PEN International is seriously concerned by the reported continued detention of Hada, editor of The Voice of Southern Mongolia and leading rights activist, who completed a 15-year prison term for his dissident writings on December 10, 2010, but has apparently not been released. A family source confirmed on May 4, 2011, that Hada’s wife and son have also been held since early December 2010, apparently on politically motivated charges. PEN considers Hada to be detained in violation of his rights to freedom of expression as guaranteed under Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory, and continues to call for his immediate and unconditional release. PEN is also seeking assurances of his well being from the Chinese authorities, and details of any further charges against him.

Background Information

The Paris-based press freedom organization Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) gives the following information in a May 10, 2011 alert:

Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the trumped-up charges of “illegal business activities” and “drug possession” that the Chinese authorities have brought against the wife and son of Hada, the Mongolian human rights activist who should have been released last December on completing a 15-year jail sentence.

In an interview for the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre on 4 May, Hada’s sister-in-law, Naraa, revealed that Hada’s wife, Xinna, and his son, Uiles, are being held in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, and that they were formally charged on 17 January. Arrested in early December, their only crime was to support Hada in his fight to defend his basic rights. Naraa’s interview has confirmed fears that Hada and his two closest relatives are still being detained that that they have not have not been resting in a luxury hotel, as the China authorities claimed last December. Uiles was to have gone on trial at the end of April, but the trial has been postponed without a new date being set, Naraa said.

Naraa said the Chinese authorities have made it clear to Hada and his relatives that they will not be freed until they sign an undertaking to abandon their human rights activities. Until now, they have refused to do this, she said. Hada has gone on several hunger strikes in protest against the conditions in which they are being held. His health has deteriorated and is now very worrying.

Information about the fate of Hada, Xinna and Uiles has been very slow in emerging. The movements and communications of other members of the family have been closely monitored and both telephones and computers have been confiscated.

Hada was arrested on December 10, 1995, for his activities as founder and publisher of the underground journal The Voice of Southern Mongolia and for his leading role in the Southern Mongolian Democracy Alliance (SMDA), an organization that peacefully promotes human rights and Mongolian culture. He was convicted in 1995 of inciting separatism and espionage and sentenced to 15 years in prison and four years deprivation of political rights. His sentence expired on December 10, 2010, when he was reportedly transferred to another prison in Inner Mongolia. Hada reportedly suffers from stomach ulcers and heart disease, and his health has reportedly deteriorated significantly as a result of abuse and ill-treatment during his many years of detention. Concerns for his welfare are mounting.

Hada received a degree in 1983 from the department of Mongolian language and Literature at the Inner Mongolian Teacher’s College for Nationalities. In October 1989, he opened the Mongolian Academic Bookstore in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital. The bookstore was closed down immediately after his arrest in 1995, and all the books, research papers and other properties were confiscated as criminal utilities and evidence.

Hada, who co-founded the SMDA in 1992, published the organization’s underground journal, The Voice of Southern Mongolia. He also published a book, The Way Out for the Southern Mongols, which reported alleged ill-treatment of Mongolians of Inner Mongolia at the hands of the Chinese authorities, including mass killings, deprivation of social and political rights, and suppression of Mongolian culture.

Write A Letter

  • Protesting the continued detention of Mongolian editor Hada after completing a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful dissident activities and writings;
  • Expressing serious concern about the reported detention of Hada’s wife Xinna and son Uiles, apparently on fabricated and politically motivated charges;
  • Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Hada, Xinna and Uiles, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory;
  • Expressing mounting concern for Hada’s health and well-being, and seeking immediate assurances that he is receiving all necessary medical care.

Send Your Letter To

His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China

Her Excellency Ms. Wu Aiying
Minister of Justice
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyang-qu
Beijing-shi 100020
P.R. China

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible.

Please send appeals immediately. Check with PEN if sending appeals after June 30, 2011: ftw [at] pen.org