According to a report issued by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Chinese government’s treatment of recently deceased activist Cao Shunli, who had been under detention since September 2013, contradicted international laws regarding the treatment of ill prisoners.
On March 24, Cao Yunwei, the brother of deceased activist Cao Shunli, called the hospital where his sister had died to inquire about the whereabouts of her corpse. Hospital staff informed Mr. Cao that they were not in possession of her body and did not know where it was being stored.
In response to protests from a NGO on the UN assembly floor calling for a moment of silence for Cao Shunli, a civil society activist who recently died in detention after failing to receive adequate medical treatment, the UN Human Rights Council postponed the adoption of China’s Universal Periodic Review, a self-assessment of domestic human rights developments.
Despite denying her timely, adequate medical care while she was under detention, Chinese authorities have denied any responsibility for the death of activist Cao Shunli, who died in a Beijing hospital on Friday, March 14. Although Cao suffered from tuberculosis, liver diseases, and other ailments, Chinese authorities denied her requests for medical parole to seek necessary treatment.
Police detained more than 20 individuals who attempted to visit activist Cao Shunli at the 309 Military Hospital in Beijing. One activist, Wang Ling, said that a nurse blocked the entrance to the intensive care unit where Cao is undergoing treatment, telling the visitors that she is deeply unconscious and would not recognize them.
Attorney Wang Yu met with imprisoned activist Cao Shunli on Wednesday, October 30. Wang has been the only person granted access to Cao since her incarceration in September. Cao was detained while trying to travel to Geneva to attend a human rights conference ahead of the UN’s scheduled review of human rights development in China. She had sought to participate in the UN’s review process.
The BBC reports that activist Cao Shunli, who disappeared on September 14, remains in detention at an undisclosed location. Cao was part of a group of Chinese activists traveling to Geneva to speak to the UN about the human rights situation in China. Although the other detained activists were subsequently released, Cao's whereabouts remain unknown.