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Sweeping Attack on Rights Defense Lawyers Threatens China’s Entire Legal Profession

Date: 2015-07-13

(New York) – A recent sweeping attack on Chinese human rights lawyers should signal alarm among the broader community of lawyers in China and worldwide, the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers said today. In what some are calling an unprecedented government-orchestrated crackdown on China’s growing rights defense movement, over 100 lawyers and legal activists have been detained, questioned, and targeted through other means of intimidation. “The scale and sophistication of this crackdown threatens more than just human rights and public interest lawyers,” said Elisabeth Wickeri, Executive Director of the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers. “It is all-out attack on the principles underlying rule of law, and on any lawyer who seeks to advance the interests of his or her clients through the legal system.”



(New York) – A recent sweeping attack on Chinese human rights lawyers should signal alarm among the broader community of lawyers in China and worldwide, the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers said today. In what some are calling an unprecedented government-orchestrated crackdown on China’s growing rights defense movement, over 100 lawyers and legal activists have been detained, questioned, and targeted through other means of intimidation. “The scale and sophistication of this crackdown threatens more than just human rights and public interest lawyers,” said Elisabeth Wickeri, Executive Director of the Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers. “It is all-out attack on the principles underlying rule of law, and on any lawyer who seeks to advance the interests of his or her clients through the legal system.”

As reported by China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG), among those detained are Zhou Shifeng, Wang Yu, Huang Liqun, and Wang Quanzhang—all lawyers from Beijing’s Fengrui Law Firm, which is known for successful representations and organized advocacy campaigns in high-profile, politically sensitive human rights cases, including those involving journalists and religious minorities who have experienced government abuse and intimidation. Authorities also detained Bao Longjun, Wang Yu’s husband, and Liu Sixin, a Fengrui staff member. According to Chinese state media reports, these individuals are alleged to be involved in a “major criminal syndicate” that “gravely disrupted social order” under the guise of “rights defense,” “justice,” and the “public interest.”  In reality, however, it seems apparent that through this crackdown, the Chinese government is attempting to discredit and delegitimize the highly potent and increasingly effective rights defense movement, which aims to empower Chinese citizens to assert their civil rights through litigation and legal activism, and often brings unwanted attention to government corruption and wrongdoing. CHRLCG also reports that Sui Muqing, a rights defense lawyer based in Guangzhou, has been detained and charged with “inciting subversion of state power” in connection with this work. Disturbingly, several rights lawyers and legal activists have been reported missing and, as of July 12, are still unaccounted for. According to CHRLCG, among those still missing are lawyers Li Shuyun, Liu Xiaoyuan, Li Heping, Liu Shuhui, Zheng Enchong, Xie Yang, and Wen Donghai.

The Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers calls for the immediate release of all detained individuals, including the lawyers and staff of Fengrui Law Firm and lawyer Sui Muqing. Moreover, the Committee calls for government authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts and status of all reportedly disappeared individuals in connection with this crackdown, including those listed above. Finally, the Committee continues to urge government authorities to ensure that all lawyers are able to carry out their professional obligations without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference, in conformity with international standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

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The Committee to Support Chinese Lawyers is a group of independent lawyers from outside China whose mission is to support lawyers in their endeavor to uphold the rule of law in China.  The CSCL, which is housed at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School in New York City, seeks to strengthen the role of lawyers and to promote their independence.

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.