Seven human rights defenders who engaged with CAT

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2016-022-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2016
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 35.86166

Longitude: 104.195397

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
China
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Treaty Bodies: CAT
Dates of prior UN action
20 November 2015
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

Committee against Torture expressed concerns at allegations of intimidation and reprisals against several human rights defenders for their engagement with the Committee; seven Chinese human rights defenders, who had intended to travel to Geneva to attend the Committee’s consideration of the report of China

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Treaty Bodies: CAT
Dates of engagement
November 2015
Type of attempted engagement
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
Dates of mentioned reprisals
Unclear
Reprisal information

Reportedly, seven Chinese human rights defenders, who had intended to travel to Geneva to attend the Committee’s consideration of the report of China, had been threatened by the Chinese authorities with negative professional consequences. Moreover, those who had defied the authorities’ orders had reportedly been detained on the ground that their participation could “endanger national security”

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
0