(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned about the charges of “inciting splittism” brought against dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun, who was detained on 9 May 2008 near the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province. International PEN calls for his immediate and unconditional release if he continues to be held in violation of Article 19 of […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – WiPC is seriously concerned about the charges of “inciting splittism” brought against dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun, who was detained on 9 May 2008 near the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province. International PEN calls for his immediate and unconditional release if he continues to be held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
According to International PEN’s information, freelance journalist Chen Daojun was among a number of people detained on 9 May while protesting the building of a chemical plant in the town of Pengzhou, located 39 km outside the capital, Chengdu.
The following is an excerpt of an alert issued as part of the “We Are Ready for Free Expression” campaign being carried out by PEN Centres. For more information about this case and other attacks on writers and journalists in China, see: http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1527/oblocked::http:/www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1527
“PEN has received confirmation that Chen Daojun, a freelance writer and journalist detained in Chengdu since May 9, has now been charged with ‘inciting splittism’, not ‘inciting subversion of state power’ as had been initially reported. The charge, most often used against Tibetans and Uighurs in China, most likely stems from an article Chen published following the Tibetan protests, which expressed respect for the Tibetan people, defended their basic rights and condemned the Chinese government’s violent crackdown on protesters.”
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
– expressing serious concern about the charges against Chen
– pointing out that he appears to have been charged in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory
– calling for his immediate and unconditional release, if the above is true
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P. R. China
Mr. Meng Jianzhu
Minister of the Public Security
East Chang’an Avenue 14
100741 Beijing
P. R. China
Please copy appeals to the source and to the Chinese embassy or diplomatic representative for China in your country, asking that the appeals be forwarded and welcoming any comments. Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 17 July 2008.
Updates the Chen Daojun case: http://ifex.org/en/content/view/full/93674
