Call on China to immediately release lawyer Tang Jitian, who has been extralegally detained since December 2021
Call on China to immediately release lawyer Tang Jitian, who has been extralegally detained since December 2021
June 12, 2022
Chinese human rights lawyer Tang Jitian (唐吉田) has been detained extralegally since December 10, 2021 by Beijing and Jilin state security under the pretext of “maintaining stability,” while his only daughter, Tang Zhengqi, is in a coma in Japan.
We understand that Mr. Tang has recently made repeated requests to the head of the State Security Bureau of Yanji City and the State Security Detachment of Yanbian Prefecture Public Security Bureau to end his inhumane and illegal detention. However, they all refused, saying that they needed to ask for instructions and consent from the State Security Bureau of the Jilin Provincial Public Security Department, the Beijing Public Security Bureau, and the Ministry of Public Security.
Mr. Tang has explained to the these agencies that his daughter is critically ill, that her care can no longer be delayed, and that continuing his detention will aggravate her condition and endanger her life. He said further that she is also in desperate financial difficulty.
Ms. Tang, who is suffering from severe tuberculosis, has been hospitalized at St. Luke’s Hospital in Tokyo for more than a year. She faces many challenges that only he, her father, can solve, including arranging for her treatment and raising the necessary funds to cover the costs of her medical care. He said that there is no one else who can take responsibility for these matters. Though his ex-wife, Liu Fenglan, is now in Japan taking care of their daughter on her own, Ms. Liu is suffering from both physical and psychological pain, and is on the verge of a breakdown.
Despite this dire situation, the Chinese government has deprived Mr. Tang of his personal freedom, leaving his ex-wife to struggle alone under the burden of such a devastating disaster, which is a complete violation of basic human decency.
Mr. Tang’s own health has been deteriorating since his detention. Due to previous beatings by the Chinese police, his thighs and elbows were injured; the recurring pain is often unbearable. In addition, he is also suffering from lumbar spine tuberculosis and there is a high risk this his condition could flare up again at any time. He needs to receive regular medical checkups for his medical condition, but he has not been examined by a physician since last year; he is now overdue to have another exam. Furthermore, Mr. Tang receives little sunlight in custody and has no access to normal activities.
In addition, because of worry for his daughter, he has been feeling quite depressed and as a result, his blood sugar levels have risen dangerously. Mr. Tang’s gums are swollen and bleeding, the corners of his mouth are blistered, and he suffers from impaired vision. We recently learned that on the night of June 3, Mr. Tang suddenly collapsed while using the toilet, hitting his head on the ground. He has shown symptoms of a concussion from his fall.
The Chinese government must not turn a blind eye to his suffering and allow yet another tragedy to happen.
Tang Jitian was a prosecutor who could have enjoyed a comfortable life working for the Party and the State. However, for the sake of the rule of law and democracy in China, he decided to become a human rights lawyer to defend the dignity of the law and protect the basic human rights of the Chinese people.
Mr. Tang has been subjected to horrific persecution by the Chinese government. He has been repeatedly harassed, followed, illegally detained and even brutally beaten for his defense of human rights. The Chinese government has done this under the pretext of maintaining stability. Furthermore, his lawyer’s license was illegally revoked by the Chinese authorities in 2010 after he tried to promote direct elections in the Lawyer’s Association.
However, he has never given up fighting on the front lines to defend human rights. As a result, Mr. Tang was recognized for his important work when he was given the 2018 “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” Human Rights Prize of the French Republic, awarded each year by the Prime Minister of the French Government.
Mr. Tang and his family urgently need help. We appeal to the international community and all UN member states to:
- Urge the Chinese government to release Tang Jitian immediately. He is not a criminal; he is an honorable citizen of China. The Chinese government should not continue to detain him without due process and should not violate his basic personal freedom.
- Call on the Chinese government to allow Tang Jitian to fulfill his duty as a father to personally care for his critically ill daughter, and urge China to give him back his lawyer’s license in accordance with the law, and allow him to work normally.
