A/HRC/39/41
11.
On 25 June 2018 the Government responded to the letter of the Assistant Secretary General and stated that Ms. Al-Salman was banned from travel in 2016 acco rd in g t o t he
procedure of investigations of the General Prosecutor, and that the ban was lifted
immediately once the investigations were over. On 30 August 2017, another travel ban was
issued to her, due to an investigation relating to her participation and d emo nstratio n in a
non- authorized march.
3.
Burundi
12.
The cases of Mr. Armel Niyongere, Mr. Dieudonné Bashirahishize, Mr. Vital
Nshimirimana, and Mr. Lambert Nigarura were included in the 2017 report of the
Secretary-General (see A/HRC/36/31, para. 24 and Annex, paras. 11-15). The four lawyers
had contributed to an alternative report submitted to the Committee against Torture for t h e
consideration of the special report of Burundi, and Mr. Niyongere, Mr. Bashirahishize, an d
Mr. Nigarura had attended the interactive dialogue between Burundi and the Committee on
behalf of the civil society organisations they represented. On 29 July 2016, during the
second day of the dialogue between the Committee and the Government, the Go v ernmen t
suspended its participation at the session and the delegation was absent. Th e Co mmit t ee
was immediately informed of a letter from the Attorney General of Bujumbura, dated 29
July 2016, requesting that the Bujumbura Bar Association disbar the four lawyers.
13.
On 16 January 2017, the Bujumbura Court of Appeal disbarred Mr. Niyongere, M r.
Dieudonné Bashirahishize and Mr. l Nshimirimana, and suspended Mr. Nigarura for a
period of one year and denied him participation in the Conseil du l’Ordre des Avocats for a
period of five years. However the Court decision has not been communicated to the
victims, thus denying them a right of appeal and without any further recourse or remedy.
The Committee noted in a letter of 27 February 2017 that it considers the verdict of the
court as an act of reprisal for the individuals’ engagement with the Committee and the
United Nations human rights system. At the time of writing no response had been receiv ed
from the Government.
4.
China
14.
The 2017 report of the Secretary-General (see A/HRC/36/31, Annex paras. 22-24)
referred to the disappearance of Mr. Jiang Tianyong, a prominent human rights lawyer who
had met with Mr. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rig h t s
during his visit to China in August 2016. On 2 December 2016, four special procedures
mandate holders raised concerns regarding actions taken against Mr. Jiang, inclu d ing t hat
his disappearance may have occurred, at least in part, in reprisal for his coo p erat ion wit h
the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/34/75, CHN 13/2016).
15.
On 6 September 2017 four special procedures mandate holders called on the
Government to immediately release Mr. Jiang, who was on trial for inciting subversio n o f
the State’s power and expressed concerns over a lack of fair trial standards.1 They
expressed concern that he had been detained and under surveillance at an unknown location
for more than nine months, without access to his family or a lawyer of his ow n ch o o sin g,
and that he may have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The sp ecial p ro cedu res
mandate holders stated that “Mr. Jiang’s ‘crime’ apparently included communications wit h
foreign entities, which potentially include the United Nations human right s mech anisms ,
giving interviews to foreign media, and receiving training on the West ern co nstit ut ion al
system, all of which have been carried out in the course of his work as a lawyer.” 2
16.
Mr. Jiang was found guilty of inciting subversion of the State’s power on
21 November 2017 by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court an d s entenced t o t wo
years jail. On 23 November 2017, four special procedures mandate holders condemned t he
verdict and appealed to the Government to unconditionally release Mr. Jiang, n ot in g t h at
“Mr. Jiang’s trial clearly fell short of international standards and his conviction represent s
an unfair and arbitrary punishment of a human rights lawyer and defender, whose only
1
2
44
OHCHR, “ UN experts urge China to release lawyer Jiang T ianyong currently on trial for subversion,”
6 September 2017.
Ibid.
GE.18-13325