Rights group calls for immediate release of dozens of ‘white paper’ protesters still detained in China

In a statement, the US-based Human Rights Watch on Thursday (January 26) said that dozens of demonstrators are still behind bars for participating in widespread protests against the Chinese government’s stringent ‘zero-Covid’ policy last year. They also called for their immediate release and for authorities to “drop all charges against everyone detained for participating in the 'white paper' protests”, refereing to the blank sheets held in defiance of state censorship.

Last November, thousands of people across several cities in China took to streets in protest of Beijing’s zero-Covid restrictions and called for greater political freedoms. Notably, after these demonstrations, China abruptly dropped its policies to contain the virus which led to a wave of infections as well as an uptick in hospitalisations and deaths.

ALSO READ |In Pics | China’s strict ‘zero-Covid’ restrictions spark protests; other countries join in solidarity

Add WION as a Preferred Source

However in recent weeks, media outlets and campaigners have reported that the Chinese authorities have quietly been detaining an unknown number of students, journalists and others, as per AFP. The HRW also noted that many of those arrested were women who participated in the protests.

“Some protesters have been released on bail. Others remain detained, with a number of them having been formally arrested. The current whereabouts or conditions of some of the detainees remain unknown,” said the rights group, in the statement. A senior China researcher at the US-based NGO, Yaqiu Wang said, “Young people in China are paying a heavy price for daring to speak out for freedom and human rights.”

ALSO READ |China’s stringent ‘zero-Covid’ curbs trigger outrage, protests across the country

She added, “Governments and international institutions around the world should show support and call on the Chinese authorities to release them immediately.” The participants’ friends and relatives also confirmed with AFP that several arrests had taken place after the country-wide protests and that the security service personnel moved swiftly in the wake of the unrest.

“More protesters are believed to have been detained or forcibly disappeared, though their cases are not publicly known, given the Chinese authorities’ practice of threatening detainees’ families to keep silent,” said HRW.

ALSO WATCH |Protests spread in China as anger mounts over ‘zero-COVID’; other countries join in solidarity

Similarly, an activist group called Chinese Human Rights Defenders who have reportedly maintained a rolling list of protesters arrested forcibly disappeared, and released said the number of known detentions might just be “the tip of the iceberg”. They also warned that demonstrators “are at high risk of enforced disappearance and torture”, reported AFP.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.