News and Events 新闻活动

Authorities Reject Detained Activist Ni Yulan’s Request for Release on Medical Parole

Date: 2013-07-05

The advocacy group Chinese Human Rights Defenders reports that imprisoned housing rights activist Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) has once again been denied early release on medical grounds, despite her deteriorating physical health. A longtime outspoken advocate for victims of forced evictions, Ms. Ni was convicted in April 2012 of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and “fraud” in connection with her efforts to dispense legal aid to those in need. She was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, later reduced by two months following a July 2012 appeal. She is currently scheduled for release in October 2013.
 

The advocacy group Chinese Human Rights Defenders reports that imprisoned housing rights activist Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) has once again been denied early release on medical grounds, despite her deteriorating physical health. A longtime outspoken advocate for victims of forced evictions, Ms. Ni was convicted in April 2012 of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and “fraud” in connection with her efforts to dispense legal aid to those in need. She was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, later reduced by two months following a July 2012 appeal. She is currently scheduled for release in October 2013.

According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, authorities recently rejected a request for early release in connection with a worsening thyroid condition that has gone untreated throughout Ms. Ni’s imprisonment. The group reported that Ms. Ni’s daughter visited her in prison in mid-June to find that a thyroid growth that had swollen to the size of an egg. The group continued its calls for Ms. Ni’s early release to receive proper medical treatment, a right provided under Chinese law.

Ms. Ni has faced prosecution and abuse by the Chinese authorities on account of her decade-long advocacy for victims of forced evictions. In 2002, Ms. Ni was detained for filming the forced demolition of a client’s home, and was so badly beaten that she has never recovered the ability to walk without a cane or crutches. Her petition for redress for the unlawful beatings she suffered under detention resulted in a conviction for obstructing public duty and a sentence to one year’s imprisonment. A further consequence of her criminal conviction was the permanent revocation of her professional lawyer’s license. In 2008, she was detained while challenging the demolition of her own house in Beijing, and charged with interfering with public administration and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, while her home was demolished in Nov. 2008. After her release from prison in April 2010, she was kept under surveillance and for a time forced to sleep rough; immediately prior to her latest detention, she and her husband were forced to live under surveillance in a guesthouse room without electricity and water. It is clear that Ms. Ni has been targeted because of her legal activism.