(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is seriously concerned for the well-being of writer Zhang Lin, who has been on hunger strike since 4 September 2005 to protest his sentence and harsh treatment in prison. He has reportedly been hospitalised and believed to be very weak. Zhang was sentenced to five years in prison […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN is seriously concerned for the well-being of writer Zhang Lin, who has been on hunger strike since 4 September 2005 to protest his sentence and harsh treatment in prison. He has reportedly been hospitalised and believed to be very weak. Zhang was sentenced to five years in prison on 28 July for his dissident writings.
According to PEN’s information, Zhang, a dissident writer and pro-democracy advocate, was arrested on 27 January at the Bengbu City railway station in Anhui Province, south-eastern China. At the time of his arrest, he had just returned from Beijing where he had planned to pay his respects to the late Zhao Ziyang, a reformist politician and former Communist Party leader who died on 17 January. Zhang was not permitted to take part in the mourning for Zhao and authorities forced him to return to Bengbu. He was charged with “inciting subversion” for a radio interview and six articles critical of the authorities that he posted on overseas news websites. The writings for which he was charged are believed to include essays about protests by unemployed workers and cases of official corruption. On 28 July, the Anhui Intermediate People’s Court convicted Zhang and sentenced him to five years in prison. The verdict was not formally announced, even to his lawyer, until 2 August, significantly reducing Zhang’s opportunity to appeal. He has nevertheless filed an appeal.
Since his imprisonment, Zhang has reportedly suffered harsh treatment, including long hours of forced labour, limited access to exchanges of mail with his wife and denial of access to news and writing materials. He began a hunger strike on 4 September in protest and has reportedly been hospitalised for medical checks, but denied necessary medical treatment. He is thought to be force-fed with milk and very weak.
Zhang is from Bengbu. He has been active as a pro-democracy advocate for many years and has written numerous essays on politics and human rights issues in China. He has been repeatedly imprisoned for his political activities.
