Same day China sentences Chen Wei and a year after Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize despite Beijing’s efforts to drown him out, today (December 23, 2011), a collective of independent UN experts denounced the continued secret detention of Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who was arrested in 2006. These experts report to the UN Human Rights Council, They issued a news release voicing concern at a recent decision by a Beijing court to withdraw Mr. Gao’s five-year probation, which was to end this week, and imposed a new 3 year sentence. “It is alarming that Mr. Gao continues to be arbitrarily detained,” stated El Hadji Malick Sow, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which issued an opinion in 2010 declaring Mr. Gao’s detention arbitrary as it lacked any legal basis. “His detention over the years has resulted in various human rights violations, including his fundamental right to a fair trial. I urge the authorities to release Mr. Gao.” Read: - “China Imprisons Human Rights Lawyer-UN Objects” - diplomaticallyincorrecttv.com/films/blog_post/china-imprisons-human-rights-lawyer-un-objects-by-ambassador-mo/43040 “Arbitrary Detention” & “Freedom of Expression”: According to the statement put out by the group of UN Human Rights Rapporteurs and Experts, Mr. Gao has been charged with subversion of State power, although this has never been proven in a court of law, In 2005 his license to practice law was revoked and his firm shut down allegedly in response to his call for the Government to end abuse of religious groups. “Under no circumstances should Mr. Gao be subjected to attacks, including arbitrary detention, aimed at preventing him from exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression as a human rights lawyer,” Frank La Rue, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, stated. “Crime Under International Law”? During his probation, Mr. Gao has been secretly detained multiple times, and there are concerns regarding his health. The experts said it is unclear why Mr. Gao is to serve his sentence when his probation was about to end. “His detention in an unknown location is an enforced disappearance and a crime under international law,” said Jeremy Sarkin, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which will continue to keep a close eye on his case. For more information on how the UN Human Rights Treaty Body works, See this brief but informative Film Report from the UN OHCHR: - diplomaticallyincorrecttv.com/films/movie/human-rights-treaty-body/29462 Also voicing her concern was Margaret Sekaggya, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, who stressed that States should ensure a conducive working environment for human rights defenders that is free from persecution and judicial harassment. Over 60 Jailed in China this Year: “The activist, Chen Wei, is among 80 rights advocates who were detained, arrested or disappeared this year in a government crackdown that followed online calls for a “jasmine revolution” modeled on uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. At least 22 remained in custody or missing as of Dec. 8, according to the rights organization Chinese Human Rights Defenders, “ according to the NY Times. Mr. Chen had defined the Communist Party as a dictatorship and an “enemy of democracy.” China’s diplomacy at the UN and indeed across most democratic capitals has been highly vigilant and, at least until now, relatively successful in marginalizing Tibetan, Xinijang (Muslim) as well as other China dissent. The appearance of such dissidents at the UN was met with obstructions by China authorities, and was only at times successfully sponsored through media outlets. (As Ambassador during my tenure I hosted a luncheon for Tibet/Buddhist leaders in US including Richard Gere). UN Special Rapporteurs and Human Rights Experts are part of the official fabric of the UN Human Rights organs and treaty bodies. (For more information on how the UN Human Rights Treaty Body works, See this brief but informative Film Report from the UN OHCHR: - diplomaticallyincorrecttv.com/films/movie/human-rights-treaty-body/29462). In my experience, this represents an unprecedented scrutiny of the People’s Republic since it assumed Taiwan’s position at the UN some four decades earlier – More to come I suspect. Link to “News Release” from the Group of UN Experts/Rapporteurs: - www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11741&LangID=E By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook – Become a Fan at “Doplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX War Crimes Justice Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice