By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 08:48 EST, 14 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:18 EST, 14 November 2012 . A Holiday Inn in China is being used as a 'black jail' for people who dare to complain about life under the Communist regime, it has been claimed. A group of alleged victims say they were snatched on their way to Beijing to air their grievances over being forcibly removed from their homes to make way for an expansion of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in 2005. Their plan was to hand in a petition to the10-day annual meeting of China's legislature in March, CNN reported. Black Jail? Xie Jinghua was among five people stopped by plain-clothes police officers and hauled back to the Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui - located in Lingang New City on the outskirts of Shanghai . But during the 665-mile journey from their home to the Chinese capital, they were stopped by plain-clothes police and hauled back to the Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui - located in Lingang New City on the outskirts of Shanghai. There they say they were held for eight days until the conference was over, locked in a room under 24-hour guard and tied to the bed if they tried to escape. Xie Jinghua said all she and her husband wanted was to complain about the compensation they received after their farmhouse was demolished leaving them homeless. Instead they were locked in separate rooms where they were told they would be given 'classes about petitioner regulations'. Security: Soldiers guard the Great Hall of the People, home to the annual National People's Congress, which the petitioners claim they were prevented from attending . But Xie says she received no such classes. She was kept in a third-storey room under the watchful eye of two female officers. She became so desperate and frightened that, at one point, she tried to escape over the balcony, only to be met by seven more officers who escorted her back to the room. 'I really felt quite sick inside,' told CNN. '[They] put me on the bed and used the bedspread to hold me down.' The couple, who now live in a tiny . apartment near the airport where her son works as a janitor, were among . five people who claimed to have been held against their will at the . Holiday Inn. When contacted . by CNN, The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) - the UK-based firm . that owns the Holiday Inn Express brand - said there was no indication . any of their rooms had been used to incarcerate recalcitrant citizens. A . spokeswoman did however say a group of rooms were booked by a . government official from the Pudong district of Shanghai on the days in . question. Expansion: A group of alleged victims say they were snatched on their way to Beijing to air their grievances over being forcibly removed from their homes to make way for an expansion of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in 2005 (pictured) But when asked to disclose any CCTV footage of the period, IHG refused saying all tapes were erased after a month. An . IHG statement read: 'We have found no evidence which would confirm . these accusations or any sign that the hotel owner knew or cooperated . with (the) government on this hotel stay and the hotel is operated in . accordance with PRC [People's Republic of China] local laws and . regulations.' They added . that a 'full investigation' had taken place and that details of any . guests could not be revealed because of privacy laws. Up to 10,000 people a year are hauled off the streets, locked up and beaten . in the makeshift prisons in abandoned factories or converted apartment . blocks, according to New . York-based Human Rights Watch. They are snatched on their way to hand in petitions listing their grievances to the authorities in Beijing and other big cities. And . the kidnappers are paid by local officials who get black marks against . their names if too many citizens from their area lodge complaints. Petitioners . are held for days or months in the detention centres, deprived of food . and sleep, beaten and threatened, say campaigners. Human Rights Watch blames a civil service points system . that penalises officials if too many people from their area complain to . the central government and rewards those who minimise grievances. Because bonuses and promotions depend . on how many points they have, it is economical for officials to pay . kidnappers to intercept, detain and intimidate petitioners, it said. CNN reporters did approach the hotel directly and were told by a front desk worker that there were a number of guests who were staying in their rooms and were not leaving, and there were people standing outside their room, but that they had no idea why. ING said they had interviews all staff at the hotel and none had stood up the claims. Dissenters being held against their will in China is nothing new. But activists say this is the first time a facility run by a foreign body has been allegedly used for unlawful detentions. Phelim Kine, a senior Asia researcher with the New York-based Human Rights Watch told CNN: . 'From our research and research from domestic Chinese human rights [groups], people are held from a few days to several months and routinely subjected to physical abuse, sleep deprivation and very often they have to buy their way out of custody. 