SHANGHAI HOUSING RIGHTS LAWYER ZHENG ENCHONG DETAINED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SHANGHAI 000075 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM AND DRL/PHD E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/22/2033 TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH SUBJECT: SHANGHAI HOUSING RIGHTS LAWYER ZHENG ENCHONG DETAINED REF: 07 SHANGHAI 414 AND PREVIOUS CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Beede, Political/Economic Section Chief, U.S. Consulate , Shanghai . REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) In a phone conversation with Poloff on February 22, Shanghai petitioner Chen Enquan confirmed a February 20 report by Human Rights in China (HRIC) that prominent Shanghai housing rights lawyer Zheng Enchong was detained on February 20. She also asserted as appeared in the HRIC report that the police were behind beatings that Zheng had suffered on February 16 and ¶17. According to Chen, Zheng was detained by police on the morning of February 20 and released that evening. He remains at home under police surveillance. ¶2. (C) Chen and a few other petitioners visited Chen's wife, Jiang Meili, on the afternoon of February 20 after hearing about the detention. She had also heard that Zheng was beaten during his February 20 detention, but is unable to contact Zheng or his wife to confirm. She said that during her February 20 visit, Jiang reported that the couple's phone had been turned off and it was impossible for them to receive phone calls. Poloff has also made numerous attempts to reach Zheng by his mobile phone without any success. ¶3. (C) Zheng is considered to be one of Shanghai's most prominent dissidents. He defended hundreds of Shanghai petitioners before he was sentenced to three years of prison in 2003 for "illegally providing state secrets." After being released in June 2006, Zheng has been under heavy police surveillance and regularly harassed by police. (See reftel.) JARRETT