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Previous Action Alerts 3/9/06
March 09, 2006
CHINA: Online journalist detained and facing “incitement for subversion charge” for posting online pro-democracy articles; BANGLADESH: Honorary Member Shoaib Choudhury faces sedition trial within days.
Story Continued...
CLICK HERE TO SEE SAMPLE LETTER OF APPEAL FOR CHINA IN MS WORD FORMAT
CLICK HERE TO SEE SAMPLE LETTER OF APPEAL FOR BANGLADESH IN MS WORD FORMAT
See Below for Full Story and Further Instructions for your Letters of Appeals
CHINA
RAPID ACTION NETWORK
8 March 2006
RAN 12/06
CHINA: Journalist Li Yuanlong charged with ‘inciting subversion’ for articles posted online.
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN protests the charge of subversion against journalist Li Yuanlong, who has been detained since 9 September 2005 for articles he posted online. International PEN demands the immediate and unconditional release of Li Yuanlong and all other writers currently detained in the People’s Republic of China solely for expressing their views, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
According to PEN’s information, Li Yuanlong, a reporter for the daily Bijie Ribao, was arrested on 9 September 2005 by members of the security bureau in Guizhou province in south-west China, after posting articles online critical of local living standards and calling for democracy. The prosecution cited recent articles he had written under the pen-name Ye Lang (Night Wolf) for U.S.-based Chinese language Web sites banned in China, including Boxun News, Epoch Times, ChinaEWeekly and New Century Net. Two articles entitled “In my mind, I am an American” and “Common birth, tragic death” were said to be viewed by the Chinese authorities as particularly “serious”. Li was formally charged with ‘incitement to subversion’ on 9 February 2006, although the indictment was not publicised until late February. His trial is expected to be held in March. Li Yuanlong is known for his reporting on rural poverty in his native Guizhou Province.
Li is held in Bijie Detention Centre without access to family visits, and is said to be in very poor health.
Please send appeals to the Chinese authorities:
- Protesting the detention of journalist Li Yuanlong for allegedly ‘subversive’ articles, and demanding that he receive access to family visits and any necessary medical treatment;
- Calling upon the Chinese authorities to release unconditionally Li Yuanlong and all other writers and journalists currently imprisoned for their writings, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory;
Government addresses:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R.China.
Procurator General Mr. Jia Chunwang
Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Beiheyan Street 147
100726 Beijing
P.R.China
Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals. [For the U.S. that person is
Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong
2300 Connecticut Ave., NW,
Washington, D.C. 20008
No fax number available]
Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible.
For further information, please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN WiPC, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)207 253 3226, fax: +44 (0)207 253 5711, email: cmccann@wipcpen.org
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BANGLADESH
(Also, you may CLICK HERE for PEN USA’s own story on Shoaib Choudhury)
RAPID ACTION NETWORK
6 March 2006
Update #2 to RAN 23/04
BANGLADESH: Journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Chaudhury receives death threat.
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is seriously concerned for the safety of journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Chaudhury, who reportedly received a death threat on 26 February 2006 from a militant Islamist leader for his writings. The police are not thought to have responded to Chaudhury’s complaint about this threat. Chaudhury is currently on trial for sedition for his perceived association with Israel and his criticism of the spread of Islamist militancy in Bangladesh in his writings. International PEN calls upon the Bangladeshi authorities to provide Chaudhury with effective police protection immediately. PEN protests the charges against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Chaudhury, and urges that they are dropped in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to PEN’s information, Salah Uddin Shoaib Chaudhury, editor of the tabloid weekly Blitz, was arrested by security personnel at Zia International Airport, Dhaka, on 29 November 2003 whilst en route for Israel to participate in a conference with the Hebrew Writers Association. Chaudhury was planning to address a writers’ symposium in Tel Aviv entitled “Bridges Through Culture”, and was scheduled to speak about “the role of media in establishing peace”. Bangladesh has no diplomatic relations with Israel and travel to Israel is illegal for Bangladeshi citizens. Intelligence forces claim that documents found in Chaudhury’s briefcase – in particular the text of his speech and reports on the human rights situation in Bangladesh – provide evidence to support the charges against him. He is accused of having links to an Israeli intelligence agency and is said to have been under surveillance for several months. Choudhury is known for his work to improve relations between Muslim countries and Israel, and has written articles against anti-Israeli attitudes in Muslim countries and about the rise of al-Qaeda in Bangladesh which had reportedly sparked debate in the Bangladeshi press and government prior to his arrest. The charge carries a maximuim penalty of death or thirty years imprisonment. Choudhury was repeatedly denied a bail hearing before being released on bail on 2 May 2005 following appeals by PEN USA, of whom he is an honorary member. His trial is currently underway and the next hearing is scheduled for 9 March 2006.
Chaudhury reportedly received a telephone death threat on 26 February 2006 by a man claiming to be Bangla Bhai, the alias of Islamist leader Siddiqul Islam, who was sentenced in absentia in February 2006 to 40 years in prison for a bomb attack that killed two judges in November 2005. International PEN continues to be alarmed at the ongoing pattern of violence against journalists in Bangladesh, who are frequently threatened and attacked with apparent impunity solely for the practice of their profession (see previous alerts).
Please send appeals:
- expressing serious concerns for the safety of journalist Salah Uddin Chaudhury, and calling for him to be provided with immediate and effective police protection;
- Protesting the charges against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and calling for them to be dropped in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Please send appeals to:
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia
Office of the Prime Minister
Gona Bhaban
Sher-e Bangla Nagar
Dhaka
Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 811 3243 / 3244 / 1015 / 1490
(Dear Prime Minister)
Md. Lutfuzzaman Babar
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh Secretariat
Building 4
Dhaka - 1000
Bangladesh
Fax: +880 2 861 9667
(Dear Home Minister)
You may also wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Bangladesh in your country to forward your appeals, and to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Bangladesh to intervene in the case.
For further information, please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN WiPC, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)20 7253 3226, fax: +(0)20 7253 5711, email: cmccann@wipcpen.org