PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA：
FIVE WOMEN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS RELEASED ON BAIL

Five young women activists have been criminally detained in China on suspicion of ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles’ after planning events calling for an end to sexual harassment to mark International Women’s Day. They could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Li Tingting (aka Li Maizi) and Zheng Churan (aka Da Tu) were detained by police on 6 March and Wu Rongrong the following day. On 12 March they were criminally detained on suspicion of ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles’, a charge often used in China to suppress human rights defenders and activists and which can lead to a sentence of up to five years in prison. The authorities can now hold the women for up to 37 days before deciding whether to formally charge them. A lawyer was able to visit them for the first time on 12 March at Haidian Police Station in Beijing, after previously being told they were not being held there.

The authorities confiscated the women’s computers, phones, and materials for events they were planning to mark International Women’s Day. Police also raided Weizhiming Women Center office in Hangzhou, a women’s rights NGO that Wu Rongrong founded and where Zheng Churan and Li Tingting are staff.

All of the women are members of Women’s Rights Action Group which advocates women’s rights and campaigns against gender discrimination. Some of them also work on LGBTI issues. They were planning to hold public events calling for an end to sexual harassment on public transportation in several cities in China on 7 March. They had made stickers printed with “Stop sexual harassment, let us stay safe” and “Go police go, arrest those who committed sexual harassment!” which they planned to distribute at the events.

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Five women rights activists detained after planning events to mark International Women’s Day were released on bail on 13 April. This follows a huge outcry about their detention both in China and internationally, which it is believed played a major role in their release.  

Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Li Tingting (aka Li Maizi), Zheng Churan (aka Da Tu) and Wu Rongrong were released on “bail pending trial” on 13 April. Under Chinese law, the authorities can continue to investigate the alleged crime for up to a year, during which they can at any time summon the defendants on bail for further investigation. Defendants on bail often experience restrictions on their freedom and can remain under close surveillance. 

The five women rights activists were detained on 6 and 7 March after planning to hold public events calling for an end to sexual harassment on public transportation in several cities in China on 7 March. They had made stickers printed with “Stop sexual harassment, let us stay safe” and “Go police go, arrest those who committed sexual harassment!” which they planned to distribute at the events. They were criminally detained on suspicion of ‘picking quarrels and provoking troubles’, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Police later recommended that prosecutors change the charge to “gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place”, a potentially lesser offence.

All of the women are members of Women’s Rights Action Group which advocates women’s rights and campaigns against gender discrimination. Some of them also work on LGBTI issues.

Many thanks to all those that have campaigned on their behalf. We will be closely monitoring their situation and take further action if needed, but for now there is no more action required from the UA network. 

This is the third update of UA 54/15. Further information: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA17/1297/2015/en/