The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of China on 11 September 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government replied on 14 November 2024, which was recently translated and made available.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the alleged arbitrary detention of human rights defenders Ji Xiaolong and Chen Pinlin.
Mr. Ji Xiaolong is a human rights defender and online blogger, writing about human rights issues and democracy. He has been imprisoned previously 2015 in connection with his human rights advocacy, spending 15 days in administrative detention on the charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for online articles he had written in relation to democracy and constitutionalism.
Mr. Chen Pinlin is a human rights defender and online blogger.
UN experts have previously communicated concerns to the Chinese Government regarding the indictment and detention of human rights defenders and journalists for their reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government’s corresponding policies and response. We raised such concerns in communications sent on 4 May 2020 (AL CHN 8/2020) and 15 November 2021 (UA CHN 12/2021).
ALLEGATIONS
Concerning Mr. Ji Xiaolong
In 2018, following a speech given by the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in which he spoke about improving public toilet facilities, Mr. Ji Xiaolong began his “toilet revolution” campaign whereby he would write slogans criticizing the President and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in public toilets.
In July 2018, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was detained in relation to his toilet revolution campaign. From 25 August – 30 September 2018 he was held in ‘Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location’ (RSDL).
In January 2019, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was tried and convicted of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Whilst imprisoned in Shanghai Baimaoling Prison he was reportedly subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
On 9 February 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was released from prison upon completion of his sentence. Following his release, Mr. Ji Xiaolong began to post online about the Shanghai Government’s COVID-19 lockdown measures.
On 2 April 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong posted a ‘citizen’s petition’ on WeChat and X, which called on the Government to end its restrictive pandemic regulations. As a result of the petition, his WeChat account was blocked.
On 4 April 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong released an open letter to “All Public Officials” on his X account, where he had 32,000 followers. The following day, he gave an interview to a foreign media outlet in which he discussed his online criticism of the Government’s pandemic response.
On 30 April 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was briefly detained at Meiyuan New Village Police Station on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. The police confiscated his phone, ID card and passport, none of which have been returned to him or his family since. He was released on bail the following day.
Following this initial questioning, Mr. Ji Xiaolong continued to post online, and was detained by police officers and national security officers for questioning on 29 May, 4 June and 23 August 2022.
On 29 August 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong posted an open letter on X in which he criticized the Secretary of the CCP at the time, Li Qiang, calling on him to step down and take accountability for the “humanitarian disaster” of the COVID-19 lockdown measures the Government had imposed. The letter also criticized President Xi Jinping for his amendment of the constitution and intent to rule for life. He also mentioned in the letter that the police had not allowed him to travel back to his hometown to care for his elderly parents and obtain his social insurance card. Mr. Ji Xiaolong created the open letter as a non-fungible token (NFT), so that it could not be censored and would always exist online.
On the afternoon of 31 August 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was detained by police at his home and taken to Meiyuan New Village Police Station of the Pudong Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, where he was placed in criminal detention on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. The police reportedly did not show an arrest warrant.
On 2 September 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s partner was verbally informed that he had been criminally detained, and two days later his parents received a written criminal detention notice at their home in Jiangsu Province.
On 17 September 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong spoke to his lawyer for the first time since being detained, via video call. During the call he told his lawyer that he was suffering from gum disease and untreated dental issues, that the cells were crowded and that he was not receiving his family’s packages to him, allegedly due to pandemic measures.
On 23 September 2022, Ji Xiaolong was formally arrested, according to a written notice received by his parents on 27 September 2022.
On 30 September 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was granted another video call with his lawyer, during which he told him that he was only granted one hot shower a week and that his dental issues remained untreated.
On 1 November 2022, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was granted his first in-person meeting with his lawyer, after being detained for over two months. During the meeting, he told his lawyer that the cell he was in which was designed to accommodate 25 people was holding more than 60. As a result, they could not sleep in a normal position. His toothache had also become severe, yet his requests for treatment were reportedly ignored.
On 11 January 2023, Mr. Ji Xiaolong met with his lawyer, and told him that the investigation related to the charges against him was reportedly focused on the comments he had made online relating to the COVID-19 pandemic measures, which the police were treating as spreading rumours and insulting national leaders in relation to his comments about Secretary Li Qiang and President Xi Jinping.
On 17 March 2023, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was indicted by the Shanghai Pudong New District Procuratorate. The statement announcing his indictment accused him of publishing or forwarding “a large number of false information that seriously damaged the country’s image” and that he did so when out on bail. The statement did not mention the COVID-19 pandemic or specify which information was ‘false’.
On 26 April 2023, Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s lawyer visited him in detention and learned that he still had not received dental treatment and that the conditions in the detention centre were very difficult. His lawyer was denied permission to read the case files, contrary to article 40 of the Criminal Procedure Law which allows lawyers to read, copy and reproduce case files once the case has been transferred to the procuratorate for review, as Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s case had been.
On 21 June 2023, Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s trial began before the Shanghai Pudong New District People’s Court. It was only that morning that Mr. Ji Xiaolong was informed that the trial would be starting that day, contrary to article 187 of the Criminal Procedure which stipulates that trial summons should be sent at least three days prior to the start date. The detention centre reportedly prevented Mr. Ji Xiaolong from bringing the defence materials he had prepared with him to the court. He reportedly complained to the judge regarding these two issues, however the judge did not respond. His lawyers requested that the court exclude unlawfully obtained evidence, including statements taken from Mr. Ji Xiaolong and his partner, as they were reportedly done so under duress and subjected to ill-treatment. The court obliged and these statements were excluded from the trial. Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s appearance had drastically changed since being detained, as he was extremely thin and his hair had turned partially white.
