Human rights activists Hu Jia (
Now access is barred to their apartment in Bobo Freedom City on the eastern fringes of Beijing and Hu is in jail while Zeng is under house arrest.
On a visit this week, two journalists were questioned and turned away by half a dozen plain clothes officers while security personnel frantically erected crime scene tape to block access to the gate of the compound.
"There has been a security incident and we can't let you pass," said one plain clothes officer. "It is still under investigation so we can't give any details about the incident."
The fate of Hu and Zeng illustrates a widening crackdown on dissent ahead of the summer Olympics, violating promises Beijing made in its winning bid to host the Games, activists say.
Hu, named by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, stands accused of incitement to subvert state power, a charge that carries a possible life prison term. He has been denied access to lawyers and refused bail despite health concerns.
"Police said the case concerned state secrets which means they can deny access to a lawyer," Hu's counsel Li Jingsong said on Friday.
"They also said he was a danger to society so he could not be released on bail," Li said.
The arrest of Hu, taken from his home on Dec. 27, has triggered protests from the EU and the US as well as anger from activists inside and outside China.
Beijing lawyer and prominent rights defender Xu Zhiyong (
"His voice represents thousands of citizens facing injustice in the country," Hu wrote, according to Reporters Without Borders, the press freedom advocate.
Other activists urged the world to bring pressure to bear on China to respect commitments it made to improve human rights prior to the Olympics.
"We call on free countries, international human rights organizations, and world public opinion to ... press China's government to reinstate respect for human rights, scrupulously abide by the law and fulfil the promises it made," said a petition signed by 57 activists.
China's response has been to deflect criticism from outside the country and tighten the screw at home.
Many intellectuals and activists have been placed under house arrest or had other restrictions imposed in recent weeks, the China Human Rights Defenders said in a report this month.
The group, a network of domestic and foreign activists, said the crackdown was expected to intensify as the Games approached.
Hu Jia, who along with his wife won international recognition for work with AIDS victims, predicted in an interview prior to his detention that there would be a wave of arrests before the Olympics.
In an open letter written with human rights lawyer Teng Biao (
"But that will not be the whole story," he wrote.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across
RSS