Howard Lam, a Christian and member of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, says that he was abducted and tortured by men believed to be Chinese Mainland security agents on 10 August.
Lam says he
was abducted, beaten and rendered unconscious by Mandarin-speaking men after
receiving a phone call warning him not to send a signed photo of footballer
Lionel Messi to Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Laureate and activist Liu Xiaobo,
who died in Chinese custody on 13 July.
During
Lam's abduction the perpetrators stapled the skin on his legs in the shape of
crosses, telling him it was because he was a Christian. There were 21 staples
in total.
Liu Xia was
last seen at her husband's funeral on 15 July, and her whereabouts are
currently unknown.
At a press
conference on 11 August, Lam said he believed the incident was a warning to him
not to send anything to Liu Xia, and also a warning to others.
Benedict
Rogers, CSW's East Asia Team Leader, said, "This shocking incident is a
grave violation of Mr Lam's rights under international law and, if the
perpetrators were indeed agents of the Chinese Communist Party in mainland
China, it is also an extremely worrying sign of the increasing boldness of
mainland law enforcement operating in Hong Kong. There appears to have been no
legal basis for this abduction. As such, it is a severe violation of the
principles of One Country, Two Systems and Hong Kong's Basic Law. Furthermore, the
symbolic use of Mr Lam's religion in his alleged torture poses an alarming
threat to freedom of religion or belief. We urge the Hong Kong authorities
to launch a full and impartial investigation into the incident, and to
guarantee the rights of all citizens, including the right to freedom from
torture and freedom of religion or belief."
Notes to Editors:
1. One Country, Two Systems is the policy promised by the Chinese government after the handover of Hong Kong by the British government in 1997. It allows Hong Kong to have its own laws and pledges that its way of life will remain unchanged for at least 50 years.