Pékin2008

In China, freedom of association does not exist and Human Rights defenders are at risk.

Qin Yongmin, 52 years old, is a former factory worker and Chief Editor of the newsletter Human Rights Watch. He is a veteran and outspoken dissident from Wuhan, Hubei province (Central China).

Qin Yongmin previously spent seven years in prison in connection with the Democracy Wall Movement (1979-1981). He was re-arrested in April 93 for opposing the awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing. Later, he was arrested again and sentenced without trial to two years in a labour camp for signing the Peace Charter, a document that called on the Government to allow political change through dialogue.

Qin was one of the founders of the Beijing-Tianjin branch of the China Democracy Party, the others being Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai (both now released and exiled in the USA). In March 1998, Qin and XU Wenli published the "China Human Rights Observer."
Both attempted to officially register their organization, but it was consistently rejected. The Government finally banned the Party.

In September 1998, Qin Yongmin was detained in Wuhan for interrogation about his activities and especially about a series of open letters sent to the authorities and concerning Human Rights issues.

On 30 November 1998, he was arrested for « endangering state security » and «subverting state power ».

During his trial on 17 December 1998 in Wuhan, Qin Yongmin refused the help of defence lawyers provided by the Court and defended himself alone. The authorities had secretly forbidden the Wuhan lawyers to help him.

The trial lasted less than three hours, and Qin was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment.
His health, which was already poor, has badly deteriorated in detention and he is now nearly blind.
He is currently detained in Hanyang prison in Wuhan and will be released in 2010.

The China 2008 Olympics Collective calls for the immediate and unconditional release of QIN Yongmin.