#PoliticalProsecution #HumanitarianCrisis
#PressFreedom at stake in Hong Kong: #US and #EU Condemn Conviction of #Journalist

Source: Stand News #Apr23

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#PoliticalProsecution #HumanitarianCrisis
#PressFreedom at stake in Hong Kong: #US and #EU Condemn Conviction of #Journalist

On April 22, 2021 the day Hong Kong court found in investigative reporter #BaoChoy guilty over car license searches made for news report, the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau immediately expressed concern about the situation in Hong Kong and pointed out that "the law should not be deployed in a way that stifles legitimate journalism."

The Office also alerted that in the case of Hong Kong, "press freedom cannot be taken for granted."

On April 23, 2021, #NedPrice, spokeperson of the State Department of the United States, condemned the prosecution of journalist Bao Choy by the Hong Kong authorities. He expressed that "the U.S. is deeply disappointed in the conviction of Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy for merely doing her job."

Price recgonized Bao Choy "a champion of press freedom (guaranteed by the Joint Declaration) whose important contributions were just recognized by the Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award."

Source: Stand News #Apr23

https://www.thestandnews.com/international/%E8%94%A1%E7%8E%89%E7%8E%B2%E7%BD%AA%E6%88%90-%E7%BE%8E%E5%9C%8B%E5%8B%99%E9%99%A2-%E6%B7%B1%E8%A1%A8%E5%A4%B1%E6%9C%9B-%E5%BC%B7%E8%AA%BF%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E%E8%87%AA%E7%94%B1%E7%8D%B2%E4%B8%AD%E8%8B%B1%E8%81%AF%E5%90%88%E8%81%B2%E6%98%8E%E4%BF%9D%E8%AD%89/

#HumanitarianCrisis
Former Turkish PM joins Netizens in Condemning China for Suppressing the #Ugyhurs

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between #Turkey and the #PRC, the #ChineseEmbassy in Turkey co-organised a drawing competition with the Ministry of National Education, Turkey for Turkish youth, titled “China in My Dreams.”

Taking note of the event, many netizens uploaded pictures of Uyghur genocide with the hashtag #hayalimdekiçin (“China in My Dreams”), among which even include former Prime Minister #AhmetDavutoğlu.

These works include blue-shirted men sitting under the iron curtains of #Xinjiang concentration camps; a #Uyghur little girl silenced by men covered in a Five-starred red flag and a bloodied East Turkestan flag; a lonely boy crying on #EidMubarak as his family was locked up in the #Gulags.

Long-time friend of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, also uploaded a picture on Twitter.

He writes, “The Education Ministry is organising a painting competition titled “China in My Dreams” for our kids. Our dream is East Turkistan. Dear children, picture the dream of saving our brothers and sisters in our fatherland from oppression and send that to this competition. Speak up to those who doesn’t wish to hear!”

#UyghurGenocide
#hayalimdekiçin

Source: RFA #May7

https://www.facebook.com/cantonese.rfa/photos/a.454006908007166/5435573129850494/

#Court #PoliticalPrisoners
10 veteran pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong plead guilty over 'National Mourning Day' Protest in 2019; 'Long Hair' Appears in Court with Short Hair

In Hong Kong court on May 17, 2021, ten heavy-weight pro-democracy activists pleaded guilty to "organising an unauthorised protest" on October 1, 2019.

They are former legislators 'long hair' #LeungKwokHung, #AlbertHo, #LeeCheukYan, #YeungSum, #CydHo and #SinChungKai; #AppleDaily founder #JimmyLai; and activists #FigoChan, #AveryNg and #RichardTsoi. That day marked the 'National Mourning Day' protest on the establishment day of the PRC during the Anti-ELAB movement

Among the defendants, convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front (#CHRF) Figo Chan, 'long hair' Leung Kwok-hung, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan also pleaded guilty to "inciting" others on September 30, 2019 to take part in the protest.