- Ask the Chinese government to, out of basic respect for humanity, allow Tang Jitian to visit Japan to care for his daughter.
We call on the international community to urge the Chinese government to respect and protect human rights and to fulfill its international obligations to protect human rights as a member of the international community. We also urge China to immediately restore the personal freedom of lawyer Tang Jitian.
Related:
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/tortured-12212021124026.html
《呼吁国际社会关注唐吉田律师被非法长时间维稳羁押事件》
中国人权律师唐吉田自2021年12月10日至今已经被北京国保和吉林国保以维稳名义关押了六个多月，而他身患重病的独生女儿此时在日本昏迷不醒已一年有余。
据悉，最近唐吉田律师连续与延吉市公安局国保大队长和延边州公安局国保支队沟通，要求解除对他毫无人道、严重违法的非法羁押的措施，但他们均以需要向吉林省公安厅国保局、北京市公安局方面和公安部请示、协调与同意为由，拒不解除非法的维稳措施。
据悉，唐吉田律师多次向他们说明其女儿目前病重，在日本缺钱少药，健康状况已容不得再这样拖延，继续这样下去必然加重病情，危及其女儿生命。唐吉田女儿唐正琪因罹患重症肺结核，瘫痪在床，生命岌岌可危，在日本圣路加医院住院已一年多。面临的许多难题都有待他本人亲自解决，包括筹集治疗费用、寻医问药等。这些事情无法假手于人，无人可以替代。现仅其前妻孤身一人在日本照料女儿。她语言不通，一方面既要照顾病重的女儿，又要在人生地不熟的日本谋生，正遭受着身体与心理的双重折磨与打击，几近崩溃。在这个家庭面临如此艰难的情况之时，中国政府竟然限制唐吉田的人身自由，继续让一个弱女子苦撑重大家庭灾难，此种做法完全违背人伦，可谓天理难容。
据了解，目前唐吉田本人健康状况也很糟糕，因早些年中国警察对其施暴留下大腿根部及胳膊肘受伤部位旧伤反复发作，经常疼痛难忍，加上其个人处于休眠状态的腰椎结核，由于如此长期被羁押接受不到阳光及获得正常的活动，随时都面临复发的危险，需要按时复查（据悉，其腰椎结核是去年在北京复查，今年又到了需要马上复查的时间；加之因其女儿病重住院后忧虑成疾，现血糖已严重增高，增加了复发的风险）。由于长期被羁押加上忧女成疾，最近他牙龈肿胀出血，嘴角起泡，眼睛也出现了问题。我们最近了解到，6月3日晚，唐先生突然在厕所里摔倒，头部着地，因此出现了脑震荡的症状。中国政府不该对这一切熟视无睹，再制造一出人间悲剧。
唐吉田原是体制里可以享受安逸生活的检察官，但其为了中国社会的法治、民主与人权保护，毅然地选择去做一名人权律师，捍卫法律的尊严，保护中国人的基本人权免受侵害。他因代理人权案件，屡遭骚扰、跟踪，乃至被殴打骨折。为了推动律协直选，他的律师证被中国当局非法吊销，但他从未言弃，坚持战斗在捍卫人权工作的一线，多年来可谓披心沥血。唐吉田律师曾获得2018年度法兰西共和国“自由平等博爱”人权奖。中共屡屡对他施加各种打击报复，殴打、拘禁，常以维稳为名行非法羁押之实。
中国人权律师唐吉田受到的迫害骇人听闻，他和家人急需帮助。我们向外界及各国政府呼吁：
1、请敦促中国政府立即解除对唐吉田律师的维稳措施，释放唐吉田，还他人身自由。他不是罪犯，他是中国一名杰出的公民，中国政府不该继续以维稳的名义羁押一个公民，侵害公民最基本的人身自由权。
2、请让中国政府让唐吉田律师可以自由自主地为其病重的女儿做后援等分内之事，依法撤销对他吊销律师证的不当处罚，允许他正常工作；
3、请中国政府从人性、人伦等角度出发，允许其去日本探望、陪护、照料其罹患重病的女儿。
4、呼请世界卫生组织结核病和艾滋病防治亲善大使及联合国教科文组织促进女童和妇女教育特使、中国大陆国家主席第一夫人彭丽媛女士，为唐吉田律师在日本求学罹患肺结核的女儿，履行保护其国民的基本责任与义务，以展现她亲善大使与教育特使的正面形象。
我们呼吁国际社会敦促中国政府尊重和保障人权，遵守与履行作为国际社会成员应当承担的保护人权的国际义务，立即恢复唐吉田律师的人身自由。
2022年6月9日
联署名单 / Co-signatories (前35位联署人为呼吁书共同发起人):
