Mongolian Activist In Danger, Please Get Involved
Amnesty International reports that Mongolian activist Jaranbayar Soyolt has been detained by the Chinese authorities since January 6 for alleged involvement in "overseas activities harmful to China’s security".
Originally a Chinese citizen from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, he legally left China and settled in Mongolia in 1991, and became a Mongolian citizen in 1997. His current whereabouts are unknown, and he is at grave risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Soyolt was detained by immigration officials at Beijing Capital International Airport, as he entered the country with two business colleagues. His colleagues wentthroughimmigration and customs at the airport before him. After waiting for him for two hours, his colleagues returned to inquire about the reason for his delay.
At the customs counter, they saw Soyolt handcuffed and surrounded by five policemen. Soyolt told his colleagues that he had been arrested by the Chinese police and asked them to contact his family and the Mongolian Embassy in Beijing immediately on his behalf.
Soyolt telephoned one of his colleagues on January11, under duress from the Chinese authorities and that he was being detained in Beijing because of problems with his passport, and asked that nothing about his arrest be revealed to foreign media in order not to “make things worse”.
As a result of this threat, his family has not publicized his case until recently. They have not had any further contact with Jaranbayar Soyolt since this telephone call.
On January 31, Beijing Public Security officials confirmed that Soyolt had entered China through the airport on January 6, though they had previously denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. According to their latest statement, the Chinese authorities have placed Soyolt under "house arrest."
Soyolt is a human rights activist and a founding member of several exiled dissident groups based in Mongolia. In 1981 he was one of the leaders of the Mongolian Student Movement, a mass protest by ethnic Mongolian students and academics against the Chinese Central Government’s plan to migrate 600,000 ethnic Han-Chinese into Inner Mongolia without consulting local communities.
In 1992, he went into exile in Mongolia. From here, he continued his human rights activities. In 1993, he gave a speech at the World Mongolian Alliance First Congress publicaly criticizing China’s ethnic policy as one of “ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide”.
He was later granted asylum in Mongolia and Mongolian citizenship in 1997. The Chinese authorities have labeled him a Mongolian separatist and have claimed that he is plotting to overthrow the ruling communist party of China.
Soyolt suffers from ill-health, and in the light of this and of persistent reports about torture and other ill-treatment of political dissidents in China, Amnesty International is extremely concerned for his well-being and safety.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible in Chinese (Mandarin), English or your own language:
—Calling on the Chinese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of Jaranbayar Soyolt, who was detained at Beijing Capital International Airport on 6 January;
—Urging the authorities to release him immediately, or to charge him with a recognizably criminal offense and ensure he is tried promptly in proceedings which meet international fair trial standards;
—Seeking assurances that he is treated humanely in detention, and not tortured or ill-treated;
—Calling on the authorities to give him immediate and regular access to his family, a lawyer of his choice, and any medical treatment he may require.
APPEALS TO:
Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau
MA Zhenchuan Juzhang
Beijingshi Gong'anju
9 Qianmen Dongdajie
Dongchengqu
Beijingshi 100740
People's Republic of China
Email: wbjc＠sohu.com
Salutation: Dear Director
Director of the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau
WU Yuhua Juzhang
Beijingshi Sifaju
12 Xinjiekouwaidajie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100088
People's Republic of China
Email: webmaster@bjsf.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Director
COPIES TO:
Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
Dr Galsen BATSUKH
Embassy of Mongolia
No 2, Xiushui Beijie Jian Guo,
Men Wai Da Jie
Beijing,
People’s Republic of China;
Fax: +86 10 6532 5045
The fax number listed can be unreliable, please keep trying.
And to diplomatic representatives of China accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 July 2008.
Originally a Chinese citizen from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, he legally left China and settled in Mongolia in 1991, and became a Mongolian citizen in 1997. His current whereabouts are unknown, and he is at grave risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Soyolt was detained by immigration officials at Beijing Capital International Airport, as he entered the country with two business colleagues. His colleagues wentthroughimmigration and customs at the airport before him. After waiting for him for two hours, his colleagues returned to inquire about the reason for his delay.
At the customs counter, they saw Soyolt handcuffed and surrounded by five policemen. Soyolt told his colleagues that he had been arrested by the Chinese police and asked them to contact his family and the Mongolian Embassy in Beijing immediately on his behalf.
Soyolt telephoned one of his colleagues on January11, under duress from the Chinese authorities and that he was being detained in Beijing because of problems with his passport, and asked that nothing about his arrest be revealed to foreign media in order not to “make things worse”.
As a result of this threat, his family has not publicized his case until recently. They have not had any further contact with Jaranbayar Soyolt since this telephone call.
On January 31, Beijing Public Security officials confirmed that Soyolt had entered China through the airport on January 6, though they had previously denied any knowledge of his whereabouts. According to their latest statement, the Chinese authorities have placed Soyolt under "house arrest."
Soyolt is a human rights activist and a founding member of several exiled dissident groups based in Mongolia. In 1981 he was one of the leaders of the Mongolian Student Movement, a mass protest by ethnic Mongolian students and academics against the Chinese Central Government’s plan to migrate 600,000 ethnic Han-Chinese into Inner Mongolia without consulting local communities.
In 1992, he went into exile in Mongolia. From here, he continued his human rights activities. In 1993, he gave a speech at the World Mongolian Alliance First Congress publicaly criticizing China’s ethnic policy as one of “ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide”.
He was later granted asylum in Mongolia and Mongolian citizenship in 1997. The Chinese authorities have labeled him a Mongolian separatist and have claimed that he is plotting to overthrow the ruling communist party of China.
Soyolt suffers from ill-health, and in the light of this and of persistent reports about torture and other ill-treatment of political dissidents in China, Amnesty International is extremely concerned for his well-being and safety.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible in Chinese (Mandarin), English or your own language:
—Calling on the Chinese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of Jaranbayar Soyolt, who was detained at Beijing Capital International Airport on 6 January;
—Urging the authorities to release him immediately, or to charge him with a recognizably criminal offense and ensure he is tried promptly in proceedings which meet international fair trial standards;
—Seeking assurances that he is treated humanely in detention, and not tortured or ill-treated;
—Calling on the authorities to give him immediate and regular access to his family, a lawyer of his choice, and any medical treatment he may require.
APPEALS TO:
Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau
MA Zhenchuan Juzhang
Beijingshi Gong'anju
9 Qianmen Dongdajie
Dongchengqu
Beijingshi 100740
People's Republic of China
Email: wbjc＠sohu.com
Salutation: Dear Director
Director of the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau
WU Yuhua Juzhang
Beijingshi Sifaju
12 Xinjiekouwaidajie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100088
People's Republic of China
Email: webmaster@bjsf.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Director
COPIES TO:
Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
Dr Galsen BATSUKH
Embassy of Mongolia
No 2, Xiushui Beijie Jian Guo,
Men Wai Da Jie
Beijing,
People’s Republic of China;
Fax: +86 10 6532 5045
The fax number listed can be unreliable, please keep trying.
And to diplomatic representatives of China accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 July 2008.
posted by Marco Polo at
Monday, June 09, 2008
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