When '#LongHair' Leung Kwok-hung appeared in court on May 17, 2021, his signature long hair has been cut short. Leung is currently serving his sentence in Stanley Prison for organizing and participating in an 'unauthorized' assembly on August 18, 2019.

The last time he was seen in short hair was in 2014 when serving a 4-week sentence after being convicted of 'causing chaos' in the Legislative Council in 2011. Then, Leung was forced to cut away his long hair due to the appearance policy of the correctional services.

Leung later filed a legal review, pointing out that it is discriminatory when female inmates are allowed to keep long hair while male inmates are not. In November 2020, the Court of Final Appeal approved Leung's review.

Nevertheless, on February 1, 2021, the Department of Correctional Services implemented a new policy where inmates, regardless of their gender, cannot keep their hair beyond their shoulder's length.

Source: InMedia #May17
https://bit.ly/3waOe9r

#PoliticalSuppression #HumanitarianCrisis #CorrectionalServices #NationalMourning

#HumanitarianCrisis #Regime
Authoritarian government in #Belarus uses bomb threat to divert a plane and arrest an opposition blogger in exile

Source: The Guardian #May23

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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29766

#HumanitarianCrisis #Regime
Authoritarian government in #Belarus uses bomb threat to divert a plane and arrest an opposition blogger in exile

On 23 May 2021, a #Ryanair flight from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuani was forced to perform an emergency landing in Minsk, located in Belarus, after the #Belarus ATC claomed that there was a 'bomb threat' on board.

By doing so, the Belarus police arrested a pro-democracy activist-in-exile #RomanProtasevich, who was a former editor of the Telegram channels #Nexta and Nexta Live.

Protasevich was wanted in Belarus for being critical of and having organized a protest in 2020 against the authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.

The Lukashenko’s authoritarian government has launched a broad crackdown on opposition leaders and independent media. All editors at Nexta who mostly live in exile have said they have been threatened with extraordinary rendition in the past.

The Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said the plane had been “hijacked” and accused Lukashenko of a “reprehensible act of #StateTerrorism”.

In a joint statement, the US, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic condemn Lukashenko's action as “an act of piracy”: “This act of state terror and kidnapping is a threat to all those who travel in Europe and beyond. It cannot be allowed to stand."

Protasevich was reportedly trembling on the plane, telling a fellow passenger that "I’m facing the death penalty here", as the plane was diverted to Belarus. His current whereabouts are unknown after being taken away by the Belarusian police.

It was confirmed that Lukashenko ordered his military to use a Mig-29 fighter to escort the plane.

Image: Twitter @franakviacorka
Source: The Guardian #May23

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/23/belarus-diverts-ryanair-plane-to-arrest-blogger-says-opposition

#Hijack #Kidnap #Military #PoliceState #Crackdown #ICAO #TelegramChannel

#NeverForget #NeverForgive
Over 10,000 People Arrested: 2 Years After the 1-million Pro-Democracy Protest in Hong Kong

Jan (alias), a 17-year-old Hong Kong youth, was charged with rioting.

In the end, he chose to plead guilty.

During a junior high school field trip, Jan visited a prison in Hong Kong. At the time, he thought, "I would never go to jail in my life. What's the point of the visit?"

He never imagined that in just a few years, he would be imprisoned because of a pro-democracy movement.

During a relatively mild clash, Jan was arrested on a charge of unlawful assembly. While he was detained, however, the police suddenly changed his charge to rioting. This was a complete surprise to Jan, and he thought the new charge was ridiculous.

His lawyer eventually managed to secure approval for his bail, though with strict curfew conditions. "I've lost most of my freedoms well before they declare me guilty," Jan said.

During a meeting, his lawyer explained to him that the police already had enough evidence to make the rioting charge stick. His mother immediately broke down in tears; Jan himself was overwhelmed by lethargy, staying up late and skipping school for a whole month, only imagining what prison life would be like.