On 27 October 2023, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was convicted of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ and sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison. In its judgement the court stated that Mr. Ji Xiaolong “spread a large amount of false information on overseas social networks, instigated trouble and confused the public”, yet did not specify which information or content it deemed false. The court also reportedly claimed that Mr. Ji Xiaolong was a ‘repeat offender’ due to his previous convictions, justifying his sentence.
On 17 March 2024, the appeal hearing for Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s case took place at Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court. During the hearing, Mr. Ji Xiaolong read out a statement in which he recalled that since being detained he had not been provided with glasses, books or dental treatment, and that his arrest was in connection with his public appeals to Government officials to reverse restrictive pandemic measures, and his open letter to Li Qiang. The judge reportedly interrupted his statement, and the hearing ended without a new hearing being announced.
On 17 April 2024, the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court ruled against Mr. Ji Xiaolong’s appeal and upheld his sentence.
In early June 2024, Mr. Ji Xiaolong was transferred to Shanghai New Prison. By mid-July 2024, his family’s application to visit him was yet to be approved.
Concerning Mr. Chen Pinlin
On 26 November 2022, Mr. Chen Pinlin attended and filmed a protest on Urumqi Middle Road in Shanghai, in response to a fire two days prior in Urumqi City, Xinjiang during which several residents died as they had been unable to escape due to lockdown measures. Many residents had gathered on Urumqi Middle Road and chanted slogans for President Xi Jinping to resign, with some being detained by the authorities. This protest would be one of the first in the wider ‘White Paper Protests’ or ‘White Paper Movement’ (also referred to as the ‘A4 Revolution’) that began in response to the fire in Urumqi City.
On 27 November 2023, on the first anniversary of the ‘White Paper Protests’, Mr. Chen Pinlin released a documentary on YouTube titled ‘Urumqi Middle Road’ which included both his own footage of the fires and footage he had received from others attending the protest. He also posted and promoted the documentary on X, Reddit and Instagram.
Close to midnight on 28 November 2023, police officers arrived at the home of Mr. Chen Pinlin and summoned him with a legal notice and search warrant. An individual who witnessed the arrest reported that the police cautioned them against speaking publicly about the arrest and that they were just taking Mr. Chen Pinlin away for questioning, and speaking publicly would harm his case. This individual notified Mr. Chen Pinlin’s family. It is not clear whether they received a written arrest notice.
Mr. Chen Pinlin’s family were unable to find a lawyer willing to represent him until mid-December 2023, reportedly due to the sensitive nature of his case. On 27 December he met with this lawyer for the first time, however the lawyer relocated abroad shortly after, therefore no longer representing Chen Pinlin.
On 5 January 2024, Mr. Chen Pinlin was formally arrested on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
On 8 February 2024, Mr. Chen Pinlin met with his newly appointed lawyer for the first time, as the previous lawyer had relocated abroad. The meetings he has had with his lawyer have reportedly been monitored by the police.
On 18 February 2024, Mr. Chen Pinlin’s case was transferred to the procuratorate’s office for prosecution.
On 3 April 2024, Mr. Chen Pinlin was indicted by Shanghai Baoshan District Procuratorate. The indictment states the reason for his arrest as shooting the footage of and producing the documentary about the Urumqi Middle Road protest and sharing it on social media platforms for economic benefits. It alleged that the content of the documentary was false, and Mr. Chen Pinlin had knowingly spread fabricated information, therefore disrupting public order, and included insulting remarks about national leaders, damaging the country’s image and endangering national interests.
On 7 June 2024, Mr. Chen Pinlin’s trial was due to start. However, it was postponed by the court, allegedly due to requiring more time to prepare. As of today, the rescheduled date is yet to be communicated to Mr. Chen Pinlin.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our concern regarding the allegedly arbitrary detention, conviction and sentencing of Mr. Ji Xiaolong and Mr. Chen Pinlin on charges of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ (article 293, Criminal Law) in relation to exercising their right to freedom of expression as part of their peaceful and legitimate human rights work. It would appear that in both Mr. Ji Xiaolong and Mr. Chen Pinlin’s cases their criticism of the Government and its policies, particularly those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, are the source of the charges against them, in violation of their human rights to freedom of expression, which provides for critical or dissenting opinions of Government activities, and therefore in contravention of China’s human rights obligations under international law. The use of vaguely worded provisions such as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” and their persistent use against human rights defenders to unduly criminalize their legitimate activities and exercising of their freedom of expression, is cause for serious concern, as has been communicated by UN experts to the Chinese Government on a number of occasions in recent years (UA CHN 12/2021, AL CHN 4/2021, AL CHN 11/2020, AL CHN 22/2019, AL CHN 15/2019, AL CHN 14/2019). As highlighted by the former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression in his report to the Human Rights Council on disease pandemics, whilst restriction of the right may be permitted if it is aimed at protecting public health, as per article 19(3) of the ICCPR, such a restriction must still meet the basic conditions of legality and necessity.[1]
We also wish to express concern in relation to the previous detention in RSDL and alleged torture and ill-treatment inflicted on Mr. Ji Xiaolong. Special Procedures mandate holders have repeatedly expressed their concerns regarding the use of RSDL to the Chinese Government and its incompatibility with international human rights law (AL CHN 1/2024, AL CHN 5/2023, AL CHN 10/2022, AL CHN 8/2022, AL CHN 2/2022, OL CHN 15/2018). Such concerns have highlighted that the conditions of detention entailed in RSDL are tantamount to incommunicado detention, placing those detained at a heightened risk of torture and other inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearance, whilst also denying the right to a fair trial, the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty and their right to counsel and family visits. Furthermore, if the allegations of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment are established, this would be contrary to the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, a jus cogens norm in international law from which no derogation is permitted.
[1] A/HRC/44/49 §13
