China: Witness to Petitioner’s Rape Detained in Beijing

Chinese human rights activist Liu Dejun confirmed with Voice of America that petitioner Peng Guangfa (彭光发) has been abducted by Anhui officials stationed in Beijing. Liu says Peng is being held in a black jail.

On August 4th, Peng and other petitioners witnessed a guard raping 21-year-old Li Ruirui at Beijing’s Juyuan Hotel. That hotel is also a black jail—and it’s used by officials from Anhui Province to illegally detain residents petitioning in Beijing.

Peng had said an Anhui official surnamed Cai took both him and Li Ruirui to Juyuan Hotel. After he witnessed Li’s rape, the Bureau of Public Security forced him to sign a false statement saying that he doesn’t know or recognize the official.

Voice of America called Peng on his mobile phone after the recent abduction, but Peng told them he’s not at liberty to discuss his current condition. He said Anhui officials threatened him not to contact the media or discuss the case—or else they’d charge him with defamation.

(NTDTV)