(IPI/IFEX) – In a 6 June 2000 letter to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, IPI expressed its concern to the Canadian government at the treatment of two Hong Kong journalists by the Vancouver police. On 27 May, journalists Lai Chai-Fai, of the “Oriental Daily News”, and Lam Nam, of the “Sun”, were arrested by police at […]
(IPI/IFEX) – In a 6 June 2000 letter to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, IPI expressed its concern to the Canadian government at the treatment of two Hong Kong journalists by the Vancouver police.
On 27 May, journalists Lai Chai-Fai, of the “Oriental Daily News”, and Lam Nam, of the “Sun”, were arrested by police at the Richmond hospital in Vancouver for failing to have work visas. The two had visited the hospital to cover the story of a Hong Kong actress who was convalescing there.
Upon arrival at the police station, Lai and Lam had their spectacles removed and were forced to undergo a humiliating strip search. Lai and Lam were then detained in a cell and their every movement monitored by closed circuit television. A phone call to their offices in Hong Kong was also denied to them. The journalists were finally released after forty hours of detention.
In the belief of IPI the treatment of the two journalists amounts to a flagrant abuse of police powers. While accepting that journalists should adhere to a country’s rules on work visas, IPI cannot see any justification for the arrest and extended detention of the two journalists. On the face of it, the arrest appears to be arbitrary in the extreme and the “strip search” a degrading act totally lacking in justification.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the prime minister:
– reminding His Excellency that under Article 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”
– further noting that, under Article 9, the Declaration also states “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”
– stating that while you recognise that an apology has been made to the two journalists through the offices of the Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong, you are calling on His Excellency to ensure that procedures and training be put in place which will avoid any repeat of this unfortunate incident in the future
– suggesting that in so doing, His Excellency will be affirming Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states, “human beings are born free and equal in dignity”
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Office of the Prime Minister
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Canada
Fax: +613 941 6900
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
