China Activist Speaks out from Inside ‘Black Jail’
AP managed to speak with Zheng Dajing, an activist who was detained in a so-called black jail on Friday during activities to mark China’s “Legal Publicity Day”: Zheng was being watched by a guard...
View ArticleChina’s ‘Black Jails’ Shove Complaints into the Dark
The Los Angeles Times tells the story of petitioner Shi Yaping and others like her who have been held in “black jails”: Shi arrived in Beijing months ago hoping officials would resolve her complaint...
View ArticleChina Investigates Extralegal Petitioner Detentions
The Beijing authorities are investigating a private security company that allegedly helped local governments detain petitioners and lock them in “black jails” in Beijing. From the New York Times:...
View ArticleGlory to the Stability Maintenance Contractors
Global Voices translates Twitter reaction to news that a private security company is being investigated for throwing petitioners in “black jails“: So what exactly does An Yuan Ding（安元鼎）do for its...
View ArticleBeijing Police Probing Alleged Illegal Detentions
In a sign that the concept of “black jails” to hold petitioners in extralegal detention may be losing support among Chinese authorities, the Shanghai Daily is reporting that Beijing police are...
View ArticleChen Guangcheng: Activists, Ambassadors, Cartoonists & Congressmen
Activist Chen Guangcheng and his family remain under house arrest in southern Shandong province, and a stream of supporters continue efforts to gain access to them. As Chen’s birthday (this Saturday,...
View ArticleAl Jazeera: Inside China’s “Black Jails”
Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan, who last week encountered plainclothes state security police when attempting to interview a high-profile lawyer about proposed changes to China’s Criminal Procedure Law,...
View ArticleJournalist Expelled from China Reflects
At The Los Angeles Times, Rosanna Xia interviews Melissa Chan, former Beijing correspondent for Al Jazeera English, who last week became the first accredited journalist since 1998 to be expelled from...
View ArticleLooking for Song Ze
Song Ze, a volunteer who worked with the dissident rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong’s Open Constitution Initiative to help provide humanitarian aid to petitioners, was detained and later switched to...
View ArticleChina Denies Black Jail Sentencing
Reuters reports China has sentenced 10 people to jail for illegally detaining petitioners from another city: Those convicted were hired by authorities from Changge city in central Henan province to...
View ArticleReports of Mass Release of Petitioners Questioned
On Tuesday, Chengdu-based human rights group Tianwang reported that tens of thousands of petitioners had been released from Jiujingzhuan Relief Service Center, a “black jail” in Beijing. South China...
View ArticleBreaking the Cycle of Petition and Interception
ChinaGeeks’ Charles Custer has translated a Caixin opinion piece by Yu Jianrong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Yu outlines various problems with and resulting from China’s petitioning...
View ArticleTen Imprisoned for Illegally Detaining Petitioners
Xinhua reported on Tuesday that ten people from Henan have received prison sentences for wrongfully imprisoning petitioners in Beijing, and must also pay compensation. Wang Gaowei and his other nine...
View ArticleChina’s Black Jail Industry
While there have been promising signs of change for those who travel to Beijing to present their grievances, there are still cases of petitioners being detained in China’s unofficial black jails....
View ArticleSensitive Words: Black Jails, Red Bandits
As of May 14, the following search terms are blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the “search for user” function). Lawyers “Surround and Watch” Black Jails: On May 13, 11 rights defense lawyers were...
View ArticleUrban Stability: Treating the Symptoms
Thousands who travel to Beijing to present grievances against local governments land in the capital’s official detention centers and unofficial black jails before being returned to their home...
View ArticleStill Waiting for Human Rights Progress Under Xi
At Global Post, Human Rights Watch’s Maya Wang assesses the first hundred days of Xi Jinping’s presidency, and catalogs a series of discouraging episodes on the human rights front. It’s probably...
View ArticleAmnesty: Abuse Continues After Labor Camps Ditched
While China’s central government identified the abolition of its re-education through labor system as a major reform priority, commentators have noted that many camps have merely been rebranded as...
View ArticleNew Guidelines Promise Rule of Law for Petitioners
Xinhua reports that new reforms of China’s petitioning system announced on Tuesday promise to control official abuses associated with the long-established appeals system. According to a set of...
View ArticleBeijing Reiterates Call to End Petitioner Abuses
China’s central government has repeated a call last month to better protect petitioners’ rights, warning local governments on Wednesday against “illegal or indirect confinement” and other policies...
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