Dozens of activists beaten by police during UN secretary general visit

Antonio Guterrez spoke yesterday about respecting human rights. Petitioners wanted to file complaints against the Party. Interceptors “escort” petitioners back home, but also abuse them. Two petitioners died suspiciously in the past few months whilst being “escorted” home.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Hundreds of activists gathered yesterday outside the National Police Complaints Department during the visit of António Guterrez, the new secretary general of the United Nations, to protest against human rights violations in China.

As Mr Guterrez talked about respect for human, civil and economic rights, police and security guards beat up and arrested dozens of protesters who tried to file complaints against the hegemonic control of the Chinese Communist Party.

"There were so many police there, about 1,000, with maybe 400 interceptors," Sichuan petitioner Yuan Ying told Radio Free Asia, referring to security personnel hired by regional governments to prevent petitioners from presenting their grievances and escort them home.

"They were all standing over by the alley leading to the Dongtangzi Church and around there," Yuan noted. "The petitioners were being locked up and kidnapped for complaining about the government."

"Some interceptors snatched away one petitioner from right under the noses of the police," she added.

Out on the streets, Gansu petitioner Qiao Hua reported similar crowds outside the State Council's land bureau, where some 200 petitioners had gathered, and outside the Ministry of Public Security.

"Things were very bad here on the ground today," Qiao said. "When I went to swipe my ID card at the Ministry of Public Security, the interceptors were out in force, watching everybody."

Some of the complaints were linked to two suspicious deaths of petitioners detained by interceptors and officially escorted home.

Last August, Tianzhi Yang, 68, was found dead, his mutilated, headless body lying at the side of a road in Sichuan's Yuechi county. Police detained nine suspects at the time, but there have been no developments on the case since, activists said.

On 20 November, Chen Shenqun died in a “car accident” as police escorted her home.  She had been arrested for speaking out against the abuses she suffered inside the police-run Masanjia labour camp.

Police refused to allow relatives to see her body before cremation, prompting widespread suspicion that she had been murdered.

• china
• human rights
• petitions
• interceptors
• crackdown
• united nations
• secretary general
• antónio guterrez