Free Olympics Prisoners!

As China prepares to host the Olympics, three prominent human rights defenders—Ye Guozhu (叶国柱), Yang Chunlin (杨春林) and Hu Jia (胡佳)—have been imprisoned for speaking out against human rights violations related to the Olympics.

Join us in our campaign to “Free Olympics Prisoners”!  You can:

• Send messages of support to the Olympics prisoners and to their families. Write to us and we will post your messages here and deliver them to their families as soon as we can.
• Contact your government representatives and the International Olympic Committee. Ask them to raise concerns about these prisoners when they meet with Chinese leaders.

Jacques Rogge

President of the International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel: (41.21) 621 61 11
Fax: (41.21) 621 62 16

• Write to the relevant Chinese authorities about these prisoners. Addresses are available beneath the prisoners’ profiles.
• Write to us with suggestions to free these prisoners at crdnetwork@gmail.com and networkcrd@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Below are brief profiles of these three “Olympics Prisoners”, which include links to the articles CHRD has written about them. 

CHRD believes that these “Olympics Prisoners” have been detained and imprisoned solely for the peaceful activities of defending human rights. CHRD asks the international community to pressure the Chinese authorities for their immediate and unconditional release.

Between 2001 and 2003, the government forcibly demolished the homes and restaurant of Ye Guozhu and his brother, Ye Guoqiang, to clear land for a facility to be used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The brothers were not offered sufficient compensation, and were thus deprived of their livelihood and rendered homeless along with 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 coming 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 is imprisoned in Chaobai Prison, Qinghe Sub-Division, Beijing. He has reportedly been tortured during his detention and imprisonment.

The rest of the Ye family have continued their activism on housing rights and other human rights issues. For these activities, Ye Guoqiang and Ye Mingjun (叶明君, Ye Guozhu’s son) were both detained on September 29, 2007 on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power". Both of them were later released on bail and now await trial.

Authorities to contact regarding Ye Guozhu’s case:

Director of Chaobai Prison

ZHAO Hancun

Chaobai Jianyu

P.O. Box 109

Chadianzhan

Jingshanxian

Tianjinshi

People’s Republic of China

Email: ly128456@hotmail.com/ly128456@163.com

Phone: +86 (0)2267988456

Director of the Beijing Bureau of Justice

WU Yuhua

Beijingshi Sifaju

39 Guangpinghutong

Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100035

People’s Republic of China

Email: webmaster@bjsf.gov.cn

Phone: +86 58575683

For more information, please see:

Son and Brother of Ye Guozhu, the "Olympics Prisoner," Detained (October 1, 2007)

Yang, 54, is a laid-off worker from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. He was detained four times in 2006 for helping farmers seeking compensation for lost land and participating in a hunger strike called by the Beijing lawyer, Gao Zhisheng. 

Yang was detained on July 6, 2007, and on August 13 formally arrested on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" for collecting signatures to endorse the open letter, "We Want Human Rights, not the Olympics". The letter was reportedly signed by more than 10,000 people, mostly Heilongjiang farmers fighting forced eviction.  They are sympathetic with other victims of land loss in cities where officials have used the Olympics as a pretext to grab land and housing without adequate compensation.   

While in detention, Yang is said to have been tortured and coerced to confess. The authorities have denied Yang access to his family and restricted his access to legal counsel. Yang has only been allowed two meetings with his lawyers since his detention in July last year.

Yang was tried on February 19. During the trial, Yang was subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.

On March 24, Yang was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and two years’ deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power”. Court police hit Yang several times with electric batons when he attempted to speak with his family who attended the sentencing hearing. 

Yang has decided to appeal. He is currently incarcerated at Heitong Detention Center, Heilongjiang Province.

