Activists protest outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on 12 July. Voice of America Photography.
At least 190 Human rights lawyers have been imprisoned, detained or interrogated since the beginning of the nationwide crackdown in China in recent days.
Human rights groups and activists abroad have responded with protests in front of several Chinese consulates with the aim of drawing attention to what they consider a dangerous infringement on civil liberties in China.. She further , have filed a petitionin which they ask the United States government to cancel the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for the end of this year.
The Ministry of Public Security coordinated the campaign of repression, that started on 9 July, as published on 11 July in the state-controlled newspaper, China Daily. The newspaper reported that Beijing's Fengrui law firm, principal objetivo de las operaciones policiales, He is accused of running a “criminal organization” who has participated in the organization of 40 “conflictive incidents” that have altered public order and undermined the credibility of the authorities.
The firm, dirigido por Zhou Shifeng, has hired several of the bravest lawyers in the country. One of the lawyers at the firm, Wang Yu, began representing a follower of the banned spiritual discipline Falun Gong in June 2015 and filed a petition against the authorities on behalf of his client for illegal sentencing. He 9 July, at 4 of the morning, Police raided Wang's home and arrested the lawyer and her husband, Bao Longjun, who is also a lawyer at the firm. Two days later, The police revealed that they had imprisoned six lawyers and employees of the firm.
In his report, China Daily also claimed that through the popular mobile messaging application WeChat, Lawyers and activists in defense of human rights created an ad hoc group to “frame” one death due to police shooting in Qing An in May as an effort by the State to maintain social stability, highlighting the fact that Xu Chunhe, el hombre que murió abaleado, was a petitioner. In China, The petition system is a way for citizens to request the regional or central government to investigate cases of abuse of power or corruption committed by local authorities.
The newspaper suggested that the lawyers' intention was to increase their reputation and make a profit..
From 2009, Chinese government represses civil rights movement. In January of 2014, Xu Zhiyong, human rights lawyer and leading figure of the movement, was sentenced to four years in prison and in May 2014 thearrest of prominent lawyer Pu Zhiqiang. Until now, The persecution has been carried out on a case-by-case basis., but the current national campaign of repression against legal professionals is unprecedented.
After the imprisonment of lawyers and employees, including those from the Fengrui law firm in Beijing, The police have gone on to detain and interrogate other lawyers who publicly asked for their release.. According to theSupport Group for Human Rights Lawyers in China, at least 190 legal professionals have been arrested, imprisoned, cited or isolated. To date, 11 have been imprisoned for a crime or are under house arrest, 19 have disappeared or are incommunicado and 160 They have been released after going through police summonses and interrogations.
Despite the police threat in the raid against the publication of messages, legal professionals continue to demonstrate. Below is a selection of quotes from China's lawyer community (through theFacebook page of the Support Group for Human Rights Lawyers in China):
"The police came to my house at night and warned me: “Don't show your support. No exaggerations on the internet. Take responsibility for what you say.”. It is completely cruel and inhumane to ignore your dear friends.. Even Satan would look down on a person like that.. Worrying about your friends is not an exaggeration. It is a necessary responsibility. — Feng Yanqiang, lawyer."
"To try to reassert their control over society, the characteristic of this type of “new policies” is restricting freedom of expression, blackmail the press and intensify repressive measures. As of today's date, all the blackmail and control over human rights lawyers arises from there, with the authority that wants to reinforce control over social discourse inside and outside China. — Lu Liangbiao, lawyer."
"They can monitor my email and phone, They can follow me and they can hack my Internet connection. But I can ignore them because I have nothing to hide. I will resist and welcome surveillance and tracking because I have done nothing to harm this country.. Please, don't act behind my back; ¡please, attack me or stop me! — Professor Chen Taihe, Guilin University of Electronic Technology."
"Trampling all laws to punish is fundamentally destroying the legitimacy of the government. Although there may be a temporary stability effect, It is a process that sows hatred. A temporary peace is achieved, but sooner or later the volcano will erupt, the flood will drown everything. — Professor He Weifang, Peking University"
"From the perspective of the public authority, the importance of lawyers is not respected and discriminated against, some have even been marginalized, which is totally wrong. Lawyers should hold their heads high., move forward with courage. Because we have the strength of the rule of law. The rule of law cannot do without us."
Overseas human rights activists have protested in front of Chinese consulates in major cities., including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hong Kong, demanding the immediate release of the lawyers. They have also used the US government's virtual petition platform. UU. to ask the White House to pressure the Chinese government to cancel the visit to the US. UU. of the bowed president Xi Jinping:
"Since Xi Jinping came to power, China's human rights record has continued to worsen. Under his rule more than 1000 dissidents. We urge President Obama and the US government. UU. to investigate this case of serious violation of human rights and to, for humanitarian reasons, take strong measures to intervene. Xi's state visit scheduled for September this year should be canceled and all official exchanges with the Chinese government suspended until this matter is resolved."
instatements made via email, Marco Rubio and Chris Smith, representatives of the Executive Committee of the US Congress. UU. about China, have described the campaign of repression as a “bold contempt” towards human rights and have declared that the wave of repression represents an undeniable setback in relations between the United States and. UU. and China.
Meanwhile, Activists continue to share updates on the crackdown via social media with the hashtag #freethelawyers.
