Petition to Hu Jintao for Free Chen Guangcheng and His Family

Created By
Artists Speak Out

Link: http://artistsspeakout.visibli.com/share/CbNaSK

About this Petition

Why this is Important

In 2005 Chen Guangcheng fell foul of the authorities in the Chinese province of Shandong after drawing attention to an illegal campaign of forced abortion and sterilisation which affected thousands of women. After being placed under house arrest, Chen was sentenced in 2006 to four years in prison.

Chen, who is blind, was released from prison having completed his full sentence in September 2010. No further restrictions on his movement were imposed by the courts and according to Chinese law Chen should now be free. However after returning to Donshigu he and his family have faced a catalog of intimidation and harassment and been held prisoners in their own home. Read Petition Letter for further details.

Petition Letter

Release Chen Guangcheng and His Family from Illegal House Arrest

Greetings,

We are gravely concerned about the welfare of human rights activist Chen Guangcheng 陈光诚 and his wife Yuan Weijing 袁伟静 who are currently being held under illegal house arrest in Donshigu village in China.

Chen Guangcheng was released from prison having completed his full sentence in September 2010. No further restrictions on his movement were imposed by the courts and according to Chinese law Chen should now be free. However after returning to Donshigu he and his family have faced a catalog of intimidation and harassment and been held prisoners in their own home.

During the past 12 months neither Chen Guangcheng nor Yuan Weijing have been allowed to leave their house even to shop for groceries or visit the doctor. Their internet connection and phone lines have been disconnected and intrusive surveillance cameras have been installed outside their home. Security personnel monitoring the family have prevented friends and family from visiting. Several raids have been carried out on the house, and the couple have been subjected to a severe beating which left Chen Guangcheng temporarily unconscious and Yuan Weijing without vision in one eye for several days.

There is no legal basis for their ongoing detention and we call on you to bring an end to the campaign of violence and intimidation waged against them and to ask you to lift all restrictions without delay. We also seek your personal guarantee that the family will not be subjected to further acts of violence at the hands of personnel employed directly or indirectly by the state.

[Your name]