Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center

The following are video statements by Mr.Hada and his wife Xinna sent to the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) recently. (English translation and subtitles by SMHRIC):

First Statement by Hada (December 10, 2014 in Mongolian):

Today, 19 years later, the trumped-up case against me has ended. During these 19 years, in an effort to force me to abandon my beliefs, I was cruelly mistreated and subjected to various forms of tortures and ploys. Yet, I have maintained my beliefs and continued my struggle to today to come to the first step of victory. However, the sacrifices and losses are immeasurable. In particular, my wife and son have been subjected to false accusations, enormous persecution and suffering. I myself have been disabled as a result of torture and brutality. Before the discharge, even though [the Chinese authorities] mentioned to me multiple times that I can file complaints and pursue lawsuits, they have made a great deal of efforts to torture me further in order to deprive me of my rights to seek redress. Particularly, they made repeated efforts to threaten me that I must not receive interviews from foreign news media; I must not contact anyone other than my relatives. What is most unacceptable is that they claimed the right to continue to treat me as a prisoner after the discharge. I unequivocally rejected all these conditions. My next step is to arrange my life and study, to continue to fight against the oppression of the Mongolian nationality, and start my complaints and lawsuit. I would like to express my deep gratitude to my fellow Mongolians around the world who have been concerned about our family.

First Statement by Hada (December 10, 2014 in Chinese):

Joint statement by Hada and Xinna (December 10, 2014):

Hada: Today, 19 years later, the trumped-up case against me has ended. During these 19 years, in an effort to force me to abandon my beliefs, I was cruelly mistreated and subjected to various forms of tortures and ploys. Yet, I have maintained my beliefs and continued my struggle to today to come to the first step of victory. However, the sacrifices and losses are immeasurable. In particular, my wife and son have been subjected to false accusations, enormous persecution and suffering. I myself have been disabled as a result of torture and brutality. Before the discharge, even though [the Chinese authorities] mentioned to me multiple times that I can file complaints and pursue lawsuits, they have made a great deal of efforts to torture me further in order to deprive me of my rights to seek redress. Particularly, they made repeated efforts to threaten me that I must not receive interviews from foreign news media; I must not contact anyone other than my relatives. What is most unacceptable is that they claimed the right to continue to treat me as a prisoner after the discharge. I unequivocally rejected all these conditions. My next step is to arrange my life and study, to continue to fight against the oppression of the Mongolian nationality, and start my complaints and lawsuit. I would like to express my deep gratitude to my fellow Mongolians around the world who have been concerned about our family.

Xinna: Today is December 10, 2014. It is the International Human Rights Day. It is also the second day of Hada’s release. Taking this opportunity, I would like to say a few words to our fellow Mongolians around the world:

1. Hada who was imprisoned for 19 years had the luck not to die in prison. Yesterday, he was finally released. It would not have been a surprise had Hada died in prison given the darkness of the Chinese Political and Legal Affairs Committee during the Zhou Yongkang era. So, the question is, are the authorities afraid of Hada as an individual. The answer is NO. In fact, they are not afraid of Hada himself. But they are afraid of international public opinion demanding justice and the overwhelming number of our fellow Mongolians who have been concerned about our family. Thanks to the long efforts by our Mongolian brothers and sisters who tirelessly appealed for the wellbeing of Hada and our family to the international community, standing in freezing winter and hot summer to cry out for our freedom and drawing the attention of the international community. Therefore, here I would like to thank all of my fellow Mongolian brothers and sisters for their tireless support of our family.

2. Although Hada has been suffering from extreme physical and mental trauma as a result of the 19 years of imprisonment, he has never given up. What is even more admirable is that he speaks loudly and fearlessly to the news media. Being imprisoned is frightening. Surrendering out of fear of imprisonment is even more frightening.

3. In fact, the tragedy Hada and our family have gone through is the tip of the iceberg of the Mongolian question as a whole. Since the start of China’s Reform and Open-up policy thirty years ago, the national minorities in China have been facing new challenges. In this new era in history, how to effectively defend the rights of our Mongolians and how to continue our resistance has been a new question. The path to national revival is on a long path of exploration. Hada’s release marks a new chapter in Mongolian history. I urge the younger generations to learn a lesson from this experience. I hope more and more young Mongolians will embark on their journey of aspiration and realize their dreams through rational and effective means.

Xinna’s statement (December 9, 2014):

Today is December 9, 2014. After 19 years of imprisonment, Hada is finally released today. The three members of our family are finally able to join together. Hada spoke just now also. He is in much better spirits today. It can be said to be fortunate that he had not died during the 19 years of ordeal in prison. What is left to us is slow recovery. Here I would like to make the following three points:

1. Hada was handed down a harsh sentence of 15 years in jail because of national problems. However, after his completion of the full prison term on December 10, 2010, he was not released, instead he was placed under extrajudicial detention for four years. I won’t go into further details of the previous 15 years unjust imprisonment for now. As far as the past four years of extrajudicial detention is concerned, our family intends to file a lawsuit to fight to the end for a just resolution.

2. Because we, mother and son, consistently appealed for Hada’s freedom, the authorities have also persecuted us as criminals. I was sentenced to 3 years in jail with 5 years reprieve on a charge of “engaging in illegal business”. My son Uiles was also subjected to a trumped-up accusation of “illegal drug possession”. Therefore, we, mother and son, will also file lawsuits in accordance with the law.

3. If China is indeed a country of the rule of law, the unjust treatment of our family must be redressed. The parties involved in the persecution of our family must be brought to justice. Finally, I hope the tragedy of our family will never be repeated in any part of China. (December 9, 2014, China).