2015-01-06
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Prominent author and Inner Mongolian activist Huuchinhuu Govruud in an undated photo.
(Photo courtesy of SMHRIC.)
A Mongolian writer on Tuesday called on the Chinese government to end her house arrest and remove restrictions on her long-term friend and fellow activist Hada, who was released from four years’ unofficial detention last month following a 19-year jail term.
Prominent author and Inner Mongolian activist Huuchinhuu Govruud, known in Chinese as Gao Yulian, said state security police in her hometown of Tongliao had frozen her two bank accounts since the beginning of the year.
The accounts contained some U.S. $850 which Huuchinhuu said she relies upon to meet her basic living expenses.
“This egregious act by the Tongliao Municipality Public Security Bureau not only is a flagrant violation of laws and civil rights but also is a deliberate and inhumane treatment toward me as a patient who suffers from multiple illnesses,” she said in a statement translated by the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights and Information Center (SMHRIC).
Huuchinhuu, who was held for two years’ extrajudicial detention in 2010 for her public support of Hada, and who is now under house arrest for “leaking secrets to overseas organizations,” said the lack of funds has now affected her ability to go about her daily life, and to seek the medical attention she needs.
“In recent years, my eye problem has deteriorated along with many other chronic diseases, making it hard for me to make ends meet with my pension, let alone pay for my medical expenses,” she wrote.
Criticism
She also criticized the ruling Chinese Communist Party for continuing controls on Hada, 60, who was released from extrajudicial detention in December, four years after his 19-year jail term for “separatism” and “espionage” ended.
She called on the authorities to pay for proper medical treatment for his numerous health conditions, and hit out at Cultural Revolution-style tactics on the part of state security police.
“Attempts to control one’s thoughts are always unreasonable,” Huuchinhuu wrote, calling for the removal of restrictions on Hada’s freedom of mobility and communication.
“Do not restrict Hada from contacting friends and like-minded individuals,” she wrote. “He is entitled to enjoy love and care from friends and loved ones.”
