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EXTERNAL (for general distribution)  AI Index: 17/12/95
                                     Distr: UA/SC   
                                     2 March 1995
 
EXTRA 24/95         Death Penalty  
 
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA         Liu Kun
                                   Chen Shizhong
                                   Tang Shifa
                                   Yu Jiaxi
                                   Wang Wenbin
                                   Shen Baodong
 
On 20 February 1995 the Nanjing Municipal Intermediate People's
Court in Jiangsu Province sentenced six men to death, one of them
with a two-year reprieve, for the alleged rape of three women on 27
October 1994. Another man was sentenced to life imprisonment. 
 
Liu Kun, Chen Shizhong, Tang Shifa, Yu Jiaxi and Wang Wenbin were
all condemned to death.  Shen Baodong was sentenced to death with
a two-year reprieve, which means that the death sentence against him
will be reviewed at the end of the two-year period and, depending
on his behaviour in prison during that period, may be either
commuted to a term of imprisonment or carried out. 
 
It is not known whether the six accused have appealed against their
death sentences. Under Chinese law, depending on the case, the
defendants have either three or 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 Jiangsu
Province 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 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 either in English or Mandarin Chinese or in your own
language: 
 
- urging that the death sentences passed on Liu Kun, Chen Shizhong,
Tang Shifa, Yu Jiaxi, Wang Wenbin and Shen Baodong be commuted; 
 
- 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.
 
APPEALS TO:
 
Governor of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government
 
CHEN Huanyou Shengzhang  
Jiangsusheng Renmin Zhengfu   
29 Xikanglu       
Nanjingshi 210024
Jiangsusheng       
People's Republic of China    
Telegrams:        Governor Chen Huanyou, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
 
 
President of the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court
LI Peiyou Yuanzhang      
Jiangsusheng Gaoji Renmin Fayuan    
75 Ninghailu
Nanjingshi 210024
Jiangsusheng       
People's Republic of China    
Telegrams:        President of the Provincial High People's Court Li
                  Peiyou, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
 
PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:
 
[Please see the responses to this topic for the addresses
of diplomatic representatives in other countries]
 
Chief Editor, New China Daily
Xinhua Ribao
55 Zhongshan Lu
Nanjing
Jiangsu Sheng
People's Republic of China 
 
 
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send appeals after
30 March 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      +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+