arbitrary detention

Petitioners File Lawsuit Against Government for Illegal Detention in 'Black Jail'

A group of petitioners who had been held in an illegal “black jail” filed suit, presumably under the Administrative Litigation Law, against the government officials who kidnapped them in Beijing. Provincial and local governments rely on these makeshift detention facilities, commonly referred to as black jails, to imprison individuals who travel to Beijing to petition central government authorities to investigate abuses of power perpetrated by local officials.

More Than 20 Activists Detained After Trying to Visit Cao Shunli in the Hospital

Police detained more than 20 individuals who attempted to visit activist Cao Shunli at the 309 Military Hospital in Beijing. One activist, Wang Ling, said that a nurse blocked the entrance to the intensive care unit where Cao is undergoing treatment, telling the visitors that she is deeply unconscious and would not recognize them.

Mass Protest in Wuhan Results in Beatings and Extrajudicial Detention

Approximately 600 people gathered outside of the National People’s Congress building in Wuhan, Hebei province to protest the practice of local authorities forcibly evicting residents from their land to make way for commercial development projects. The forcible expropriation of land has long served as a primary cause of unrest and mass protests in China. A recent study found that nearly half of all rural residents have had land forcibly taken from them.

New York Times Highlights Arbitrary Detention in Custody and Education Centers

Highlighting the persistence of China’s vast system of arbitrary detention institutions following the passage of legislation abolishing the laojiao labor camp system, the New York Times published an article describing conditions in Custody and Education Centers, detention institutions in which sex workers are imprisoned for up to two years at the discretion of public security officials.

Re-education Through Labor Abolished Yet Arbitrary Detention Remains

Although economic reforms have been the focus of China’s Central Committee conferences this past week, significant strides were made in social policy as well. In addition to changes of the country’s One Child Policy, China has also promised reform of its re-education through labor system. Despite China’s progressive rhetoric, human rights activists should not retract their condemnation of China’s elevation to a UN Human Rights Council seat. After all, the re-education through labor system is not China’s only tool to arbitrarily repress dissent.

Chinese Activist Detained for Retweeting News of Unrest in Xinjiang Province

Chinese police detained activist Liu Linna for "retweeting" news of unrest in Xinjiang province on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter. She is currently being held in an administrative detention facility in Henan province. 

Liu's detention follows the detention of a 16 year-old boy who was arrested in Gansu province for retweeting information. The teenager was the first target of China's latest crackdown on online rumors. New laws make it an offense to engage in online "rumor mongering," defined as posting a message that is viewed at least 5,000 or retweeted over 500 times.