(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, September 30, 2007)—Ye Mingjun (叶明君), son of the "Olympics Prisoner" Ye Guozhu ( 叶国柱), was criminally detained this morning on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power". He is incarcerated at the Beijing Xuanwu District Detention Center.  Ye Guoqiang （叶国强）, brother of Ye Guozhu, has also been detained but his family has not received a formal detention order.

Ye Mingjun was taken from his home on September 29 by the Beijing Xuanwu District Public Security Bureau police together with his cousin, Ye Minghua ( 叶明华), after the police searched the flat of Ye Minghua's father (Ye Guoqiang) and took away twenty-six of his father's articles and two computers. While Ye Mingjun was detained, Ye Minghua was later released. Ye Minghua reported being asked by the police whether or not he had typed any articles for Ye Guozhu.

The whereabouts of Ye Guoqiang are unknown since he left home the morning of September 29.  Ye Minghua was told by a guard at the police station that his father is "under police control", but he could not get any information about what crime his father was under suspicion of committing. 

Between 2001 and 2003, to clear land for a facility to be used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government forcibly demolished the homes and restaurant of Ye Guozhu and Ye Guoqiang without sufficient compensation, thus depriving them of their livelihood and rendering homeless the two brothers and their families including their aged parents. The two have repeatedly petitioned authorities for compensation without success. In desperation, Ye Guoqiang attempted suicide in October 2003. For that, he was sentenced to two years in jail for 'provoking and making trouble'.

Ye Guozhu began helping petitioners who come to Beijing to file complaints with the central government. In August 2004, he applied for permission to organize the 'September 18 10,000 People March' to protest against forced evictions. He was promptly detained and on December 18, 2004, was sentenced to four years in prison for 'provoking and making trouble.' He has reportedly been tortured during his detention and imprisonment.

CHRD condemns the detention of Ye Mingjun and Ye Guoqiang and the continued imprisonment of Ye Guozhu. CHRD believes they are detained or imprisoned solely for peaceful expression of opinion, petitioning and organizing protests. Their detention and imprisonment violate the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed, respectively, in Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is signatory. CHRD also condemns the forcible eviction of the Ye families from their properties and the violation of their right to adequate housing guaranteed in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which China has signed and ratified.

CHRD calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Ye Mingjun, Ye Guoqiang and Ye Guozhu. It also calls on the Chinese government to hold accountable those officials responsible for having failed to protect the rights of these three individuals. Finally, CHRD calls on the government to adequately compensate the Ye families for their lost properties. The Chinese government has failed to keep the promise it made to improve human rights when it bid to host the 2008 Olympics.  Like the Ye family, many Beijing residents have been victimized by Olympics construction and their resistance and protests have been penalized.

Click here for more information about the Ye brothers.

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Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) is a non-political, non-government network of grassroots and international activists promoting human rights protection and empowering grassroots activism in China.  CHRD's objective is to build NGO capacities, monitor rights development, and assist victims of abuse.   CHRD advocates non-violent and rule of law approaches.  CHRD conducts investigation and research, provides information, organizes training, supports a program of small grants, and offers legal assistance.

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