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Police beat Chinese dissident lawyer after noise complaint, wife says
Beijing (AFP) Jul 31, 2006 Police beat and briefly detained Chinese dissident lawyer Gao Zhisheng after the rights activist complained that surveillance teams monitoring him were making too much noise, his wife said Monday. Gao has been under 24-hour surveillance by people believed to be state security police since authorities disbarred him as a lawyer late last year, stopping him from providing legal aid to disenfranchised groups. On Sunday night Gao left his apartment and asked the police to switch off the engines of their cars because the noise was making it difficult for people in the housing block to sleep, Gao's wife, Geng He, told AFP. "There were six or seven of them, but three of them beat him up while the others looked on," Geng said. "He was knocked to the ground and injured pretty badly. His arm was torn open and bleeding. His arms now are all swollen and red." Before the beating, Gao had complained to local district police of the noise. When the local police arrived at the scene after the beating, they took Gao away and detained him for about three hours, she said. When contacted by AFP, district police refused to comment on the incident, saying they were unaware of what had happened. Gao, aged in his early 40s, was disbarred and placed under police surveillance last November. The action came after he published open letters to President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao urging an end to the torture of members of the Falungong sect which China banned as "an evil cult" in 1999. Gao had previously made a name for himself representing underground Christians, cyber-dissidents and other lawyers who were locked up for becoming involved in rights disputes. He has had repeated run ins with the team monitoring his movements since being placed under surveillance, but has remained active in his rights efforts by organizing hunger strikes and Internet publicity campaigns. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
China to modernize military, reunify Taiwan, defense minister says
Beijing (AFP) Jul 31, 2006 China will be a force for global peace but it must arm its military with the latest in high-tech weapons and ensure that Taiwan never splits from the mainland, the defence minister said Monday. |
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