In China the reality is that lawyers and human rights activists are placed under police surveillance, ethnic minorities are jailed for political crimes and the followers of unofficial religions are arrested. Here are just a few of the people who suffered from China’s lack of respect for human rights last year:

Gao Zhisheng – lawyer

The defence lawyer and human rights activist remained under tight police surveillance throughout the year after his conviction in December 2006 for “inciting subversion”.

Between 24 June and 4 July and again between 22 September and early November, he was held incommunicado and tortured in unknown locations, before being returned to house arrest in Beijing.

Yang Chunlin – human rights activist

He was detained in July for “subversion of state power”, after supporting the legal action brought by over 40,000 farmers whose land had been confiscated without compensation. He had helped to gather signatures for a petition entitled “We want human rights, not the Olympics” signed by many of the farmers.

Yang Chunlin was tortured, including on numerous occasions by having his arms and legs stretched and chained to the four corners of an iron bed, and being forced to eat, drink and defecate in that position.

Li Heping - laywer

The human rights lawyer was abducted by unidentified individuals in late September, beaten for several hours and told to stop his human rights work. He was then released.

Chen Xiaoming – housing rights activist

The Shanghai housing rights activist died of a massive haemorrhage shortly after being released from prison on medical parole on 1 July.

Hua Huaiqi – church leader

The Beijing-based house church leader was sentenced in a closed trial in June to six months in prison for obstructing justice. He was reportedly beaten in jail.

His 76-year-old mother, who protested against her son’s treatment, was herself sentenced to two years in prison for destruction of public and private property after her cane struck the headlight of an oncoming police car.

Han Dingxiang - bishop

The elderly bishop, a member of China’s unofficial Catholic church, died in custody under suspicious circumstances after more than 20 years in jail. He was quickly cremated by local authorities.

Ismail Semed – ethnic Uighur

A member of the Uighur ethnic minority who was forcibly returned to China from Pakistan in 2003, was executed on charges of “attempting to split the Motherland” and possession of firearms and explosives.

Ablikim Abdiriyim – ethnic Uighur

The son of Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer, was tried in secret and sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of “instigating and engaging in secessionist activities”.

According to official sources, these activities consisted largely of asking Yahoo’s “Uighur-language webmaster” to post articles on its website. However, both Yahoo! and Alibaba, the Chinese internet company that operates Yahoo! China’s services, have stated they do not provide a Uighur-language web service.

Ablikim Abdiriyim was reported to have been tortured and otherwise ill-treated in prison, and was said to have had difficulty recognizing family members during a visit in December. The authorities continued to deny him access to medical treatment

Runggye Adak – Tibetan

The Tibetan nomad who during a cultural festival publicly called for the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet, was sentenced to eight years in prison for “inciting to split the country” and “severely disrupting public order”.

Three others were jailed for 10, nine and three years on charges of “colluding with foreign separatist forces to split the country and distributing political pamphlets” for their efforts to send information to overseas organizations about Runggye Adak’s arrest.

Kim Yong-ja – North Korean refugee

An undocumented North Korean woman who reportedly committed suicide in detention because she feared she would be forcibly returned to North Korea. She was among 40 North Korean refugees arrested in December near Qinhuangdao, Hubei Province.