Harsh Climate for Human Rights Defenders in China：

2014 in Photos

中国大陆人权捍卫者面临严冬： 2014年图像回顾

In 2014, Chinese activists, writers, lawyers, journalists, artists, and citizens experienced one of the harshest years in government repression and retaliation. CHRD has recorded nearly 1,000 detentions in 2014 for exercising and defending human rights. 2014年是中国政府打压活跃人士、律师、作家、记者、艺术家和其他维权公民最

为严峻的一年，他们因为行使和保护人权受到报复。这一年，我们经核实统计了近一千例剥夺人权捍卫者人身自由的个案。

January 一月A Beijing court sentenced legal advocate

Xu Zhiyong (许志永) to 4 years in prison in

retaliation for his leadership in China’s civil society activism, including his role in the “New Citizens’ Movement (新公民运动).”

January 一月

Beijing police put 12 members of a Christian family church, Sheng’ai

(圣爱), including its leader Xu Yonghai (徐永海), under criminal detention on suspicion of “unlawful assembly and demonstration.”

Starting in early 2013 & throughout 2014 ( 2013年春到2014年底)

Authorities detained 70 activists/lawyers, and by end of 2014, over

1/3 of them have been sentenced to prison in the Crackdown on Peaceful Assembly, Association & Expression.

February 二月Ahead of the annual NPC meeting, authorities detained many petitioners, including Zhang Fengmei (张风梅), of Hunan, shown here locked up at a “discipline center.” Meanwhile, in Liaoning Province, police assaulted victims of Masanjia Reeducation Through Labor Camp seeking compensation. (Below)

March 三月Activist Cao Shunli (曹顺利) died in police custody after Beijing authorities kidnapped her from the Capital International Airport in late 2013 to stop her from attending UN Human Rights Council session, subjected her to mistreatment, and denied her

medical treatment during the 6-month detention.

March 三月Police detained four human rights lawyers who tried to visit their clients—individuals locked up in a “black jail” in Jiansanjiang (建三江), Heilongjiang Province. They were severely beaten while in custody and sustained serious injuries.

March 三月Police violently broke up a rally in Maoming (茂名), Guangdong Province when residents protested the proposed construction of a new chemical plant out of concerns for pollution.

April 四月

Beijing authorities sentenced rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi (丁家喜) to 3 ½years in prison for his role in an anti-corruption campaign. Lawyer Wang Quanping (王全平) was detained briefly for attempting to attend Ding’s trial and for driving a car painted with “The people are welcome to disclose their assets, public servants are exempted.”

152 individuals were affected

during the crackdown around June 4th anniversary, among them 20 arrested while 44 put under criminal detention.

May 五月Police detained and interrogated participants in the “Commemorating June 4th Seminar” in Beijing, including rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志强, front right), who was later formally arrested.

June 六月3 Jiangxi activists jailed: Liu Ping (刘萍) and Wei Zhongping

(魏忠平) each received 6 ½ years, and Li Sihua (李思华) 3years.

June 六月CHRD’s “Medical Watch List” (急需获释就医的良心犯) features detainees & prisoners who suffer from deteriorating health due to deprivation of adequate medical treatment & denied release on medical grounds.

July 七月Authorities sentenced pastor Zhang Shaojie (张少杰, left) of a

Christian church to 12 years in prison. Zhang was active in helping

church members seek justice.

Yunnan-based activist Dong Rubin (董如彬) was sentenced to 6 ½years. His verdict is evidence of the government’s use of the criminal system to persecute netizens and inhibit free speech online.

August 八月 Security forces shot unarmed protestors after a Tibetan village leader was detained in Sichuan.

A group of lawyers outside the Salvation Church in Zhejiang Province, where they tried to defend church members resisting authorities’ order to demolish the church.

A poster announces the cancellation of the 11th Annual Beijing Independent Film Festival.

September 九月Authorities sentenced Uyghur scholar

Ilham Tohti (伊力哈木.土赫提) to life in prison for “separatism.” He was

subjected to inhumane treatment, and was held secretly and denied legal counsel for 6 months during pre-trial detention.

October 十月Individuals Detained for Supporting Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests:

112 detained, including 18 formal

arrests, 31 criminal detentions.

October 十月

CHRD released a report that exposed the abuses, particularly of women locked up in “black

jails” (黑监狱)— roughly 80% of

detainees are female. The report documents cases of reprisals against activists who exposed black jails and sought justice, while officials running the illegal facilities enjoy total impunity.

November 十一月

Police detained women’s rights activist Ye Haiyan (叶海燕) after she attempted to draw public attention to the UN CEDAW review of China.

Dissident journalist Gao Yu (高瑜), activists Sun Desheng (孙德胜) and Guo Feixiong (郭飞雄) stood trial for their efforts in pushing for transparency and free expression.

December 十二月Tibetan activist Tenzin Choedakdied less than halfway through a

15-year sentence.

Activists Li Huaping (李化平), Yao Cheng (姚城), and Zhou Weilin (周伟林)

are sentenced to 2 years, 22 months, and 18 months, respectively,

following prolonged pre-trial detention.

He Zhengjun (何正军, left) of Transition Institute and well-known writer Xu Xiao (徐晓) are detained, a sign of an expanding crackdown targeting liberal intellectuals.

CHRD’s “Partial Data” documents nearly 2,000 cases of activists detained for exercising & defending human rights since 2012. 2012年1月以来，我们已经记录了两千多例任意羁押维权人士和对他们施以酷刑的个案。

Monitor human rights

abuses on:

@CHRDnet

CHRDnet

Sign up to our email list