Sorrowful Declaration: “Ten Gentlemen of Zhengzhou” Yu Shiwen on Hunger Strike for Sixth Day

On May 1, 2016, Lawyer Ma Lianshun visited his client, Henan dissident Yu Shiwen, in Zhengzhou No. 3 Detention Center and learned that on April 27, Yu had begun a hunger strike to protest 1) his prolonged pretrial detention—two years since he was first detained in May 2014—with no sign of being tried, sentenced, or released by the Guancheng District People's Court in Zhengzhou, and 2) the Supreme People’s Court’s approval to postpone his trial for a third time, in violation of legal conditions. According to Ma, on the sixth day of his hunger strike, Yu Shiwen was already having difficulty in writing.

Yu has been suffering from various health conditions while in detention including high blood pressure, thick blood, heart disease, and clinical depression. After arriving in the detention center, Yu also suffered his second stroke. Lawyer Ma is deeply concerned that his client is on hunger strike in his weakened physical state.

Background:

Yu was formally arrested in July 2014 on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after organizing a June Fourth public memorial service. He was indicted on April 23, 2015, after which he issued a letter from detention expressing his pride in having made concrete efforts to remember the victims of June Fourth.

During the 1989 Democracy Movement, Yu Shiwen was one of the organizers of activities in Guangzhou in support of the Tiananmen protests. After the June Fourth crackdown, Yu Shiwen was detained for one and a half years. In February 2014, Yu Shiwen and his wife, Chen Wei, and others, held a public memorial near Zhao Ziyang's old home, in memory of Zhao Ziyang, Hu Yaobang, and June Fourth victims. In May 2014, the couple was arrested (Chen was later released).

沉痛宣告：郑州十君子之首于世文先生已经绝食六天整

马连顺律师

4月25日我去会见于先生，他向我递交了绝食声明，抗议郑州市管城区法院在其案件起诉到法院近15个月，不问不审不判，却跑到最高法去违背法定条件办理延期三次。我们考虑到大局没有同意他的要求，当时就劝他不要这样做，叫他要知道自己身患血压高、血质稠、心脏病、抑郁症等等疾病，并且到看守所后又发生了第二次中风，再加上绝食，就怕身体受不了。因为于先生一定要坚持而很不放心，原打算在29号再见他一次，因为到北京出差不能网上订票，去买票又没有，到5月1号8点10分才坐大巴到郑州，今天五一节后第一天上班去会见，担心的结果还是发生了。于先生27日中午开始绝食，目前已经很难写字，把原来我转交给他的一些资料全部退回，告诉我写东西很吃力，以后可能也写不了东西了，叫外面的老师、同学、朋友保重！我就这样了！看着他这样的倔强和执着，我心里很难受，又没有什么好办法。现请教各位如何劝说高傲、狂妄的公权人士依法保护公民权利，教我如何让以死相拼的于先生回心转意！