Authorities to contact regarding Yang’s case:

Director of the Jiamusi City Bureau of Justice

Jiamusi Sifaju

2 Dingyejie

Qianjinqu

Jiamusishi 154002

People’s Republic of China

Fax: +86 (0) 454 8809018

Phone: +86 (0) 454 8809016

For more information, please see:

“Olympics Prisoner” Yang Chunlin Sentenced to Five Years in Prison (March 24, 2008)

"Olympics Detainee" Yang Chunlin Ill-treated during Trial (February 22, 2008)

Activist Yang Chunlin Tried for Demanding Human Rights Prior to the Olympics (February 20, 2008)

Detained Heilongjiang Activist, Yang Chunlin, Allegedly Tortured and Ill-treated (October 7, 2007)

Heilongjiang activist, Yang Chunlin, denied access to lawyer, at risk of torture and ill-treatment (September 25, 2007)

Hu, 34, became an AIDS activist in 2001. He is co-founder of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education and Loving Source, a grassroots organization dedicated to helping children from AIDS families. Due to his criticism of the government's failures in AIDS prevention and care, he had been repeatedly harassed and beaten by police. 

Hu has reported violations of many different human rights, giving interviews to overseas press and writing about other activists' plight. Prior to his detention on December 27, Hu and his wife, Zeng Jinyan (曾金燕), had been under "residential surveillance" (Jianshi Juzhu) without legal authorization since April, 2004.

Despite being under residential surveillance, Hu refused to be silenced, continuing to report on rights violations prior to the Games. Hu was taken from his home on December 27, 2007 and formally arrested on January 28 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”.

On March 18, Hu was tried by the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. During the trial, his lawyers were given much less time to speak than the prosecutors, thus violating the principle of equality which is essential in a fair trial. The processes of investigation and interrogation prior to Hu’s trial were equally flawed. In the first month of his detention, Hu was deprived of access to legal counsel and to his family. Then only one of his two lawyers was allowed to visit him. He was repeatedly interrogated for up to 14 hours at a time, usually at night.  The court gave his lawyers only seven days-- insufficient time-- to study the large volume of case files to prepare his defense.

On April 3, Hu was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment and one year’s deprivation of political rights for “inciting subversion of state power.” Hu has not decided whether or not to appeal.

Hu suffers from cirrhosis and must be given adequate nutrition and rest. Given the way he was treated during detention (being subjected to lengthy interrogations), Hu’s family is worried that the authorities will continue to subject him to treatment that will damage his health.

Since Hu’s detention, Zeng and their infant daughter have been under tight surveillance. All visitors are barred from visiting her, except for her parents. In addition, Zeng is prevented from accepting the baby food and other articles for the child sent to her by her supporters.

Authorities to contact regarding Hu’s case:

President of the People's Republic of China

HU Jintao
President of the People's Republic of China
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People's Republic of China

Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China

Xi Jinping

Vice-President of the People's Republic of China
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People's Republic of China

Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the CCP

Zhou Yongkang
Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China

Director of Beijing Municipal Detention Center

Kanshousuo Suozhang

Beijingshi Kanshousuo

501 Dougezhuang

Chaoyangqu

Beijingshi 100023

People’s Republic of China

Director of the Beijing Bureau of Justice

WU Yuhua

Director of the Beijing Bureau of Justice

Beijingshi Sifaju

39 Guangpinghutong

Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100035

People’s Republic of China

Email: webmaster@bjsf.gov.cn

Phone: +86 58575683

For more information about Hu’s arrest and recent harassment, please see:

Hu Jia, Found Guilty for Criticizing Pre-Olympics Abuses, Sentenced to 3 Years & 6 Months (April 3, 2008)

Hu Jia on Trial: Rights to Free Speech and Due Process Violated (March 18, 2008)

Hu Jia's Trial for "Inciting Subversion of State Power" Scheduled for March 18 (March 13, 2008)

On Eve of 6-Month Countdown to Olympics, Police Stepped up Harassment on Zeng Jinyan (February 7, 2008)

Hu Jia Formally Arrested: Authorities Impervious To International Protest (February 1, 2008)

Detained Activist Hu Jia Denied Access to Lawyer, His Family Harassed (January 5, 2008)

Hu Jia Detained on Suspicion of “Inciting Subversion of State Power” (December 28, 2007)