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Chinese dissident deported from Australia kills himself: advocate
Sydney (AFP) June 16, 2008 A Chinese dissident who was forcibly deported from Australia despite voicing fears of persecution if he was returned to his native country has killed himself, a refugee advocate claimed Monday. The pro-democracy activist, known only as Mr Zhang, who had complained of being beaten and tortured by authorities after being sent back to China a year ago, has now committed suicide after losing hope, according to Frances Milne. "To find that he has now committed suicide to avoid further persecution and torture is very, very disappointing and upsetting," said Milne, who worked on Zhang's case and kept in touch with him after he was deported. "If there is any decency in our government then having a policy of giving protection to people that we've wrongly determined not to be refugees is absolutely crucial. They must do it," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties said Zhang's deportation was in breach of Australia's obligations under the convention against torture. "He immediately faced torture on his return to China and evidence of that was presented to the Australian government," the council's secretary, Stephen Blanks, told ABC radio. "We have been pleading with the Australian government to bring him back and there has just been inaction." Immigration Minister Chris Evans said he was unaware of the case but would seek more information on the fate of Zhang, who spent almost a decade arguing his case for asylum on the grounds that his links to pro-democracy groups put him in danger in China. "The immigration system relies on us being able to remove people who are not here legally if that's warranted," he told the ABC. "Clearly when we do that, it's under international law and on the understanding that they won't suffer persecution on their return. "Any suggestion that someone has suffered persecution would be something that will be looked at quite seriously," Evans said. Zhang's story sounded "quite tragic", he said. The centre-left Australian government, which came to power in November, has scrapped some of the tough immigration practices of the previous conservative administration after a series of scandals over the treatment of migrants. Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Leading China cyber dissident disappears, rights group says
Beijing (AFP) June 12, 2008A leading Chinese dissident, who has won an international award for his work in publicising China's human rights issues on the Internet, has gone missing, a rights group said Thursday. |
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