Chen Longde, a prisoner of conscience, was apprehended on 28 May 1996 after having signed petitions to the National People’s Congress calling for the release of political prisoners in China and for a public inquiry into the suppression of the 1989 pro-democracy protests. In an attempt to avoid repeated beatings and an assault with an electric baton, he attempted to commit suicide by jumping fron a third-storey window and is seriously injured in hospital. Amnesty International is calling for Chen Longde’s immediate and unconditional release as a prisoner of concience.
