Cheng Lei’s case is not alone as China has a long history of detention.
Beijing:
Citing allegations of leaking ‘state secrets’, China is detaining people under the age of 10, conducting trials behind closed doors and violating the core principle of a fair trial.
It is worrying that the term ‘state secret’ used by China is broad and too vague. Chinese law provides no definition of such a term.
In one incident, a 10-year-old Cheng Lei, who was born in China and moved to Australia, was detained by Chinese authorities for allegedly revealing state secrets. The Australian Embassy in August 2020 announced that they had been informed by Chinese authorities that Cheng Lei was suspected of illegally disclosing state secrets outside China and had been detained.
However, no details were given to the embassy of the test as it took place behind closed doors. His lawyer and family have been prohibited from speaking about the trial. Family visits are restricted and Cheng Lei only has limited contact through letters.
Her elderly parents and children live in Australia and are very worried. The Australian ambassador was barred from attending the trial. In their defence, Chinese officials said the decision would be announced later, but provided no details yet, The Hong Kong Post reported.
Australia’s Ambassador Graham Fletcher, speaking to the media, said: “This is deeply worrying, unsatisfactory and regrettable. We can have no confidence in the legality of a process that is conducted in secret. Our consular agreement says that we should be able to Must participate in the trials.”
Cheng Lei’s case is not alone as China has a long history of detaining and testing detainees behind closed doors. China’s criminal laws have been used to crack down on foreign human rights activists and media, as well as citizen-journalists, who, according to media outlets, are facing Hong Kong protests and Uighur Muslims during the COVID-19 pandemic and human rights violations. Reporting on.
Another infamous form of detention used by China is residential surveillance at a designated location (RSDL). This form of detention is widely criticized for being antiquated and a gross violation of human rights. There have been allegations of extreme physical and mental torture including mental torture suffered by the prisoners under RSDL.