Lu Siwei, a renowned Chinese human rights lawyer, is being held in the Xindu Detention Centre in Sichuan province, southwestern China, after he was forcibly returned to China from Laos. There is no information about the charges against him. Over the years, Lu has been intimidated and harassed by the Chinese authorities for his peaceful human rights work and he is now at risk of torture and other ill treatment.
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Wang Xiaohui
Communist Party Secretary of Sichuan Province
16 Shangye Jie
Qingyang Qu
Chengdu, Sichuan Province
610015, People’s Republic of China
Chinese Embassy in the United States
Ambassador Xie Fang
3505 International Place, NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: (202) 495-2266
Email: [email protected]
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear Secretary,
I am writing to express my grave concern about human rights lawyer Lu Siwei (卢思位), who is being held in the Xindu Detention Centre in Sichuan province, southwestern China, after he was forcibly returned to China from Laos. There is no information about the charges against him.
Lu has been intimidated and harassed for his human rights work by the Chinese authorities. Officials disbarred him in January 2021 for an online speech that allegedly “endangered national security” and imposed an exit ban on him in May 2021. Since his return to China, he has been denied regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice; he is now at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment. He should not be punished for his peaceful exercise of human rights and defending other human rights defenders or individuals deemed sensitive by the authorities. I am troubled to learn that Lu is suffering from psoriasis and needs to take medicine every day. Without access to medical care, his health is very likely to be negatively impacted.
Therefore, I urge you to: release Lu Siwei immediately and unconditionally from detention, unless there is sufficient credible and admissible evidence that he has committed an internationally recognizable criminal offence; pending his release, allow him regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice; pending his release, ensure he has access to prompt and adequate medical care, and he is not subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.
Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME}
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