UN experts urge China to stop ill-treatment of imprisoned hunger striker

4 August 2016 - Expressing deep concern about the critical health condition of a prisoner on hunger strike for three months, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on the Government of China to stop all forms of ill-treatment and urgently provide him with specialized medical care, based on his full and informed consent.

Prominent Chinese human rights defender Yang Maodong, known by his pen-name 'Guo Feixiong,' was arrested in August 2013 for taking part in a public protest against official censorship of a Guangzhou newspaper, and has been sentenced to six years in prison on charges of "gathering crowds to disturb public order" and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."

"We are concerned about repeated incidents of degrading and humiliating treatment suffered by Mr. Guo in detention, both at the hands of other inmates and prison guards at Yangchun Prison in Guangdong province," they said in a news release.

Mr. Guo has been on hunger strike for almost three months, demanding to be transferred to another prison where he would be free from ill-treatment.

The experts argued that his public profile as a human rights defender seems to have been the cause and aggravating factor for the denial of appropriate medical care and ill-treatment, which included sleep deprivation, harassment, and humiliating medical procedure filmed by prison officials for public release.

"Mr. Guo's six-year imprisonment is connected to his peaceful and legitimate human rights activities," the experts said. "His only wrong-doing was to have exercised his rights to peaceful assembly and expression concerning censorship in China."

The experts reiterated that the criminalization of legitimate human rights activities and the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly that has formed the legal basis for the arrest, conviction and detention of Mr. Guo, is incompatible with China's obligations under international human rights law.

They recalled that in 2015, the UN Committee against Torture recommended the Government of China "to refrain from prosecuting human rights defenders, lawyers, petitioners and others for their legitimate activities for broadly defined offences."

The experts urged the Chinese authorities to release Mr. Guo and recognize the important contribution of human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in China.

The experts are UN Special Rapporteurs, Michel Forst, on the situation of human rights defenders; Maina Kiai, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; David Kaye, on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Juan E. Méndez, on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Dainius Puras, on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; and Sètondji R. Adjovi, current Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.