WASHINGTON, D.C. & TORONTO (Updated Apr. 2)—Protesters gathered at Russian diplomatic missions in Toronto and Washington, D.C on Friday, after the Russian government deported a Chinese U.N.-protected political refugee and her daughter.
Chinese authorities detained Ma Hui and her eight-year-old daughter Ma Jing Jing of St. Petersburg, both Falun Gong adherents, immediately upon their arrival in China on March 29. Jing Jing was later deposited at Ma's sister's home, but is not known where Ma is being detained.
"To take a woman and her eight year old child, to illegally send them back to China knowing that they will face persecution, it's unconscionable, it's disgraceful, and it's shameful," said actor-writer-director Michael Mahonen, who was representing Falun Dafa Association of Canada at the Toronto protest.
The Russian move ignored international treaties, as the pair were under protection of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
"UNHCR is concerned at their forcible deportation in violation of the Russian Federation's international obligations and of the Russian Federation Law on Refugees," said a UNHCR press release.
The protesters believe that the deportation signals a further erosion of basic freedoms in Russia.
"It's a real huge step backward for Russia, in terms of trying better themselves as a democratic nation," said Mahonen.
"I think that the Russian government should bear responsibility."
The protesters called on Russian authorities to take the mother and daughter back. The deportation came on the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Russia.
"Don't think that you can give spiritual people up as an offering to a dictatorship," said Court Pearman, 30, of Washington, D.C. Pearman said he was surprised at the move, but feared the worst for Ms. Ma.
"Hopefully she won't be killed," he said.
The U.S.-based Falun Gong advocacy group The Falun Dafa Information Centre ( www.faluninfo.net ) points to detailed reports of wrongful deaths of more than 3000 Falun Gong practitioners since 1999. The group believes that the actual death count is much higher, but information is lacking because of tight information control in the PRC. A number of independent human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also documented large-scale persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
This deportation came on the heels of dozens of arrests of other Falun Gong practitioners, though no reports of other deportations have since arisen. On March 25 and 26, nearly 30 Falun Gong practitioners were detained by Russian police officers. They had been protesting the persecution of Falun Gong in front of the Chinese Embassy in Moscow when Hu Jintao and his Chinese delegation arrived in Russia. They were allegedly detained at the behest of the Chinese delegation, who had complained about their presence. All have been subsequently released.
In Toronto, following the protest, Mahonen delivered to the Toronto Russian consulate a letter protesting the "illegal deportation" and to "express our grave concerns." Upon arriving at the consulate, all media present were immediately expelled by an animated consular official. Protesters in Washington said that they faxed and mailed letters to embassy staff members, but that they had yet to receive a reply.
The Russian Embassy in Washington had no immediate comment on the protests. Li Ding, 33, of Vienna, Virginia, said that he had been trying to meet with officials at the Russian embassy for years to discuss the human rights violations of Falun Gong practitioners in China, but had been refused.
Mahonen, who directed Sandstorm, a 2003 film that depicts the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by Chinese police, says Russia's decision to deport the practitioners is particularly bizarre in light of the country's history.
"Russia should know better. I mean, they've endured communism, they've endured repression. They have had many of their innocent citizens murdered and killed by their prior communist regime," he said.
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