Eventually, he decided to plead guilty, since it would lead to his sentence being reduced by one-third. After the court hearing, he saw forum posts questioning his plea when he had done no wrong. He was perplexed at their thinking. "'If your heart is truly in this movement,' I thought, 'why would you want any of us to get a longer sentence?"

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As of April 2021, the Hong Kong Police has arrested over 10,000 people in connection to the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement. Among them, 1,700 were minors.

As of June 7, 2021, according to statistics provided by Stand News, 757 people are charged with riotting. 70% of them are below 25 years old and 75 of them are underaged. As of April 13, 2021, 28 people have been convicted. 23 of them have been sentenced; the longest jail time among them is 5 years and 6 months.

Source: Stand News #Jun9
https://bit.ly/3w2GkPQ

#PoliceState #HumanitarianCrisis #PoliticalProsecution #PoliticalPrisoners

#HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide
#AmnestyInternational: #China has "created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale" in #Xinjiang

//“The Chinese authorities have created a dystopian hellscape on a staggering scale in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities face crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations that threaten to erase their religious and cultural identities."

“It should shock the conscience of humanity that massive numbers of people have been subjected to brainwashing, torture and other degrading treatment in internment camps, while millions more live in fear amid a vast surveillance apparatus.”

From the moment they entered the prison-like internment camps, detainees’ lives were extraordinarily regimented. They had no privacy or autonomy, and they faced harsh punishments – sometimes collectively with their cellmates – for trivial disobedience. Internees were forbidden to speak freely to each other, and they were severely punished when they responded to prison guards or other officials in their native tongues instead of Mandarin. Every activity in the detainees’ daily routine was pre-ordained and their behaviour was constantly monitored and evaluated....

Every former detainee Amnesty International interviewed suffered torture or other ill-treatment.

This included the cumulative psychological effect of their daily dehumanization, as well as physical torture in the form of beatings, electric shocks, solitary confinement, deprivation of food, water and sleep, exposure to extreme cold, and the abusive use of restraints, including torture tools like tiger chairs. Some reported being restrained in a tiger chair for 24 hours or more...

The Chinese government has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover up its violations of international human rights law in Xinjiang. Authorities threaten, detain and mistreat anyone who speaks out...//

Read full article:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/06/china-draconian-repression-of-muslims-in-xinjiang-amounts-to-crimes-against-humanity/

Source: Amnesty International #Jun10

Image by Molly Crabapple

#Uyghurs #ConcentrationCamp #CCP #AgainstHumanity #Torture #Rape #MassSurveillance

#Uyghurs
France probes fashion retailers for concealing 'crimes against humanity' in #Xinjiang

//French prosecutors have opened an investigation into four fashion retailers suspected of concealing "crimes against humanity" in China's Xinjiang region, a judicial source said on Thursday.

The procedure is linked to accusations against China over its treatment of minority Muslim Uyghurs in the region, including the use of forced labour, the source said.

The source told Reuters #Uniqlo France, a unit of Japan's Fast Retailing (9983.T), #Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC), France's #SMCP (SMCP.PA) and #Skechers (SKX.N) were the subject of the investigation, confirming a report by French media website Mediapart.//

Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/france-investigate-fashion-retailers-concealing-crimes-against-humanity-xinjiang-2021-07-01/

Source: Reuters #Jul2

#XinjiangCotton #ConcentrationCamp #HumanitarianCrisis #Genocide

#HumanitarianCrisis #OathofOffice
230 Directly Elected #DistrictCouncillors to be Disqualified by HK Gov't

According to Cable News and Now News in Hong Kong on July 7, 2021, about 230 directly elected district councillors would face "#disqualification" by authorities, for not having taken an oath of #allegiance to uphold the #BasicLaw.

The government will reportedly demand the district councillors to return their entire salary received during the term they have served. The estimated amount per person is HKD1million.

