A/HRC/27/38 had been reported on buildings of persons and organizations working with the Foundation on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights, including AlternativesCameroun.20 At the time of finalization of the present report, no reply had been received from the Government to the joint communication sent on 13 August 2013 by a group of special procedures mandate holders. 3. China 17. From mid-July 2013 onward, four joint urgent appeals were sent and two press releases issued by several United Nations human rights experts regarding Cao Shunli, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer who had been campaigning for transparency and greater participation of civil society in the universal periodic review of China.21 Since December 2008, a group of human rights activists, including Ms. Cao, Chen Jianfang and Peng Lanlan, had been requesting the Chinese authorities to allow their participation in the preparation of the national report of China for its first and later its second universal periodic review. Ms. Peng was detained in August 2012 and charged with obstructing official business on 8 June 2013. On 18 June 2013, approximately 150 activists demanding civil society participation in the review process started a sit-in outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 1 July 2013, the police detained many of the protestors. On 14 September 2013, while boarding a flight to Geneva to attend a training session on United Nations human rights mechanisms, Ms. Cao was reportedly stopped and transferred to an unknown location by security agents. A number of other human rights activists and lawyers from several Chinese cities were reportedly interrogated and warned in connection with the training programme. They included Ms. Chen, who was stopped from boarding a flight to Geneva at Baiyun International Airport. 18. On 21 October 2013, five weeks after she was first taken into custody and one day before the consideration of China by the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, the authorities confirmed that Ms. Cao had been detained at Chaoyang District Detention Centre. Ms. Cao’s health deteriorated progressively. Medication for her liver condition was reportedly taken away and a medical examination, conducted at the request of her lawyer on 18 November 2013, confirmed that she had tuberculosis in her lungs, liver effusion and uterine myomas and cysts. Her lawyer applied for medical parole several times, which was reportedly orally denied by officials of the detention centre. Ms. Cao died on 14 March 2014.22 At the time of finalization of the present report, the Government of China had replied to three communications, sent on 23 September 2013, 7 January 2014 and 24 January 2014 respectively, indicating that careful investigations into those cases had shown that the information contained in the communications was not consistent with the facts.23 19. On 5 May 2014, several special procedures mandate holders raised the case of Ge Zhihui.24 In early 2014, Ms. Ge, a petitioner assisting other petitioners in seeking justice for the demolition of their homes, participated in a training course outside China on United Nations human rights mechanisms. After her return, on 1 March 2014, Ms. Ge was arrested at her home in Beijing by agents of the Fengtai District Public Security Bureau, detained at Fengtai District Detention Centre and allegedly subjected to ill-treatment and torture, which led to her being hospitalized on two occasions. Although she had been charged with, inter alia, creating a disturbance, the interrogations in detention reportedly focused on Ms. Ge’s 20 21 22 23 24 A/HRC/25/74, case CMR 3/2013. A/HRC/25/74, cases CHN 6/2013, CHN 11/2013 and CHN 13/2013; A/HRC/27/72, case CHN 2/2014; and OHCHR press releases of 16 October 2013 and 18 March 2014. Daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 19 March 2014. A/HRC/25/74, cases CHN 6/2013, CHN 11/2013 and CHN 13/2013. A/HRC/27/72, case CHN 6/2014. 7