Disbarred

Liu Wei has had her license permanently revoked as a result of her advocacy on behalf of politically-sensitive clients. Ms. Wei has represented Falun Gong practitioners; victims of illegal land requisition and home demolition; people discriminated against for having HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis B; parents of the victims of melamine-tainted milk powder; and fellow rights defense lawyers.

Liu Wei is a Beijing-based lawyer from the Shun He Law Firm. She has represented Falun Gong practitioners; victims of illegal land requisition and home demolition; people discriminated against for having HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis B; parents of the victims of melamine-tainted milk powder; and fellow rights defense lawyer Ni Yulan (倪玉兰). Ms. Liu signed an open letter offering legal assistance to Tibetans facing prosecution in the wake of riots in March 2008. She was among the principal participants who pushed for direct elections within the Beijing Lawyers Association in 2008 and 2009. In June 2009, she was also one of the initial signers of Charter 08, a manifesto calling for fundamental changes in China, including an independent legal system, freedom of association, and the elimination of one-party rule.

Ms. Liu’s personal law license was formally revoked after she defended a Falun Gong practitioner in Luzhou (泸州) City Intermediate Court, Sichuan. During the course of the trial on April 27, 2009, the judge repeatedly blocked the efforts of Ms. Liu and fellow defense lawyer Tang Jitian (唐吉田) to speak out on behalf of their client.

Police prevented Ms. Liu’s retained counsel of choice, Li Subin, from attending the four-hour hearing on the revocation of her license on April 22, 2010. Ms. Liu and Mr. Tang were accused by the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau of “disrupting courtroom order” (扰乱法庭秩序) and “interfering with the regular litigation activities” (干扰诉讼活动). Their licenses were revoked two weeks later.

On May 4, 2010, Ms. Liu and Mr. Tang filed a criminal complaint with the Beijing Xicheng District Procuratorate against Xiao Lizhu, head of the Bureau’s Lawyers’ Management Department, claiming that she criminally abused her power in retaliating against them for their legal reform efforts. These efforts included filing a criminal complaint against Ms. Xiao and other Bureau officials for extorting exceptionally high annual license renewal fees from lawyers.

In June, 2010, Ms. Liu appealed for administrative reconsideration of the revocation of her license; on Aug. 27, 2010, she received written notice that the original decision was sustained. On Sept. 12, 2010, she initiated a lawsuit against the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, seeking to have the administrative punishment withdrawn and requesting a public apology.

Ms. Liu has continued to advocate for sufferers of human rights abuses. On Jan. 17, 2011 Ms. Liu, in conjunction with 18 other Chinese lawyers, released an open letter in response to the torture of human rights lawyers Gao Zhisheng and Fan Yafeng, decrying the use of torture by Chinese police and calling for China to uphold the prohibitions on torture written in Chinese law. Then on Feb. 9, 2011 Ms. Liu released an open letter with fellow activist Shen Zichen (申子辰) to the national Women’s League as well as a local Women’s League branch in Heilongjiang province. The letter calls for a thorough investigation into the case of Liu Guiying (刘桂英), a female lawyer who after an allegedly violent encounter with police, suffered problems with her pregnancy and was forced to terminate her pregnancy.

Last updated April 7, 2011

Draft Statement by Tang Jitian and Liu Wei for the Beijing Municipal Bureau of JusticeAdministrative Hearing, April 22, 2010, in Human Rights in China, “Lawyers Facing License Revocation Detail Irregular Courtroom Activities Permitted by Judge,” April 20, 2010, available at http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/press?revision_id=174069&item_id=174065.

Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the on the situation of human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, Addendum, Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received, ¶345-52, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/22/Add.1 (Feb. 24, 2010), available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/13session/reports.htm.