China L4L and Amnesty send letter to Minister for Guangcheng

On 7 May 2012, Lawyers for Lawyers and Amnesty International sent a letter to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosenthal, in which they ask attention for the situation of Chen Guangcheng. The organisations are concerned about the value of the promises made to Guangcheng by the Chinese authorities, namely that they will guarantee his safety in China and that he is allowed to apply for a permit to study abroad. There are also concerns about the safety of family members and fellow activists of Chen Guangcheng.

L4L and Amnesty request the Dutch government to call upon the Chinese authorities and insist on honouring the promises made, an investigation into accusations of Chen having been tortured in prison and Chen’s and his wife’s alleged mistreatment during their house arrest and effective measures to guarantee that human rights defenders can exercise their peaceful activities in freedom and without hindrance.

The blind Chinese human rights lawyer escaped from his heavily guarded home where he had been under house arrest since he was released from prison in September 2010 on 22 April 2012. After his escape, he stayed at the US Embassy in Beijing for six days. He left the embassy and indicated he wanted to stay in China after the authorities promised to guarantee his safety. One day later, he had reconsidered this point of view because he still fears for the security of his family.