Petition to Condemn the Chinese Government’s Persecution of Cao Shunli that Led to Her Death

 

2014年3月14日下午4时许，著名维权人士曹顺利在北京309医院去世。

 

曹顺利女士于2013年9月14日准备赴日内瓦参与联合国人权理事会“普遍定期审议”会议时在北京首都机场被北京警方带走，在失踪近一个月后，外界才得知她于当天被送进朝阳区看守所羁押，以涉嫌“非法集会罪”刑事拘留。同年10月21日，被变更罪名为涉嫌“寻衅滋事罪”逮捕。

 

曹顺利女士被羁押在朝阳区看守所期间，健康状况急剧恶化，患有双肺结核、肝腹水、子宫肌瘤及囊肿等多种疾病，当局拒绝其及时接受治疗。期间其家属和律师多次申请保外就医被拒。直至2014年2月19日昏迷被送进北京999急救中心急救，后转入北京309医院抢救，期间多次宣告病危，延至今日去世。

 

我们认为，曹顺利女士属被迫害至死，死于中国政府的蓄意谋杀。一个人都可能是下一个曹顺利，莫名其妙失踪，无缘无故死亡。

 

我们在此严厉谴责中国政府将曹顺利女士迫害致死，并对中国政府提出以下要求：

 

1.查明并向公众交代曹顺利女士自2013年9月14日被警方带走直到到去世的详细经过；

 

2.查明并向公众交代曹顺利女士具体死亡原因及准确时间；

 

3.追究参与迫害并导致曹顺利女士死亡的所有责任人之刑事责任；

 

4.就迫害致死曹顺利女士一事向全国民众公开道歉。

 

我们希望，联合国人权事务高级专员及各国政府、各人权机构能高度重视并参与调查曹顺利女士被迫害致死之事件，表明自己的态度，敦促中国政府尽快回应我们的要求。

 

曹顺利毕业于北京大学，法学硕士。曾在中国劳动人事部供职，因揭露单位分房中的腐败现象得罪领导，被解除公职。此后走上维权道路，常为访民提供法律帮助。2008年底曹顺利在北京发起“北京维权之旅”活动，目的是要求依国际惯例，让弱势群体参与制定《国家人权行动计划》，并收集上千份个案，因此在09年被劳教1年。2010年刚出劳教所16天，又因世博会再次被劳教1年零3个月。

 

发起人：苏雨桐、温云超、王荔蕻、胡佳、滕彪

 

执笔人：温云超、苏雨桐

 

2014年3月14日

 

 

 

 

 

 

At about 4pm on March 14, 2014, prominent human rights activist Cao Shunli died at the 309 Military Hospital in Beijing. 

 

On September 14, 2013, Cao was detained by authorities at the Beijing Capital Airport as she was en route to Geneva to attend the Universal Periodic Review organized by the United Nations Human Rights Council. After disappearing for a month, it was finally discovered that she had been criminally detained at the Chaoyang Detention Center in Beijing for alleged “illegal assembly.” Later, on October 21, Cao was formally arrested on suspicion of “provoking disturbances.”

 

While being held at the Chaoyang Detention Center, Cao’s health deteriorated rapidly. She suffered from several conditions, including tuberculosis, liver disease, uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts. The authorities refused to give her medical treatment.  Cao’s family and lawyer’s repeated requests to have her released on medical parole were also all turned down. Cao was finally taken to the Beijing 999 Emergency Center on February 19, 2014 after she fell into a coma. She was later transferred to the 309 Military Hospital. Cao was declared to be in extremely critical condition several times until passing away today.  

 

We believe Cao Shunli died of persecution. She was murdered by the Chinese government. Anyone could be the next Cao Shunli, disappearing without a clue and dying for no reason. 

 

We hereby condemn the Chinese government’s persecution of Cao Shunli that led to hear death, and demand the following:

 

1. Investigate and make public the details between Cao’s detention on September 14, 2013 and the time of her death;

 

2. Investigate and make public the specific cause and the precise time of Cao’s death;

 

3. Investigate the criminal liability of those who participated in Cao’s persecution that led to her death and bring them to justice;

 

4. Make a public apology to the people across the nation for the persecution of Cao that led to her death.

 

We hope the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, national governments and international human rights organizations can pay close attention to the death of Cao Shunli, participate in the investigation, make their positions clear and urge the Chinese government to respond to our demands. 

 

Cao Shunli graduated from Peking University with a master’s degree in law. She previously held positions in the Ministry of Labor and Personnel, now the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. After exposing corruption in the housing allocation process in the Ministry, she was dismissed in  retaliation. Thereafter, she became a rights activist, providing legal assistance to petitioners. In 2008, she launched the “Beijing Rights Protection Tour,” aiming to increase the participation of disadvantaged groups in drafting the “National Human Rights Action Plan,” following international norms. She collected more than 1,000 proposals. As a result, she was sent to Re-education Through Labor for one year. In 2010, after being released for 16 days, she was again sent to Re-education Through Labor for one year and three months due to tightened control in the run up to the Shanghai World Expo. 

 

Initiators: Su Yutong, Wen Yunchao, Wang Lihong, Hu Jia and Teng Biao

 

Authors: Wen Yunchao and Su Yutong

 

March 14, 2014