http://www.amnesty-usa.org/asa/china/
CHEN Yanbin
CHEN YANBIN
CASE SUMMARY
CHEN YANBIN, now aged 31, was apprehended on
September 13, 1990 and charged with "conducting
counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement" and
"organizing and leading a counter-revolutionary group". In
March 1991 he was found guilty on these charges and
sentenced to 15 years in prison and four years' deprivation of
political rights by the Beijing Intermediate People's Court.
According to the official court verdict, CHEN YANBIN wrote
and distributed an underground pro-democracy pamphlet
entitled Tielu ("Iron Current") which denounced the June 4,
1989 massacre and "slandered the leadership of the Chinese
Communist Party as an ' authoritarian tyranny'". CHEN
YANBIN was also accused of organizing and leading a
pro-democracy organization, the Chinese Revolutionary
Democratic Front.
At the time of his arrest CHEN YANBIN was a student at the
Beijing Number Two Institute of Foreign Languages. Chen is
now held with other prisoners involved in the 1989 protests in
Beijing Prison No. 2. In late 1993 CHEN YANBIN
reportedly supported a protest by a fellow prisoner who
declared that the working hours in the prison were excessive
and as a result, CHEN YANBIN was locked up in solitary
confinement.
CHEN YANBIN is due for release in September 2005.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL considers Chen Yanbin a
PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE
and calls on the Chinese Government for his
IMMEDIATE AND
UNCONDITIONAL
RELEASE!
Sample Letter
MINISTER OF JUSTICE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
GAO Chengli Buzhang
Sifabu, Xiaguangli
Beijingshi 100016
People's Republic of China
Your Excellency:
I am writing to express my concern regarding the case of CHEN YANBIN who was convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes by the Beijing Intermediate People's Court in March 1991 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Mr. Chen is believed to be serving his sentence in Beijing Prison No. 2.
It is my understanding that Mr. Chen's "crimes" involved writing a pro-democracy pamphlet and leading a pro-democracy organization - both non-violent expressions of his right to freedom of expression and assembly. In light of the fact that "counter-revolutionary" crimes no longer exist under Chinese law, I respectfully urge a thorough review of Mr. Chen's case as soon as possible and further ask that he be released immediately and unconditionally. In addition, I would appreciate any information you can provide regarding Chen Yanbin's current state of health, particularly as it has been reported that he was held in solitary confinement for a period of time in 1993.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
cc: Ambassador Li Zhaoxing
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20008