The curious case of Hada

15 Dec 10 | Asia and Pacific, China

His 15-year jail term for spying and separatist activities is finally over, but Chinese dissident Hada, (who is ethnically Mongolian) is missing, along with his wife and son.

The 55-year-old writer was scheduled to be released last Friday, while the world was distracted by the Nobel-Liu Xiaobo shenanigans but the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center believes Hada is still being detained.

The organisation said his sister-in-law had told them a state security official had delivered a CD over the weekend with pictures of Hada with his wife and son posing in what looks like a hotel room next to a table laden with food. The photos are dated 10 December, the day of his expected release. Curiously the photos had also been anonymously posted to a human rights website boxun.com a few hours earlier.

It is highly likely that the authorities are holding them either under house arrest or detention for the purpose of silencing them through isolation and so-called “ideological work”, the organisation’s president, Enghebatu Togochog, told Index.

It is common in China for freed dissidents to be further detained after their release for a while as a measure to prevent possible unrest and to stop media interviews. The photos may be to reassure his family he is fine and out of jail. But until now he has been prevented from calling his family.

So who is Hada?

The New York Times called him “one of China’s longest serving political prisoners.” He had called for greater autonomy for ethnic Mongolians living inside China in the Inner Mongolia region, a vast land of flat steppe: desert in the west, grassland in the east. The Mongolians share similar grievances as the Tibetans: They believe their culture is being diluted and destroyed by Chinese Han migrants.

Hada was arrested at a rally in the regional capital Hohot back in 1995 for his activities with the underground Southern Mongolian Democracy Alliance. According to the New York Times, the spying charges came from interviews he gave with overseas news media.

'Do you know who I am?'

16 Aug 10 | Uncategorized

A lieutenant colonel in the French army has been caught on camera menacing a Togolese journalist after the man took photographs of him admonishing youths. Romuald Letondo also threatened to smash Didier Ledoux’s camera.

Unfortunately for Letondot, the whole incident, including the rather pompous question “Do you know who I am?” was caught on video and has been posted on YouTube. The officer’s actions, unacceptable even back when Togo was a French colony, have drawn widespread condemnation from both the African media and French officials. Letondot was forced to apologise directly to Ledoux.

Letondot claims that he had been worried that the photos would be misinterpreted. Luckily the video clears up the affair. Fun starts at 50 seconds.

Colin Montgomerie wins gagging order

12 Aug 10 | Index Index, minipost

The Scottish golfer and Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie, has successfully won a court injunction against details of his private life being exposed. Montgomerie won the order against a tabloid newspaper in July, but the details have only recently come to light. A settlement between the two parties was reached out of court and there is no evidence that the allegations were true. The order came after reports that Montgomerie’s second marriage was in trouble. The golfer is the latest celebrity to use a gagging order to prevent articles about their private life being published.