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group called the Revolutionary Marxist League (RML) which, on 5 April 1979, had organized a rally to protest against the repression of the "democratic movement" in the People's Republic of China. According to information received by Amnesty International, the rally had been officially authorized; at the end of the rally, representatives of the RML went to the Hong Kong offices of the press agency of the People's Republic of China to hand over a letter of protest at which time they were arrested and charged with "unlawful assembly". The four were sentenced to imprisonment on 5 June 1979 on this charge and three other members of the RML are said to have received suspended sentences on the same charge.
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The information available to Amnesty International indicates that the imprisonment of Leung Kwok-hung, Chang Chun-wah, Wong Chung-ching and Hou Man-wan, and the conviction of others mentioned earlier, constitute a violation of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lays down that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Amnesty International therefore urges you to intervene so that these cases be reviewed and discharged, and that the four persons imprisoned be immediately released. Furthermore, they reportedly complained of their treatment in the Reception Center, where they claim to have been isolated and refused permission to read newspapers, and we would welcome an investigation of these complaints.
Finally, in general terms, Amnesty International is concerned that the Public Order Ordinance permits arrest and prosecution for the peaceful exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and urges that it be reviewed to bring it into line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Hoping that you will take these matters into consideration, I am
Yours faithfully,
inter
Dick Oosting
Deputy Secretary General
Cc:
Lord Carrington, Foreign Secretary
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