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Detention of Chinese Lawyer Chang Boyang Violates UN Principles

Date: 2014-06-12

(New York) – Chinese lawyer Chang Boyang (常伯阳), who has been detained without access to legal counsel for more than two weeks since he was brought in for questioning on May 27, should be immediately released from detention, the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers said today. Chang, a well-respected legal aid lawyer from Zhengzhou in Henan province, has spent years representing disadvantaged groups in China, including rural women, migrant workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS. The charges against him stem solely from his legal representation of clients, which violates international principles protecting the independence of lawyers.

(New York) – Chinese lawyer Chang Boyang (常伯阳), who has been detained without access to legal counsel for more than two weeks since he was brought in for questioning on May 27, should be immediately released from detention, the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers said today. Chang, a well-respected legal aid lawyer from Zhengzhou in Henan province, has spent years representing disadvantaged groups in China, including rural women, migrant workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS. The charges against him stem solely from his legal representation of clients, which violates international principles protecting the independence of lawyers.

According to reports, Chang was summoned for questioning after attempting to visit his clients who had been detained on suspicion of “gathering to disturb public order.” He himself was later detained on the same charge. Chang’s family did not receive any formal notification of his detention until May 29. In the days following his detention, a group of lawyers willing to represent Chang were also prevented from meeting with him.

“Chang’s case is a clear test of whether China respects the role of lawyers in its legal system,” said Robert Hornick, Chair of the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers. “The rule of law requires that lawyers must not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of their professional work. Chang’s case bears the same disturbing hallmark of numerous other instances in which lawyers have been detained or harassed for undertaking their professional obligations as lawyers.”  

Chang’s case is similar to that of the Beijing-based lawyer Qu Zhenhong (屈振红), who was also recently targeted by the authorities for representing Pu Zhiqiang (浦志強), another prominent rights lawyer. The Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers is alarmed by this most recent series of detentions, which represents an escalating crackdown by the government on lawyers representing unpopular clients and causes in China.

The Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers urges the Chinese government to adhere to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Under Articles 16 and 18, the Chinese government must guarantee that Chang and other lawyers in China “not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions,” that they are able to perform their duties as lawyers “without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference,” and finally that they “not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics.” In this case, the Chinese central authorities should immediately intervene to ensure that Chang is released.

 

For further inquiries, please contact the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers at csclawyers@gmail.com or (212) 636-6862. Follow the Committee on Twitter at @CSCLawyers and on Facebook at facebook.com/CommitteeToSupportChineseLawyers.