China: ‘Heartless’ ban on Tiananmen Mothers visiting cemetery signals escalating repression

3 June 2026

Also available in Español

Responding to reports that Chinese authorities have barred the mothers of protesters killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves on this week’s anniversary of the atrocity, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:

“Banning the relatives of people killed in the Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves is a heartless act by the Chinese authorities.

“The Tiananmen Mothers were not previously blocked from cemetery visits on the 4 June anniversary, and it is deeply troubling that this year the suppression of Tiananmen commemoration appears to be escalating – reflecting the government’s deep-seated insecurity about people’s demands for accountability.