Guizhou Petitioner Ding Fayou Detained

Chen Hong (陈红), a Guizhou petitioner who has been seeking redress for the death of her brother, Chen Jun, told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that her husband, Ding Fayou (丁发有), also a petitioner, has been detained since early March 2009 and beaten in detention.

Chen told HRIC that on March 9, a janitor at the juvenile detention center in Zhongshan District in Liupanshui City came to tell her that Ding was detained there and was covered with scars.

Chen said that she last heard from her husband on March 5, when Ding called on his cell phone for help, saying “They’ve intercepted me and beaten me. Help me, help me.” He identified one of them as Luo An, a state security policeman in Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province. Chen told HRIC that on March 9, a janitor at the juvenile detention center in Zhongshan District in Liupanshui City came to tell her that Ding was detained there and was covered with scars.

According to Chen, she and her husband had been under watch by more than a dozen people since February 7 and forbidden to go out to petition. In late February, Ding slipped past surveillance and went to Beijing, intending to petition at the Ministry of Public Security.

In May 2006, Chen’s brother, Chen Jun, was shot dead by a policeman named Liu Deyong of the Wang Village Police Station in Zhongshan District. Liu had intervened in a civil dispute and led a break-in into Chen Hong’s home, where he had taken about 60,000 yuan in cash and other valuables and beaten up and attempted to rape Chen Hong’s younger sister, Chen Qin. On his way to Chen Hong’s house, Chen Jun ran into Liu, who shot and killed him. The local authorities ruled the shooting to be “legitimate self-defense.” Since December 2006, Chen and Ding have repeatedly but unsuccessfully sought redress for Chen Jun’s death both from the local authorities and in Beijing. They have also been detained numerous times. In August 2007, Ding was sentenced to one year of Reeducation-Through-Labor by the Zhongshan District Public Security Bureau for “libeling the public security police.” The charge was dropped after Ding served four months.

Chen Hong also informed HRIC that at the end of February, she was notified that local authorities have re-characterized the shooting of Chen Jun as “an accident.”

For more information about Chen Hong and Ding Fayou, see:

• HRIC, “Human Rights Situation in China Worsens as Bush Calls for a More Open Society,” August 7, 2008;
• HRIC, “In Name of 'Petitioners Relief Campaign' Local Authorities in Guizhou Deceive Petitioners in Death Case,” August 1, 2008.