Ye Zhong: Talk about his suspicious death and you will be arrested and tortured too

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In October 2023, “Bitter Winter” reported the suspicious death while in custody of well-known Fujian human rights activist Ye Zhong. His family was told he had died of a sudden heart attack, but he never had heart problems before and had been probably tortured to death. “Bitter Winter” also reported on the police’s attempt to threaten and intimidate his friends telling them that discussing on social media the death of Ye Zhong was prohibited.

Ye Zhong, however, was a famous figure and discussions continued. The police decided to act and make an example by targeting a friend of Ye and fellow human rights activist, He Zongwang. According to information supplied by his lawyer, on December 8, 2023, two police officers called on He at his home in Fuqing, a county-level city in Fujian province, and asked him to give them letters or notes from Ye Zhong they believe were in his possession.

He Zongwang asked to see a mandate. As an answer, he was beaten, handcuffed, and taken to Fuqing’s Longtian Police Station. He was shortly released but detained again the next day, December 9, at a dinner that the police claimed was a meeting of dissidents who were thus committing the crime of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

He was placed in administrative detention for fifteen days, which should have expired on December 24. During this time, he was beaten by police officers and forced to sign false reports of his conversations with them. On December 15, he was accused of having hit a police officer with his hands. According to He Zongwang and his lawyer, the incident was misrepresented, and he had simply raised a hand to protect himself. However, he was charged with the crime of assaulting a police officer and formally arrested at the end of his administrative detention period.

Unlike Ye Zhong, He Zongwang really has a medical history of heart problems. His lawyer reports that his blood pressure has hit a maximum of 210 in jail, and the risk of a heart attack is magnified by the harsh conditions of his detention. It seems that to hide an extra-judicial execution, the Fujian police may soon become guilty of another one. (BW)