Using the Olympic torch as an excuse to crack down on peaceful critics
is yet another bitter twist in Viet Nam’s pattern of repressing
legitimate and peaceful dissent. Those arrested before and during the
torch relay should be released immediately, said Amnesty International.
Nepal's threat to use violence to prevent anti-China protests when the Olympic torch reaches Mount Everest has been condemned by Amnesty International.
Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia has been convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Amnesty International today condemned the decision by Chinese authorities to convict human rights defender Hu Jia on charges of ‘inciting subversion of state power'. Hu Jia is being punished for exercising his freedom of expression and speaking out on human rights violations in China. The organization considers Hu Jia a prisoner of conscience and has from the outset opposed his detention and the ‘house arrest’ of his wife and baby.
Liu Jingmin, Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, said In 2001 that allowing Beijing to host the Games would “help the development of human rights."
Amnesty International called on the Chinese authorities to immediately
end repressive measures against Chinese human rights defenders in
Beijing and other parts of China, as well as against protesters in
Tibet and surrounding regions, as it launched its report
China: The
Olympics countdown – crackdown on activists threatens Olympics legacy.
Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu is serving a four-year prison sentence after he applied for permission to hold a demonstration against forced evictions in Beijing.
While streets in the Tibetan capital are reported to be quiet and empty, there are continued reports of unrest in neighbouring Chinese provinces with large populations of Tibetans.
The Chinese authorities must allow independent UN investigation into
the events of the last week in Tibet.
The Chinese authorities have engaged in a number of troubling crackdowns on activists and minority groups in the past week.
