I do share the concerns of Amnesty International that China will worsen its human rights record by trying to suppress its critics and dissidents in a bid to portray a stable and harmonious image ahead of the Olympic Games in August.

While I believe our athletics should attend the Games after spending years training for this high point of their career, having made countless sacrifices in order to represent their country, I think our global political leaders should stand together and make their views clear on what is acceptable about human rights.

China knows that the world’s eyes are following its every move over the Tibet crisis. I don’t believe it doesn’t care about its worldwide reputation, about the defiant stand that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made in refusing to attend the Olympics. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is considering boycotting the opening ceremony, and other leaders who have said they will not be attending include Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, who was the first EU head of government to announce a boycott, as well as President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, who had previously promised to travel to Beijing. There may well be more to follow. Gordon Brown could boycott it too and send a sports minister in his place, but I doubt he will demonstrate this kind of conviction for human rights.

Amnesty International is disappointed that positive changes in China, such as a reform of the death penalty system and a greater reporting freedom for foreign journalists, have been overshadowed by stalled reform of detention without trial, repression of human rights defenders and internet censorship.

They have highlighted some disturbing cases of abuse of human rights. I hope Gordon Brown and other government leaders will spare some thought for these citizens, including these two cases:

Land rights activist, Yang Chunlin was sentenced to five years in prison on 25 March for “inciting subversion� after he spearheaded a petition campaign under the banner “We don’t want the Olympics, we want human rights�. He was initially denied access to lawyers on the grounds that his case apparently involved “state secrets�. He was also reportedly tortured by the police in detention, but was denied the opportunity to raise these allegations in court.

Housing rights activist Ye Guozhu is serving a four-year prison sentence after he applied for permission to hold a demonstration against forced evictions in Beijing. He was convicted in December 2004 of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble� because of his opposition to the seizure and demolition of property to make way for new construction projects for this year’s Olympic games.

Human Rights Watch has sent this letter to the Ethics Commission of International Olympic Committee stating its many concerns about abuses in China, and urging them to “articulate human rights standards for host countries to end the moral void in which it operates”. Who could argue against that?

China naturally wants to showcase its incredible futuristic looking stadiums and developments. But she must also show she is fair to all her people, and should start by releasing those citizens who have been unfairly imprisoned. Otherwise China’s reputation will suffer, rather than be enhanced, by hosting the Games. It could be a very high price to pay.