NOVEMBER 4, 2014 8:22 AM November 4, 2014 8:22 am
Ye Haiyan, a prominent campaigner for the rights of women and sex workers, has been detained in the central city of Wuhan for posting a nude photo of herself on the microblogging service Weibo, her friends said.
Ye Haiyan.
Ye Haiyan.Credit The New York Times
According to a police notice sent to Ms. Ye’s family, the police charged her on Saturday with “intentionally displaying nudity in a public place” and planned to keep her in custody for 10 days.
Twelve police officers arrived at Ms. Ye’s home around noon on Friday and detained her, Ling Haobo, Ms. Ye’s boyfriend, said by telephone on Tuesday. They also searched her home and took away three cellphones, four computers and two external hard drives, Mr. Ling said, adding that some of the devices belonged to him and to Ms. Ye’s daughter.
The photograph that drew the attention of the authorities showed Ms. Ye lying naked in bed, with a sign propped against her leg that read: “Elimination of Discrimination Convention. Don’t you know?” Two fully dressed men appear next to her in the photo, also holding signs. One refers to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, a sort of bill of rights for women.
The photo has since been deleted from the Weibo service.
The Global Times newspaper quoted a friend of Ms. Ye’s as saying that the campaigner had uploaded the photo to highlight China’s record on human rights, which was under review last month at a hearing of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Geneva.
According to Mr. Ling, the police initially accused Ms. Ye of two other crimes, based on documents found on the electronic devices in her home. In one, Ms. Ye is said to advocate shaving one’s head to express support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
The two additional charges were eventually dropped, Mr. Ling said.
This is the second time in two years that Ms. Ye has been detained by the authorities. In May 2013, she was apprehended after she campaigned against a school principal who had been accused of raping six female students in a hotel. She and several other demonstrators held placards outside the school that read: “Principal: Find me if you want to get a room — spare the school children.” Photos of the episode were posted online and drew a public outcry.
In 2005, Ms. Ye started a website to support sex workers. The next year, she founded the China Grassroots Women’s Rights Center in Wuhan.
