Shanghai Petitioner Gong Haoming Detained Under Suspicion of Leaking State Secrets

Human Rights in China has learned from sources in China that Shanghai petitioner Gong Haoming was detained by the Huangpu Sub-bureau of Shanghai Public Security Bureau on November 8, reportedly on suspicion of leaking state secrets.

Some time after 10p.m. on November 8, people claiming to be delivering express mail knocked on Gong Haoming's door. After Gong's wife, Li Ping, opened the door, more than 10 people crashed in, pushing her to the floor. They immediately handcuffed Gong and took him away. Li Ping requested the relevant legal documents and related credentials but only one individual showed her identification that showed he was a police officer from the Huangpu Sub-bureau.

Soon afterwards, the police conducted a three-hour search of the house and confiscated a computer and petitioning material. They showed a search warrant which only specified the search target's name.
Later the same night, Gong Haoming's 82 year-old mother's home was also searched. Though no warrant was produced, the police confiscated two computers, four scanners, and petitioning material.

On November 9, Li Ping went straight to the police station to inquire about her husband's whereabouts. On the morning of November 12, she went to the police station again and was given a written notice of criminal detention for Gong, listing the charge as "leaking state secrets," and the official detention date as November 9. In December 2003, Gong Haoming was sentenced to two years and six months of Reeducation-Through-Labor for "disturbing social order."