Since one day ago, a resignation wave took place across different districts. These include Chan Shu-ying (Tuen Mun), Cheung Kwan-kiu (Kwai Ching), Lee Wing-shing (Shatin), Lo Chun-yu (Tuen Mun), Lee Chun-hei (Shum Shui Po), Yau Man-chun (Shatin) and Chan Siu-yeung (Shatin).

Source: Stand News #Jul7

https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/%E5%8D%80%E8%AD%B0%E5%93%A1%E5%AE%A3%E8%AA%93%E5%85%A8%E6%B8%AF%E5%A4%9A%E5%8D%80%E5%8D%80%E8%AD%B0%E5%93%A1%E7%B4%9B%E5%AE%A3%E5%B8%83%E8%BE%AD%E8%81%B7

#Genocide
'Some are just #psychopaths': Chinese detective in exile reveals extent of torture against #Uyghurs

//The ex-detective turned #whistleblower asked to be identified only as Jiang, to protect his family members who remain in China.

In a three-hour interview with CNN, conducted in Europe where he is now in exile, Jiang revealed rare details on what he described as a systematic campaign of torture against ethnic Uyghurs in the region's detention camp system, claims China has denied for years.

"Kick them, beat them (until they're) bruised and swollen," Jiang said, recalling how he and his colleagues used to interrogate detainees in police detention centers. "Until they kneel on the floor crying."

The methods included shackling people to a metal or wooden "tiger chair" -- chairs designed to immobilize suspects -- hanging people from the ceiling, sexual violence, electrocutions, and waterboarding. Inmates were often forced to stay awake for days, and denied food and water, he said.

"Everyone uses different methods. Some even use a wrecking bar, or iron chains with locks," Jiang said. "Police would step on the suspect's face and tell him to confess."

The suspects were accused of terror offenses, said Jiang, but he believes that "none" of the hundreds of prisoners he was involved in arresting had committed a crime. "They are ordinary people," he said.//

//...During the routine overnight operations, Jiang said they would be given lists of names of people to round up, as part of orders to meet official quotas on the numbers of Uyghurs to detain.

"It's all planned, and it has a system," Jiang said. "Everyone needs to hit a target."

If anyone resisted arrest, the police officers would "hold the gun against his head and say do not move. If you move, you will be killed."

He said teams of police officers would also search people's houses and download the data from their computers and phones.

Another tactic was to use the area's neighborhood committee to call the local population together for a meeting with the village chief, before detaining them en masse.

Describing the time as a "combat period," Jiang said officials treated Xinjiang like a war zone, and police officers were told that Uyghurs were enemies of the state.

He said it was common knowledge among police officers that 900,000 Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities were detained in the region in a single year.

Jiang said if he had resisted the process, he would have been arrested, too.

Inside the police detention centers, the main goal was to extract a confession from detainees, with sexual torture being one of the tactics, Jiang said.

"If you want people to confess, you use the electric baton with two sharp tips on top," Jiang said. "We would tie two electrical wires on the tips and set the wires on their genitals while the person is tied up."

He admitted he often had to play "bad cop" during interrogations but said he avoided the worst of the violence, unlike some of his colleagues.

"Some people see this as a job, some are just psychopaths," he said.

One "very common measure" of torture and dehumanization was for guards to order prisoners to rape and abuse the new male inmates, Jiang said.//

Read the full article:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/04/china/xinjiang-detective-torture-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

Source: CNN #Oct4

#Torture #Rape #GangRape #HumanitarianCrisis #Chinazi #ConcentrationCamp #Xinjiang
#Astrocity

#WuhanPneumonia #HumanitarianCrisis
COVID19 Quarantine Center in Hong Kong, a Torture to Patients: "No One would Remember Us"

#FailedState #PennysBay #Quarantine

Source: Facebook; Channel C HK; #Feb23

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#WuhanPneumonia #HumanitarianCrisis
COVID19 Quarantine Center in Hong Kong, a Torture to Patients: "No One would Remember Us"

A video of a distraught woman inside Hong Kong's COVID-19 quarantine center has gone viral on social media on Feb 22.