周锋锁，人道中国主席 Zhou Fengsuo, President of Humanitarian China
傅希秋，对华援助协会创办人 Bob Fu, founder of China Aid
方政，中国民主教育基金会会长 Fang Zheng, president of Chinese Democracy Education Foundation
张菁，中国妇权创办人 Zhang Jing, founder of Women’s Rights in China
孙立勇，澳大利亚中国政治及宗教受难者后援会召集人 Sun Liyong, convener of China Political and Religious Victims Association
彼得·达林，人权卫士创办人 Peter Dahlin, Director of Safeguard Defenders China Action
万延海，公共卫生专家 Wan Yanhai, public health expert
慕亦仁，美国记者 Paul Mooney, American journalist
阿古智子，东京大学教授 Tomoko Ako, Professor, the University of Tokyo
朴成秀，韩国民主人士 South Korea‘s pro-democracy campaigner
巴雷特·麦考密克，美国教授 Barrett L. McCormick, Professor Emeritus, Marquette University
艾莉森·w·康纳，美国法学教授 Alison W. Conner, Professor of Law Emerita, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
约瑟夫黄宗泽，美国国防部（退休）Joseph Bosco, Dept. of Defense (ret.)
科林·霍斯，澳大利亚法学教授 Colin Hawes, Professor of Law University of Technology Sydney
苏晓康，流亡作家 Su Xiaokang, exiled writer
杨子立，公民运动学者 Yang Zili, citizens’ movement scholar
王天成，宪政学者 Wang Tiancheng, constitutional law scholar
滕彪，人权律师 Teng Biao, human rights lawyer and scholar
刘巍，人权律师 Liu Wei, human rights lawyer
刘士辉，人权律师 Liu Shihui, human rights lawyer
王清鹏，人权律师 Wang Qingpeng, human rights lawyer
吴绍平，人权律师 Wu Shaoping, human rights lawyer
向莉，人权捍卫者 Xiang Li, human rights defender
李方，人权捍卫者 Li Fang, human rights defender
耿和，高智晟律师妻子 Geng He, wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng (currently detained)
罗胜春，丁家喜妻子 Sophie Luo, wife of human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi (currently detained)
董广平，民主人士 Dong Guangping, pro-democracy campaigner
王剑虹，张展关注组发起人 Jane Wang, Free Zhang Zhan campgaigner
赵中元，加拿大 Zhao Zhongyuan, Canada
赵昕，美国 Zhao Xin, USA
邱家军，自由中国运动召集人 John Churchill, convener of Free China Movements
陈立群，美国 Chen Liqun, USA
葛洵，美国 Ge Xun, USA
成秋波，美国 Cheng Qiubo, USA
张海，中国 Zhang Hai, China
李隽，澳大利亚 Li Juan, Australia
王龙蒙，法国 Wang Longmeng, France
孟元新，美国 Meng Yuanxin, USA
王瑞琴，美国 Anna Wang, USA
（如果您愿意参加联署，请将“姓名和所在地区”发邮件到此邮箱：freetangjitian@gmail.com）
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