Surviving China’s Jails: Michael Kovrig and Peter Dahlin
Shownotes
In China’s black jails, detainees are pressured to confess to crimes they don’t know they committed while being prevented from knowing where they’re being imprisoned or even from seeing daylight.
The organization Safeguard Defenders has documented the practice, known as “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location” (RSDL), in its just-published third edition of a book that tells the stories of survivors in their own words.
Peter Dahlin (Safeguard Defenders) and Michael Kovrig (Kovrig Group, Centre for Strategic Statecraft), themselves survivors of RSDL detention, join reporter Savannah Billman on this episode to discuss the legal origins of RSDL, how it works, and the power of survivor testimonies collected in the book.
Read more: https://www.thewirechina.com/2026/10/25/torture-tales-from-chinas-black-jails/
02:05 - The People’s Republic of the Disappeared
03:06 - What is RSDL?
06:46 - Legal Concerns & Pushback Against RSDL
09:10 - National Security Charges & Interrogation Practices
13:14: Post-RSDL Life
17:00 - Exposing RSDL: Testimonials & Documenting the System
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