The video shows the woman in her flip flops at Penny's Bay, Hong Kong's main quarantine facility, breaking down in tears and yelling in desperation as she frantically looked for a way out.

Several staff members, clad in protective gear, tried unsuccessfully to calm her down and persuade her to return to her room. She eventually lashed out and kicked at a staff member who was apparently trying to approach her.

Online media Channel C interviewed another patient, Ms. P, who is also undergoing quarantine in the Penny’s Bay Center. Ms. P said that she totally understood the woman’s desperation, adding that she was also feeling very depressed during her stay.

In fact, distressed patients crying, shouting, yelling in their rooms or along the walkways are a daily occurrence in the center, she said.

A man even attempted suicide by drinking a bottle of disinfectant, Ms. P added.

“The worst thing here is you're easily forgotten,” Ms. P said. When she was admitted into the facility, she made tens of phone calls and waited for 4 days before her initial test bottle was delivered. No one came back to pick it up until she made another round of phone calls, until she finally reached medical staff.

When her quarantine period ended on Feb 19, the facility did not arrange for her to leave, and she spent another 3 days on the phone trying to contact staff - again, receiving no reply. She was elated when staff finally notified her on Feb 21 that she could leave.

However, just before she boarded the bus, she was turned away because she was not given a doctor's note. She watched all the buses leave before being sent back to her room.

"We were all very scared," she said on the interview, her voice breaking, "Once we're back in our rooms, no one would remember us."

However, she was sympathetic to the medical staff and other supporting staff members on the site. “They are suffering just like us. The staff member who came to deliver my documents was soaked in the rain.”

Ms. P questioned the purpose of putting Hong Kong people in quarantine centers where they are not properly taken care of.

She stressed that the costs and suffering inflicted upon so many citizens grossly outweigh any foreseeable benefits.

Source: Facebook; Channel C HK; #Feb23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42SwTQPrtF8

#FailedState #PennysBay #Quarantine

#HumanTrafficking #HumanitarianCrisis
2 Chinese men arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 2 Ukraine babies

#StopWar

Source: RFA; #Mar15

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#HumanTrafficking #HumanitarianCrisis
2 Chinese men arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 2 Ukraine babies

On March 14, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that border guards at the Porubne Border Crossing Point in Chernivtsi Oblast had foiled an attempt by foreigners to take babies out of Ukraine.

According to the border guard, two Chinese citizens tried to walk across the border into Romania while carrying two infants.

When questioned by border guards, the two Chinese men were not able to provide an explanation about where the children came from. 

After conducting an investigation, the State Border Guard Service found that "shortly before this (incident), both Chinese had arrived in the territory of our country without children."

Traffickers are targeting parentless children on the Ukraine-Poland border, says a group evacuating orphanages in the war zone. They say thousands are unaccounted for and fear some may already have fallen prey to people traffickers.

Source: RFA; #Mar15
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/ukr-baby-03152022104238.html/ampRFA

#Russia Allegedly Move Thousands of #Ukrainians to Russia Against their Will

//An official in Mariupol on Saturday, March 19, 2022 accused Russian forces of having taken thousands of Ukrainians against their will across the border into Russia who he feared could be compelled into forced labor.

Russian forces have taken “between 4,000 and 4,500 #Mariupol residents forcibly across the border to Taganrog,” Pyotr Andryuschenko, an assistant to the city’s mayor, said, referring to a city in southwestern Russia. Given chaos in the city — ongoing fighting, the lack of cellphone and internet service — his claim could not be immediately independently verified, though it was supported by testimony from others who recently fled the city.//

Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/19/world/ukraine-russia-war/a-mariupol-official-accuses-russia-of-forcibly-taking-ukrainians-across-the-border

Source: New York Times #Mar19

#HumanitarianCrisis #WarCrime #RussianInvasion