INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-CHINA:

FAIR TRIAL IN SHENZHEN LONGGANG:



The following appeal is from the Clean Clothes Campaign. It concerns an ongoing trial of five suspects in an attack on the Dagongzhe Migrant Workers Centre in Shenzhen China. The concern is that the guilty parties will be exonerated despite the evidence. Read the following and respond if you can.
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Serious Doubts about Fairness Trial in Attack on Chinese Worker Advocate:
Please call on the Chinese authorities to ensure that justice is served Migrant Worker Centre



On January 16, 2009, the hearing of five suspects in the Huang Qingnan case took place before the Shenzhen Longgang District People’s Court. This trial followed upon the November 2007 attack on Huang Qingnan of the Dagongzhe (DGZ) Migrant Worker Centre* in Shenzhen in China (see also the previous CCC postings on this case). Huang Qingnan was seriously injured after being stabbed by two unidentified men. The court has yet to issue its decision, but the procedures followed thus far raise serious doubts about the fairness of the trial.





The court agreed in December 2008 that the courtroom should be fit to accommodate national and international observers, and to observe the requirements of an open public trial. However, entrance was refused to over 60 supporters, including Chinese workers, both domestic and foreign group representatives and journalists. Contrary to the law, the trial was delayed for a long time, and the (oral) notice of the court’s hearing on January 16 was delivered only three days in advance. The court furthermore insisted on a bodily security inspection of Huang Qingnan and his lawyer, which is a violation of the Highest People Court regulation on security inspections, but did not wait for Huang Qingnan’s presence in the courtroom before starting the hearing.





Equally concerning is the lack of proper investigation into the background and motives of the defendants. One of them has been identified as a local businessman who owns several local factories. However, during the trial no reference was made to the business interests that might have motivated the crime, or to the possibility that the defendants committed the crime under instructions from others. Likewise, the court ignored the question whether the crimes could be connected to the practice of collecting protection fees by local gangs. Finally, the court decided to disregard the assessment by the Shenzhen City Inspection Office and Police Department at the beginning of 2008 that Huang’s injuries were “a 6th degree disability and serious injury”. Instead the court accepted an assessment made in December 2008 by the Shenzhen City Judicial Department, that concluded that the injuries are of a lesser degree. According to Huang’s lawyer, the Judicial Department is an advisory body only, and therefore its assessments have no legal value in court.





This critically important trial should have given a clear warning that worker rights defenders’ safety are protected under the Chinese law. Instead, the proceedings in this trial seriously raise questions about the fairness of the court. On January 15, 2009, we called upon you to write to the Chinese authorities to ensure that a fair and open trial would take place. We now again ask you to send your letter to the Chinese authorities to continue the international pressure, and insist that the Shenzhen and central governments:

1)Guarantee that district courts respect national laws, and protect the
principles of fair and public trials;
2)Investigate the Longgang District
Court’s violations of national law with regard to the “instructions from
superiors” that denied observers entry to the court and allowed for the bodily
search of the plaintiff and his lawyer;
3)Openly condemn the Longgang
District Court’s efforts to obstruct justice including the depriving of
citizens’ right to observe public trials and groundless security inspections;
4)Ensure that national laws and international standards to protect workers
and workers' advocates safety are implemented.

* The DGZ Centre provides a free library, labour law education and free legal consultation to the many migrant workers in Shenzhen. The attacks appear to have been an effort to prevent the Centre from empowering migrant workers and educating them about China's new Labour Contract Law, which went into effect in 2008.
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Your action is urgently needed. Please call on the Chinese authorities to ensure that justice is served
SAMPLE LETTER
Use this form to send the following letter directly to:

*Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court
szcourt@szcourt.gov.cn
*Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Communities
The Honourable H. E. Mr. Song Zhe
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Head of the Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European
Communities
chinamission_eu@mfa.gov.cn
*Mr. Xu Zhong Heng
Mayor of Shenzhen City
xuzh@sz.gov.cn
*Mr. Liu Yu Pu
Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee
liuyp@sz.gov.cn

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Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter:

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Dear Sirs:
I am writing to express my grave concern about the case involving Huang Qingnan of the Dagongzhe (DGZ) Migrant Worker Centre in Shenzhen. In the fall of 2007, several attacks took place on the DGZ Centre and its staff and on November 20, 2007 staff member Huang Qingnan was seriously injured after being stabbed by two unidentified men. He suffered wounds - some more than 10 centimetres long - in his back, waist, and left leg. The muscle, bones, blood vessels, and nerves in his leg were cut apart, resulting in permanent disability to his left leg.





The Dagongzhe Migrant Worker Centre is a valuable resource, providing a free library, labour law education and free legal consultation to migrant workers. It has been involved in raising awareness of the new Labour Contract Law, which affords better employment protection for workers.





On January 16, 2009, the case was tried before the Longgang District Peoples' Court. I am shocked to learn that at the trial basic rights under the Chinese law have been violated, and that no proper investigation of the defendant's background and motives has been presented to the court.





The Chinese government must protect civil society organisations and staff members from violence. Fair resolution of this case is important to maintaining harmonious labour relations and to improving the protection of civil groups and their staff in order to prevent violence and maintain public security.





I therefore call upon you to:

1)Guarantee that district courts respect national laws, and protect the
principles of fair and public trials;
2)Investigate the Longgang District
Court's violations of national law with regard to the "instructions from
superiors" that denied observers entry to the court and allowed for the bodily
search of the plaintiff and his lawyer;
3)Openly condemn the Longgang
District Court's insidious efforts to obstruct justice including the depriving
of citizens' right to observe public trials and groundless security inspections;
4)Ensure that national laws and international standards to protect workers
and workers' advocates safety are implemented.

Sincerely,