Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders

(Du Jirong, sister of human rights activist Du Bin, with sign saying “Du Bin is innocent” outside the Fengtai District Public)

The 41-year-old photographer and filmmaker Du Bin disappeared on May 31, weeks after he had released a documentary on the extreme conditions of Chinese labor camps in May, called Women Above Ghosts’ Heads. His film focused on Masanjia Women’s Labor Camp where many detainees werepractitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline persecuted in China. Du Bin had told New Tang Dynasty Television on May 29 that he chose the focus because he was “a human being.” Du had also written a 600-paged book on the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Fellow activist Hu Jia – in media interviews – stated that he believes that these works attracted communist police attention as a political case. He pointed to the reluctance of the police to give reasons for Du’s arrest and their zeal in discussing his activism; police had charged Du Bin for “disturbing the public order,” and the detention center had accused Du of provoking public altercations on June 1, according to Hu. According to Hu Jia, the family is concealing the Du Bin’s imprisonment from his father who suffers from pharynx cancer. Du’s father was led to believe that Du’s phone was not working and that he was vacationing in Hong Kong.

Still, in prison, Du Bin is well treated, according to Du Jirong, his sister, on Twitter on 17 June . According to her, the family still had not received a detention notice, despite police statements that the notice had been sent out long ago.

Human Rights Activist Discloses Fellow Dissident Du Bin’s Whereabouts » The Epoch Times.

This entry was posted on June 20, 2013 at 18:54 and is filed under human rights, Human Rights Defenders.

Tags: China, detention, disappearances, Du Bin, Du Jirong, Epoch Times, Falun Gong, film makers, Hu Jia, human rights, Human rights defender, human rights of women, photo journalism, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, writer