House arrest

Tang Jitian has represented Falun Gong practitioners; victims of illegal land requisitions; those suffering from HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis B; and parents of children harmed in the melamine-tainted milk scandal. In response to Mr. Tang’s work, both his personal license and his firm license have been revoked. On Feb. 16, 2011, Mr. Tang was taken into secret detention; before being released to strict house arrest on March 5, he was brutally tortured.

Tang Jitian was born in Jilin on Sept. 1, 1969. He began practicing law in 2005 in Guangdong, and relocated to Beijing in 2007, where he was a lawyer with the Beijing Anhui Law Firm until his license was revoked in 2009.

Mr. Tang has spoken out on behalf of those persecuted for their beliefs, such as Falun Gong practitioners, as well as representing victims of illegal land requisition and home demolition; those discriminated against for having HIV, AIDS and hepatitis B; and parents of children harmed by melamine-tainted milk powder. Mr. Tang has been active in pursuing reform of China’s legal system, pushing for direct elections in the Beijing Lawyers Association. He 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.

In response to Mr. Tang’s work and activism, his professional license has become a target: both his personal license and his firm license have been revoked.

In 2009, Mr. Tang’s employer, the Beijing Anhui Law Firm, failed its initial licensing assessment. The firm was informed that it had failed because members had handled mass cases; cases representing the victims of land grabs; detainees subjected to Re-education through Labor; Falun Gong practitioners; and victims of melamine-tainted milk powder. Additionally, firm attorneys had called for democratic elections within the Beijing Lawyers Association. Under pressure, two partners in the firm resigned, leaving Anhui without the regulatory requirement of two partners.

Mr. Tang’s personal law license was formally revoked after he defended a Falun Gong practitioner in Sichuan. During the course of the trial on April 27, 2009, the judge repeatedly blocked Mr. Tang and fellow defense lawyer Liu Wei’s efforts to speak out on behalf of their client. In a four-hour hearing on April 22, 2010, Mr. Tang and Ms. Liu were accused by the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau of “disrupting courtroom order and interfering with the regular litigation process” in violation of Article 49(1), Clause 6, of the PRC Law on Lawyers. Their licenses were revoked two weeks later.

On May 4, 2010, Mr. Tang and Ms. Liu 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, Mr. Tang appealed for administrative reconsideration of the revocation of his license; on Sept.3, he received written notice that the original decision was sustained. On Sept. 10, he initiated a lawsuit against the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, seeking to have the administrative punishment withdrawn and requesting a public apology.

Mr. Tang has additionally faced restrictions on his right to travel. In May 2010, Shenzhen customs officials prevented him from crossing from the mainland into Hong Kong, refusing to explain the grounds for their refusal.

Like many of those who signed Charter 08, Mr. Tang was subject to harsh treatment in the period surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. On Dec. 12, 2010, Mr. Tang was kidnapped in Beijing by National Security officers and forced to return to the city of Yanji, Jilin province, where his household registration is located.

On Feb. 16, 2011, Mr. Tang attended a luncheon in Beijing at which he and other lawyers and activists discussed ways of helping Chen Guangcheng, a lawyer currently under draconian house arrest. That evening, Mr. Tang was seized by police who forced open the door of his home. Mr. Tang was released on March 5, and reported having been brutally tortured while in custody. He is now under strict house arrest.

Last updated April 18, 2011

Tang Jitian and Liu Wei, “Our Response to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice’s Revocation of Our Lawyer’s Licenses as a Penalty,” April 20, 2010, available at http://monitorchina.org/en_show.php?id=8596.

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.

Tang Jitian, “Fighting for Rights Continues Even as Persecution Escalates -- A Human Rights Attorney’s Experience and Perseverance,” July 5, 2009, available at http://www.cecc.gov/pages/roundtables/2009/20090710/FinalLawyersStatements_bob%20Fu.pdf.

Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, Addendum, Situations in specific countries or territories, ¶78 & 86, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/11/41/Add.1 (May 19, 2009), available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/11session/reports.htm.