- Target:
- Chinese Foreign Ministry, UNHCHR, Navi Pillay, US State Department, EU, Ban Ki-Moon
- Region:
- International
- Website:
- www.amnesty.org
Wang Lihong, 56, was arrested in March on charges of "assembling a crowd to block traffic" amid a government crackdown on dissent following protests in the Middle East and North Africa. In the court, she pleaded not guilty.
Wang Lihong's lawyers say they had limited access to her case documents, in violation of legal provisions on lawyers’ rights, and that during the trial - which only lasted a few hours - they were not given enough time to present a proper defence. The judge repeatedly interrupted both the defendant and her lawyer during the proceedings.
Wang Lihong is a widely known human rights activist who often provides food and clothes for those living on the street waiting to seek justice.
She frequently moves in with activists under police surveillance to provide emotional support. She has visited the wives of detained activists to help them with cooking and child care, and often has helped them find financial support and secure legal aid for their spouses.
Wang Lihong suffers from chronic back pain and her health has deteriorated after several months in detention.
"Wang Lihong is one of many Chinese activists locked up in recent months on spurious charges, simply for exercising their right to peaceful freedom of expression," said Catherine Baber, Asia-Pacific Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
"Her trial is a farce and she should be released immediately."
We the undersigned demand the immediate and unconditional release of Wang Lihong. We further demand that she receive any medical care she may need as a result of her months of imprisonment.
She is being imprisoned and tried solely for her peaceful human rights activism and practicing her legal rights to freedom of expression. As such she is a prisoner of , and both her continued detention and the charges brought against her are illegal under international human rights covenants and treaties to which the People's Republic of China is a signatory state.
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The Free Chinese Human Rights Activist Wang Lihong petition to Chinese Foreign Ministry, UNHCHR, Navi Pillay, US State Department, EU, Ban Ki-Moon was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.