China
Li Qiaochu came under state persecution for exposing inhuman treatment of inmates in a Chinese prison
Li Qiaochu has been charged with subversion of state power for voicing concerns over the ill-treatment of prisoners in a Chinese prison. (Photo: Facebook)
A court in Shandong province in China has charged prominent Christian women and labor rights activist Li Qiaochu with subversion more than two years she was arrested and imprisoned.
Following months of deliberations, the People’s Procuratorate of Linyi City submitted an indictment against Li to the Intermediate People’s Court, China Aid reported on March 25.
Li has now been charged with “inciting subversion of state power” and the indictment letter dated Feb. 28 has been passed to her attorney.
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The state prosecutor’s office has listed “criminal evidence” for 31-year-old Li.
Firstly, she is accused of having a romantic relationship with Dr. Xu Zhiyong, a Chinese constitutional scholar, human rights lawyer and New Citizens’ Movement leader.
Xu is well known for his legal activism and campaign against corruption. He served four years in jail until 2018 on charges of “disrupting public order.” He was arrested again in 2020 and remains in prison for attending a meeting on democracy and penning an article seeking the resignation of President Xi Jinping for his poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Referring to her lawyer, China Aid reported that state prosecutors have used fabricated testimonies from so-called witnesses to frame Li
The authorities said Li is charged for creating a blog site for her boyfriend Xu that allegedly promotes ideas of “subverting state power.” It seeks to overthrow China’s socialist system and she is complicit in a criminal offense of inciting subversion.
Referring to her lawyer, China Aid reported that state prosecutors have used fabricated testimonies from so-called witnesses to frame Li. The witnesses later admitted neither knowing Li and X nor the blog site in question.
On social media, rights activists decried the indictment of Li and described her arrest over inciting subversion as a “a steamed bun” – a reference to her revelation of extreme ill treatment of inmates in a Chinese prison last year.
Born in Beijing in 1991, Li obtained an undergraduate degree from Renmin University in the capital city. She then acquired a master’s degree from the University of York in England.
She worked as a research assistant at Tsinghua University in Beijing where she analyzed China’s pension system and rights of migrant workers, highlighting the abuses of many migrants.
PEN America awarded her in December 2020 for speaking and writing about human rights of people, especially women and migrant workers.
In February 2021, following her visit to boyfriend Xu at Linshu County Detention Center in Shandong, Li blasted prison authorities for abusive treatment of inmates.
Li said that Xu told him the inmates are given too little to eat, mostly a steamed bun for every meal. They are left hungry, thirsty and tortured every day.
She then sued the prison authority for inhuman treatment of inmates and providing food that was far below national standard
Her Twitter post about the ordeal of inmates in prison went viral and “one beating, one single bun” became a trending topic
She then sued the prison authority for inhuman treatment of inmates and providing food that was far below national standard.
Following Li’s actions, Beijing police summoned her and detained her on allegations of “subversion of state power” on Feb. 6, 2021. The next month she was formally arrested on the same charge.
In August, after meeting Li in prison, her attorney alleged that she was denied medications in the prison for mental health problems, leading her to development auditory hallucinations. As the symptoms of the disease intensified, her family applied for bail, only to be rejected the court.
Li’s detention has also sparked condemnation from Amnesty International. The group has issued a statement last year to demand her immediate release and said she has been facing abuses for her efforts to build a “just country.”
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