'The government has denied there are any such black jail facilities in China. Even though [Chinese] state media run stories about black jails, there is an official disconnect.' Up to 10,000 people a year are hauled off the streets, locked up and beaten . in the makeshift prisons in abandoned factories or converted apartment . blocks. They are snatched on their way to hand in petitions listing their grievances to the authorities in Beijing and other big cities. And the kidnappers are paid by local . officials who get black marks against their names if too many citizens . from their area lodge complaints. Petitioners . are held for days or months in the detention centres, deprived of food . and sleep, beaten and threatened, according to a recent report from New . York-based Human Rights Watch. The jails become most crowded at . politically sensitive times, such as during big meetings and visits, . when the Communist Party wants to show the capital at its most orderly, . activists said. Police allegedly aided the captors or refused to intervene in several cases, the report said. But the report said the secret prisons . are run as a lucrative business. It blamed a civil service points system . that penalises officials if too many people from their area complain to . the central government and rewards those who minimise grievances. Because bonuses and promotions depend . on how many points they have, it is economical for officials to pay . kidnappers to intercept, detain and intimidate petitioners, it said. China's petitions offices were developed as a safety valve to ease social discontent by giving citizens a channel to complain and giving officials a window into their worries. But an alleged internal government directive from southern China revealed officials get two points if they bring petitioners back from Beijing or the provincial capital of Changsha, while those who fail to do so have a half-point deducted. Officials typically pay black jails between £13 and £26 a day to hold complainants until they can be picked up and returned home. Police are aware of the prisons but ignore them because they keep potentially  troublesome petitioners away from cities, the report said.
Xie Jinghua and her husband were among five people who claim they were held against their will at the Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui, near Shanghai .
They were allegedly snatched on their way to complain after their homes were demolished to make way for Shanghai's Pudong International .
Airport .
Their plan was to hand in a petition to the10-day annual meeting of China's legislature in March .
Xie claims she was held for eight days under 24-hour guard .
When she tried to escape she was caught by seven guards and tied to bed .
IHG, who own Holiday Inn, says 'no indication' rooms were used as prisons .
Campaigners say unofficial detentions in 'black jails' are rising in China .
By . Matt Blake . PUBLISHED: . 08:48 EST, 14 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:18 EST, 14 November 2012 . A Holiday Inn in China is being used as a 'black jail' for people who dare to complain about life under the Communist regime, it has been claimed. A group of alleged victims say they were snatched on their way to Beijing to air their grievances over being forcibly removed from their homes to make way for an expansion of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in 2005. Their plan was to hand in a petition to the10-day annual meeting of China's legislature in March, CNN reported. Black Jail? Xie Jinghua was among five people stopped by plain-clothes police officers and hauled back to the Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui - located in Lingang New City on the outskirts of Shanghai . But during the 665-mile journey from their home to the Chinese capital, they were stopped by plain-clothes police and hauled back to the Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui - located in Lingang New City on the outskirts of Shanghai. There they say they were held for eight days until the conference was over, locked in a room under 24-hour guard and tied to the bed if they tried to escape. Xie Jinghua said all she and her husband wanted was to complain about the compensation they received after their farmhouse was demolished leaving them homeless. Instead they were locked in separate rooms where they were told they would be given 'classes about petitioner regulations'. Security: Soldiers guard the Great Hall of the People, home to the annual National People's Congress, which the petitioners claim they were prevented from attending . But Xie says she received no such classes. She was kept in a third-storey room under the watchful eye of two female officers. She became so desperate and frightened that, at one point, she tried to escape over the balcony, only to be met by seven more officers who escorted her back to the room. 