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EXTERNAL (for general distribution)  AI Index: ASA 17/11/95
                                     Distr: UA/SC        
                                     1 March 1995
 
EXTRA 23/95     Death Sentences/Fear of Execution
 
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA         Liu Li   
                                   Yan Jingbing
                                   Zhang Xianping
                                   Chen Yun
                                   Yin Zhihu             
 
According to the "Liberation Daily" newspaper, on 24 February 1995,
the Shanghai Municipal Intermediate People's Court sentenced five
men to death for alleged crimes relating to robbery and murder.  It
is not clear from the report exactly which of the five men were
convicted of murder, although all five were convicted of robbery.
 
It is also not known whether the five accused have appealed against
their death sentences. Under Chinese law, the defendants have
between three and 10 days after the passing of sentence to appeal
to another court. If no appeal is lodged, their sentences should be
automatically referred for review to the Shanghai Municipal High
People's Court. This court must then rule on the appeal or review
the case within one and a half months. This process can be
accelerated and review of death sentences can take place within only
a few days after the trial. Successful appeals are rare.
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 
The death penalty is used extensively in China. For the first nine
months of 1994, Amnesty International recorded 1486 death sentences
and 1006 executions, although it believes these figures to be well
below the actual number of death sentences and executions carried
out. The increased use of the death penalty in China since the late
1980s occurs in the context of a continuing "anti-crime" campaign.
Amnesty International is concerned that death sentences in China are
meted out following trials which fall far short of international
standards for fairness.
 
Defendants do not always have access to lawyers. In death penalty
cases, lawyers, when available, have no more than one or two days
to prepare a defence. Death sentences are often decided in advance
of the trial by "adjudication committees" whose decision is seldom
challenged by the courts. Chinese legal experts have in recent years
criticized the practice of pre-trial verdicts, but it is reported
to be still widespread.
 
Amnesty International is concerned that the death penalty appears
to be a discriminatory punishment which tends to apply
disproportionately to people of low social standing who have neither
the social nor the political status enabling others to defend
themselves against the accusations. Furthermore, cases have been
reported in which death sentences were imposed on the basis of
confessions extracted through coercion or torture.
 
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and
airmail letters in English or Mandarin Chinese or your own language:
 
- expressing opposition to the death penalty in all cases as the
ultimate form of cruel and inhuman punishment and as a violation of
the right to life as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; 
 
- urging that the death sentences passed on Liu Li, Yan Jingbing,
Zhang Xianping, Chen Yun and Yin Zhihu be commuted.
 
APPEALS TO:
 
Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government:
 
HUANG Ju Shizhang 
[Salutation: Dear Mayor]
Shanghaishi Renmin Zhengfu    
30 Fuzhoulu 
Shanghaishi 200002
People's Republic of China    
Telexes:    333 15 SMERT (Please forward to Huang Ju Shizhang)
Telegrams:  Mayor Huang Ju, Shanghai, China 
 
President of Shanghai Municipal High People's Court:
 
HU Ruibang Yuanzhang    
[Salutation: Dear President]
Shanghaishi Gaoji Renmin Fayuan
209 Fuzhoulu
Shanghaishi 200002
People's Republic of China
Telegrams: President of the Municipal High People's Court Hu                  
           Ruibang, Shanghai, China
 
PLEASE SEND COPIES TO: His Excellency Mr Ma Yuzhen, Embassy of
China, 49-51 Portland Place, London W1N 3AH
 
[Please see the responses to this topic for the addresses
of diplomatic representatives in other countries]
 
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
 
Chief Editor, Liberation Daily
Jiefang Ribao
Liberation Daily
274 Hankou Lu
Shanghai Shi
People's Republic of China 
 
 
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send appeals after
29 April 1995.
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about +
+ the UA scheme in general, please contact:                 +
+   Ray Mitchell                                            +
+   Amnesty International British Section                   +
+   99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue                                +
+   London EC1R 4RE      email: rmitchellai@gn.apc.org      +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+