Chen Wei (dissident)

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Chen Wei (Chinese: 陈卫) (born February 21, 1969 in Suining , Sichuan Province , People's Republic of China ) is a Chinese dissident and human rights activist . Chen graduated from Beijing Technical University . In December 2011, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power”.

biography

Chen was born on February 21, 1969 in Suining, Sichuan. Chen was one of the student leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests (also known as the Tiananmen Massacre ) when he was studying mechanical engineering at Beijing Technical University. Chen was detained in Qincheng Prison and released in January 1991.

In May 1992, Chen was arrested again and sentenced to five years in prison for organizing a political party and attending a celebration to commemorate the Tiananmen Square protests.

Chen was a signatory to Charter 08 , a manifesto calling for the right to free assembly and the end of one-party rule . Chen is a leading member of the Guizhou human rights group , which Amnesty International has declared an illegal organization. Chen was detained in Tiananmen Square (also known as Tiananmen Square) in 1989 for supporting student protests and served a second ten-year prison term from 1995 to 2006.

Arrested in 2011

On the morning of February 20, 2011, Chen accepted an invitation from the police for tea, but did not return. The Suining City Public Security Bureau released a document on the evening of February 21 stating that Chen had been arrested for "inciting subversion of state power". Officers and security guards later ransacked his home, confiscated a computer, two hard drives, and a USB stick, and detained him at the Suining City Detention Center.

Chinese human rights defenders reported in December 2011 that Chen's case had been handed over to the Suining Municipal Intermediate People's Court in late November 2011 . The authorities tried to prevent Chen's wife from hiring lawyer Liang Xiaojun. Liang was only allowed to see Chen once, while his other lawyer, Zheng Jianwei, saw him twice before the trial. Chen told his attorney that he had not broken any law and that he was only exercising the right guaranteed to all Chinese citizens under the Chinese Constitution, namely to express their views. Chen's lawyer was told that the trial would take place within a week.

On December 23, 2011, Chen was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Suining Township Intermediate People's Court. The reason for his conviction was "incitement to subversion," which Chen allegedly called for in four essays he wrote and published online. It has been said that these essays are intended to contravene Article 105 of the Chinese Criminal Code.

The ambassadors of the European Union in Beijing , Markus Ederer , said the European Union was "deeply concerned" about Chen's conviction and "we support a political debate rather than the use of criminal law as a means of resolving political dissent". Amnesty International declared Chen a prisoner of conscience and requested his immediate release.

Human Rights Watch condemned Chen's arrest, calling it part of the worst crackdown on activists in a decade, and called for an immediate response from international society.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gillian Wong, China sentences rights activist to 9 years' jail , Associated Press, The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 22, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
  2. ↑ a b c Individuals Affected by the Crackdown Following Call for "Jasmine Revolution" , Chinese Human Rights Defenders, March 5, 2012, accessed August 24, 2017
  3. ^ A b c Mary Hennock, China jails dissident Chen Xi for 10 years , The Guardian, December 26, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
  4. ↑ China: More than 200 arrests to quell the "Jasmine revolution" in China , AsiaNews, April 2, 2011, accessed on August 24, 2017
  5. ↑ David Pierson, Online call for protests in China prompts crackdown , Los Angeles Times, February 26, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
  6. ↑ a b c Authorities Sentence Chen Wei to 9 Years for Posting Pro-Democracy Essays, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, December 23, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
  7. ↑ Gillian Wong, China sentences rights activist Chen Wei to nine years in jail , The Independent, December 23, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
  8. ↑ China: Arrests, Disappearances Require International Response , Human Rights Watch, March 31, 2011, accessed August 24, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Chen, Wei
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese dissident
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Suining , Sichuan Province , People's Republic of China