and overthrowing the socialism system in
recent years’. He was sentenced to eleven
years in prison on 25 December 2009.
Liu Xiaobo is among a large number of
dissidents to have been detained or harassed
since December 2008 after issuing an open
letter calling on the National People’s
Congress Standing Committee to ratify the
International Covenant of Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), and launching
Charter 08, a declaration calling for
political reforms and human rights published
on 9 December 2008. These activities were
part of campaigns to commemorate the 60th
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (10 December), and were
initially signed by over 300 scholars,
journalists, freelance writers and activists
and now have over 10,000 signatories from
throughout China.
Liu Xiaobo first received support from
International PEN in 1989, when he was one
of a group of writers and intellectuals
given the label the “Black Hands of Beijing”
by the government and arrested for their
part in the Tiananmen Square protests. Prior
to his current arrest, Liu has spent a total
of five years in prison, including a three
year sentence passed in 1996, and has
suffered frequent short arrests, harassment
and censorship. In January 2009 over 300
writers signed a petition calling for his
release.
For more information follow these links:
"An Open Letter to Calling on the National
People's Congress Standing
Committee to Ratify the ICCPR", 10 December,
2008 (in Chinese),
http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class4/200812/20081209030825_12257.html
Charter 08, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese):
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class71/200812/20081209130050_12266.html
The English version can be found on:
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3552/prmID/1610
For writings and an interview with Liu
Xiaobo see American PEN’s website:
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3029/prmID/172
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3550/prmID/172
Please send appeals:
- Expressing dismay about the eleven year
sentence handed down to prominent dissident
writer Liu Xiaobo solely for his peaceful
dissident activities;
- Pointing out that the sentence breaches
the international treaties to which China is
a signatory, most notably Article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Right that specifically guarantees
the right to freedom of expression and
asking that this breach be taken into
consideration when Liu Xiaobo’s case comes
to appeal.
Send appeals to:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China
Chief Judge Mr. WANG Shengjun
President of the Supreme People’s Court
No.27 Dongjiaominxiang
Dongcheng District, Beijing 100745
P.R. China
Please note that there are no fax numbers
for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends
that you copy your appeal to the Chinese
embassy in your country asking them to
forward it and welcoming any comments.
You may find it easier to write to the
Chinese ambassador in your own country
asking him or her to forward your appeal.
Most embassies are obliged to forward such
appeals to the relevant officials in the
country. A letter or petition signed by an
eminent member of your Centre may give make
it more likely for your appeal to be
considered. Similarly if your appeal is
published in your local press and copied to
the Chinese ambassador, this too may have
greater impact.
See this useful link to find the contact
details of the Chinese embassy in your
country Chinese embassies abroad
**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in
London if sending appeals after 14 March
2010**
For further information please contact Cathy
McCann at International PEN Writers in
Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High
Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20
7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email:
cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk
