Mao Hengfeng
China
 Mao Hengfeng outside Shanghai petition office with her three daughters. © Private. |
UPDATE: Mao Hengfeng is being held in detention once again after participating in a peaceful protest. She had been released on November 29, 2008 after two-and-a-half years detention. Latest news on Mao Hengfeng
Background
Mao Hengfeng, a mother of twins, was dismissed from her job in 1988 when she became pregnant with her third child, a violation of China's family planning regulations. Mao refused to have an abortion, and was subsequently detained in a psychiatric hospital, where she was forcibly injected with various drugs. She nevertheless continued the pregnancy, giving birth prematurely to a daughter on February 28, 1989. On March 20, she was notified that she had been dismissed from her job for missing 16 days of work.
Mao appealed her job dismissal under China's Labor Law, and was reinstated. However, the factory where she worked appealed the ruling. Mao was seven months pregnant with her fourth child at the time of the appeal hearing, when the judge reportedly told her that if she terminated this pregnancy, he would rule in her favor. Concerned for the welfare of her existing family, Mao terminated her pregnancy against her wishes, but still the court ruled against her.
Mao Hengfeng has repeatedly petitioned the authorities regarding her dismissal from work, her forced abortion and her denial of other basic rights, including the right to freedom of expression. During her years of petitioning, Mao Hengfeng has been forcibly detained several times in prisons and psychiatric facilities. In April 2004 she was sent to a “Reeducation through Labor” (RTL) camp because of her persistent petitioning. While detained in the RTL facility, she was reportedly tied up, suspended from the ceiling and severely beaten. Following her release on September 12, 2005, she continued to petition against the torture and ill treatment used against her and other alleged victims.
On May 23, 2006 she was detained by police again, this time because of her continued outspoken support for victims of forced eviction and arbitrary detention by the Shanghai authorities. She was detained for several months without charge at a government-operated Communist youth guest house. While there, Mao broke two table lamps inside her hostel room, and as a result was charged with "intentionally damaging property." She was brought to trial for this offense though the trial lasted just 30 minutes. During the proceedings, the court only considered submissions by the police. Her lawyers reported being harassed and threatened during the investigation to prevent them from carrying out their work. In December 2006, Mao Hengfeng was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for breaking the lamps.
AI believes that Mao Hengfeng is a prisoner of conscience and that the current charges against her have been used as a pretext to punish her for her ongoing petitioning activities. Her trial was evidently unfair and her sentence disproportionate to the crime of which she was convicted.
Please write, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Mao Hengfeng.
Send appeals to:
Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao Zongli
Guowuyuan
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
China
Fax: +86 10 65292345 (c/o Ministry of Communication).
Email: gazette@mail.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
