Tan Zuoren

Tan Zuoren (born May 15, 1954) is a Chinese environmentalist, writer and former editor of Literati magazine (文化人).Chinadigitaltimes.com. "Chinadigitaltimes.com." Cui Weiping (崔卫平)： Self-initiated and Idealistic Thinking and Action. Retrieved on August 12, 2009.

On February 9, 2010, Zuoren was sentenced to 5 years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power.""China sentences activist who investigated children's deaths in 2008 quake to 5 years' jail". Gillian Wong, The Canadian Press, retrieved on February 9, 2009. Amnesty International Asia-Pacific Deputy Director said: "His arrest, unfair trial and now the guilty verdict are further disturbing examples of how the Chinese authorities use vague and over broad laws to silence and punish dissenting voices.""China: Free human rights activist jailed after unfair trial" . Amnesty International, February 9, 2010. Due to the nature of the charges and circumstances of the trial, he has been described as a political prisoner.Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Political Prisoner Database:Tan Zuoren .Sophie Richardson, Statement of Sophie Richardson, Asia Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch, testimony given before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 3 August 2010.

2009 court case

After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake Tan came up with a proposal called the "5.12 Student Archive" (5·12学生档案) asking people who lost their children in the quake to set up a victim database. But for his trouble, Chengdu police searched his home and confiscated his DVDs, manuscripts and documents.Asianews.it. "Asianews.it." A year after the Sichuan quake demanding to know the names of dead students can mean prison. Retrieved on August 11, 2009. Tan coined the expression「豆腐渣」(tofu dreg project) to describe the shoddy construction quality of Sichuan schools. 豆腐渣工程罪魁逍遙法外譚作人追查反被以言入罪 February 10, 2010 On March 28, 2009, he was detained on allegations for subversion of state power. Tan Zuoren was formally accused of defaming the Chinese Communist Party in email comments about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

According to the indictment,

On August 12, 2009, his trial in Chengdu, Sichuan province was held.Reuters.com. "Reuters.com." Witnesses held as China quake activist trial starts. Retrieved on August 12, 2009. Tan's lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said that "The authorities getting their hands on your witness list and then harassing the witnesses and locking them away, that's a disgrace for the courts in China. But it is the status quo of our judicial system, I think they are doing that because they are afraid."Financial Times. "China cracks down on activists." Retrieved on August 11, 2009.

Tan Zuoren's defense lawyers Xia Lin and Pu Zhiqiang in their defense summation told the court that:

Contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, who travelled to Chengdu to testify, said he and 10 other volunteers were woken up by police entering their hotel rooms at 3 am dawn on August 12. He was beaten up and prevented from leaving until after the trial adjourned. Amnesty International said he was detained because he planned to issue an independent report on the collapse of school buildings during the Sichuan earthquake. Ai alleged, "they were like gangs in a movie, they could do whatever they wanted. It was very scary."

Tan's trial began a week after another earthquake activist, Huang Qi, was tried on state secrets charges in Chengdu; he was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment on November 23, 2009. Tan's lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang said the report on the earthquake all show his investigation is objective and scientific.

Hong Kong's now TV aired footage of Chengdu police searching the luggage and hotel rooms of two of its journalists, who were prevented from leaving the hotel for seven hours, while police said they looked for drugs. Footage of security forces manhandling reporters was also shown widely on television news.Lee, Diana and agencies (February 10, 2010), Fury at jail for quake activist , The Standard

2010 appeal On June 9, 2010, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court rejected his appeal. The sentence of 5 years in jail and 3 years deprived of political rights was upheld.RTHK Quake activist loses appeal Retrieved on June 9, 2010

2014 release Zuoren was released on March 27, 2014 "under a kind of probation - he doesn't have the right to speak up", according to Ai.Tan Zuoren verdict, Chengdu City Intermediate Court, China News Digest

Tan Zuoren

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