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China
Call for
clemency for dissident
He Depu
RAHA/15/October/2003
Reporters Without Borders
today appealed for clemency on humanitarian grounds for dissident He
Depu, tried yesterday by a Beijing court which now has 40 days to
announce its verdict and pass sentence. The circumstances of the
trial, which lasted only two hours and denied the most basic rights
of defence, suggest that the sentence could heavy. He appeared to be
in very poor health in court.
"He Depu is seriously ill
and has been the victim of ill-treatment while in prison," Reporters
Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard said. "Keeping him
in detention could prove fatal." He is accused of collaborating with
the banned China Democracy Party and of using the Internet to
distribute messages "inciting subversion."
He's wife, Jia Jianying,
the only person aside from his lawyer allowed to attend the trial,
told Reporters Without Borders that He was constantly interrupted
when he tried to talk during the hearing, especially about the
ill-treatment he has undergone in prison. Except at night-time, He
was forced to stand upright for 85 days. He has lost a lot of weight
and his health has deteriorated seriously. His wife said he has a
liver ailment and his condition is very worrying.
Jia received no news of
He from the moment of his arrest on 4 November 2002 until his trial.
When arresting him, police told her they were just taking him for "a
walk."
He was born on 28 October
1956. He took part in the democracy wall movement in 1979 and
founded the magazine Beijing Youth, which was subsequently banned.
He helped found the China Democracy Party, also outlawed, and was
detained several times for his political activities. He lost his job
with the Social Sciences Academy after standing as a candidate in
local elections in 1990.
Reporters Without Borders defends
imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as
well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in
accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Reporters Without borders has nine national sections (in
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), representatives in Abidjan,
Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Tokyo
and Washington and more than a hundred correspondents worldwide.
© Reporters Without
Borders 2002
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RAHA