Guest Comments by Amnesty International

In China, the recent (June 23) formal arrest of prominent scholar and activist Liu Xiaobo deserves condemnation. The People’s Daily newspaper reported that police accused Liu of activities like “spreading rumors and defaming the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years”.

Such charges appear to stem from Liu’s support for Charter 08. That document calls for many of the same human-rights protections set out in China’s first-ever National Human Rights Action Plan.

Liu has been detained arbitrarily before. He supported the 1989 democracy movement and spent several years in detention.

His latest arrest follows the crackdowns on activists near the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Massacre and intensified controls on Internet use. These measures demonstrate the authorities’ lack of commitment and total disregard for the Action Plan.

“Such use of state-security charges to punish activists for merely expressing their views must stop,” said Amnesty International’s Roseann Rife. “It’s another act of desperation by a regime terrified of public opinion.”

Police seized Liu from his Beijing home on December 8, two days before the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the original launch date of Charter 08, a blueprint stemming from civil society’s calls for fundamental legal and political reforms in China. Initially signed by 300 Chinese scholars, lawyers and officials, the charter suggests progress toward a democratic system that respects human rights. Since its launch, many signatories have been questioned and harassed by the authorities.

In violation of the Criminal Procedure Law, the police failed to inform Liu’s family where he was detained and to provide a detention notice within 24 hours. Then they placed him under “residential surveillance”, a form of house arrest (with a maximum six-month limit) without charges, access to a lawyer or any due process for more than six months.

Like other human-rights defenders and activists, Liu peacefully exercises his rights to freedom of expression. He should be released immediately and unconditionally.

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