'I really felt quite sick inside,' told CNN. '[They] put me on the bed and used the bedspread to hold me down.' The couple, who now live in a tiny . apartment near the airport where her son works as a janitor, were among . five people who claimed to have been held against their will at the . Holiday Inn. When contacted . by CNN, The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) - the UK-based firm . that owns the Holiday Inn Express brand - said there was no indication . any of their rooms had been used to incarcerate recalcitrant citizens. A . spokeswoman did however say a group of rooms were booked by a . government official from the Pudong district of Shanghai on the days in . question. Expansion: A group of alleged victims say they were snatched on their way to Beijing to air their grievances over being forcibly removed from their homes to make way for an expansion of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in 2005 (pictured) But when asked to disclose any CCTV footage of the period, IHG refused saying all tapes were erased after a month. An . IHG statement read: 'We have found no evidence which would confirm . these accusations or any sign that the hotel owner knew or cooperated . with (the) government on this hotel stay and the hotel is operated in . accordance with PRC [People's Republic of China] local laws and . regulations.' They added . that a 'full investigation' had taken place and that details of any . guests could not be revealed because of privacy laws. Up to 10,000 people a year are hauled off the streets, locked up and beaten . in the makeshift prisons in abandoned factories or converted apartment . blocks, according to New . York-based Human Rights Watch. They are snatched on their way to hand in petitions listing their grievances to the authorities in Beijing and other big cities. And . the kidnappers are paid by local officials who get black marks against . their names if too many citizens from their area lodge complaints. Petitioners . are held for days or months in the detention centres, deprived of food . and sleep, beaten and threatened, say campaigners. Human Rights Watch blames a civil service points system . that penalises officials if too many people from their area complain to . the central government and rewards those who minimise grievances. Because bonuses and promotions depend . on how many points they have, it is economical for officials to pay . kidnappers to intercept, detain and intimidate petitioners, it said. CNN reporters did approach the hotel directly and were told by a front desk worker that there were a number of guests who were staying in their rooms and were not leaving, and there were people standing outside their room, but that they had no idea why. ING said they had interviews all staff at the hotel and none had stood up the claims. Dissenters being held against their will in China is nothing new. But activists say this is the first time a facility run by a foreign body has been allegedly used for unlawful detentions. Phelim Kine, a senior Asia researcher with the New York-based Human Rights Watch told CNN: . 'From our research and research from domestic Chinese human rights [groups], people are held from a few days to several months and routinely subjected to physical abuse, sleep deprivation and very often they have to buy their way out of custody. 'The government has denied there are any such black jail facilities in China. Even though [Chinese] state media run stories about black jails, there is an official disconnect.' Up to 10,000 people a year are hauled off the streets, locked up and beaten . in the makeshift prisons in abandoned factories or converted apartment . blocks. They are snatched on their way to hand in petitions listing their grievances to the authorities in Beijing and other big cities. And the kidnappers are paid by local . officials who get black marks against their names if too many citizens . from their area lodge complaints. Petitioners . are held for days or months in the detention centres, deprived of food . and sleep, beaten and threatened, according to a recent report from New . York-based Human Rights Watch. The jails become most crowded at . politically sensitive times, such as during big meetings and visits, . when the Communist Party wants to show the capital at its most orderly, . activists said. Police allegedly aided the captors or refused to intervene in several cases, the report said. But the report said the secret prisons . are run as a lucrative business. It blamed a civil service points system . that penalises officials if too many people from their area complain to . the central government and rewards those who minimise grievances. Because bonuses and promotions depend . on how many points they have, it is economical for officials to pay . kidnappers to intercept, detain and intimidate petitioners, it said. China's petitions offices were developed as a safety valve to ease social discontent by giving citizens a channel to complain and giving officials a window into their worries. But an alleged internal government directive from southern China revealed officials get two points if they bring petitioners back from Beijing or the provincial capital of Changsha, while those who fail to do so have a half-point deducted. Officials typically pay black jails between £13 and £26 a day to hold complainants until they can be picked up and returned home. Police are aware of the prisons but ignore them because they keep potentially  troublesome petitioners away from cities, the report said.
used as a 'black jail' for people who dare to from their homes to make way for an expansion of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in 2005. Their plan was to hand in a petition to the10-day annual meeting of China's legislature in March, Holiday Inn Express in Nanhuizui - located in There they say they were held for eight days under 24-hour guard and tied to the bed if they tried to escape. Xie Jinghua said all she and her husband wanted was to complain about the her son works as a janitor, were among . five their will at the . Holiday Inn. When contacted . Express brand - said there was no indication . held against their will in China is nothing new. are snatched on their way to hand in petitions