E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6 page 42 4. Yang Zili, aged 34, a former journalist and member of the ‘New Youth Study Group,’ which organized discussions on democratic and political reforms in China. On 13 March 2001, he was detained together with other members of the group on charges of ‘subversion.’ He was detained in the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau until February 2004, where he was interrogated from March to June 2001. His first court hearing was in September 2001 and the second in May 2003. During this period he was not allowed to communicate with his family. He had the right to talk to a lawyer but strict conditions were imposed on his meetings. He had seen his wife twice since his arrest. He was sentenced on 28 May 2003 by Beijing Municipal No 1 Intermediate People’s Court to eight years imprisonment and 2 years deprivation of political rights for the crime of ‘subversion’. During his interrogation by state security agents in April 2001 he was forced to stand from 9pm to 5am beside a chair with one hand handcuffed to the chair, and was not permitted to sit down during this time. This was carried out with the purpose of extracting a confession. During his detention in the State Security Bureau he was aware that personnel only beat those who they thought had a ‘bad attitude’. He did not confess. For this reason he cannot telephone his parents or have visits from relatives, though he can write letters and is allowed monthly visits from his wife. Incentives for confession are the possibility of reduced sentences, visits by relatives or family reunion privileges. He reports his present health is satisfactory though the in-house medical services are limited. The Special Rapporteur recommends he be granted the same rights as other prisoners, particularly the right to phone calls with and visits from family members. The fact that a person has not confessed should not be used as an excuse to impose additional punishment on a detainee such as refusal of the right to access with the outside world or removal of privileges. Since he has been convicted of a political crime, possibly on the basis of information extracted by torture, the Special Rapporteur appeals to the Government that he be released. 5. Xu Wei, aged 31 years, a former writer and editor for Beijing newspaper Consumer Daily, and member of the ‘New Youth Study Group’. On 13 March 2001, he was detained together with other members of the group by Beijing State Security officials and was held in secret detention for over two years without trial. He was tortured during police interrogations by agents of the Office Responsible for returning Criminals from Outside of Beijing. He was tortured by agents of State Security who brutally beat him, used electric batons to shock him in his solar plexus, soles of his feet and genitals. He continues to experience occasional numbness in his lower body. His confession was extracted through torture and he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 2 years deprivation of political rights on 28 May 2003 for the crime of ‘subversion’ despite having raised allegations of torture in court. Xu’s case was submitted to the WGAD. At the time of the meeting with the Special Rapporteur, he was in poor health, appearing thin and exhausted, and had recently gone on hunger strike. He indicated that he was not allowed to see a lawyer until after his trial which is why he went on hunger strike. Since he has been convicted of a political crime, possibly on the basis of information extracted by torture, the Special Rapporteur appeals to the Government that he be released. 6. He Depu, aged 49, a former member of the Chinese Democratic Party (CDP). On 4 November 2002, he was arrested, pushed into a police car, handcuffed and his coat was wrapped over his head making it difficult for him to breathe. He fell unconscious in the car. He was driven to an unknown location and carried to a windowless room on the third floor of a three-storey building. He Depu was later taken to Operation Division 1, Beijing Public Security Bureau, where he was held for 85 days and interrogated about CDP activities. He was confined