On 7 June 2011 at approximately 12pm, human rights defender Ms *Zeng Jinyan*received a phone call from her landlady asking her to immediately vacate the apartment in which she is living with her three year old daughter in Yantian District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province.

During the phone call, the landlady told Zeng Jinyan that she had been under severe pressure from the local authorities for a week demanding that she force Zeng Jinyan to leave the apartment. Zeng Jinyan had moved to the south eastern city of Shenzhen in April 2011, following a sustained campaign of intimidation and harassment by police in Beijing, where she had been based for many years. Zeng Jinyan’s daughter is attending a kindergarten in Shenzhen. Zeng Jinyan fears that similar pressure will now be placed on any other landlord from whom she attempts to rent an apartment. Zeng Jinyan’s husband, human rights defender Mr *Hu Jia*, is due to be released on 26 June 2011 following three and a half years’ imprisonment on charges of ‘inciting subversion of state power’.

Zeng Jinyan is an active human rights defender who began her work advocating on behalf of those living with HIV/AIDS. When her husband was forcibly disappeared by police in 2006 she campaigned for his release through her widely read online blog. Since then she has been subjected to varying levels of house arrest, harassment and intimidation but has nevertheless continued her work supporting other human rights defenders and their families.

*Front Line urges the authorities in China to:*

1. Immediately cease all harassment of Zeng Jinyan, and ensure that other persons connected to her are not subjected to harassment or intimidation, as it is believed that these actions are solely a result of her legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights;
   
   
2. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the ongoing harassment of Zeng Jinyan with a view to publishing the results thereof and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
   
   
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in China are able to carry out their legitimate and peaceful human rights activities free of restrictions and without fear of reprisals.