Authorities Try Mongol Couple, Assault Son of Imprisoned Mongol Activist

July 25, 2006

The Hohhot Intermediate People's Court tried ethnic Mongol physician Naguunbilig and his spouse Daguulaa on June 12 for crimes related to "practicing an evil cult," "printing and distributing illegal publications," "advocating idealism and superstition," and "conducting illegal business," according to a June 20 report from the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). Authorities first arrested Naguunbilig and Daguulaa on June 7, 2005 for engaging in what officials labeled "a Mongol version of Falun Gong" and for holding "illegal gatherings." The SMHRIC reported that the court adjourned the trial on the afternoon of the 12th without issuing a decision.

The Hohhot Intermediate People's Court tried ethnic Mongol physician Naguunbilig and his spouse Daguulaa on June 12 for crimes related to "practicing an evil cult," "printing and distributing illegal publications," "advocating idealism and superstition," and "conducting illegal business," according to a June 20 report from the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). Authorities first arrested Naguunbilig and Daguulaa on June 7, 2005 for engaging in what officials labeled "a Mongol version of Falun Gong" and for holding "illegal gatherings." The SMHRIC reported that the court adjourned the trial on the afternoon of the 12th without issuing a decision.

During the trial, which was open to observers, Xinna, wife of imprisoned Mongol activist Hada, asked the court a question. According to the SMHRIC, she and her son Uiles then attempted to leave the courtroom, but security officers intercepted the pair and placed them in a cell inside the courthouse for "disturbing court proceedings." Authorities reportedly beat Uiles for over 20 minutes while holding him in custody, according to the SMHRIC. Authorities released Xinna after 3 hours in custody, but ordered Uiles to spend 13 days in detention at the Hohhot City Detention Center.

In 1996, the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Hada, Uiles' father, to a 15-year prison sentence for the crimes of "splittism" and "espionage" after he organized peaceful protests for ethnic rights in Hohhot. Hada remains in the Inner Mongolia No. 4 Prison in Chifeng, where he reportedly is in poor health, has been denied appropriate medical treatment, and has been subjected to routine physical abuse, according to a 2004 press release from Human Rights in China.

See the CECC Political Prisoner Database for more information on cases involving ethnic Mongols. For more information on conditions for ethnic Mongols in China, see related CECC analyses on Web site closings, land disputes in Inner Mongolia, and Mongol efforts to bar construction of a Genghis Khan theme park, as well as Section III(a), "China's Minorities and Government Implementation of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law," in the 2005 CECC Annual Report.