Chinese authorities have formally arrested several Chinese rights lawyers, including the most prominent woman human rights lawyer, on state subversion charges. The arrest is an indication that the ruling Communist Party sees the lawyer as a threat to its monopoly on power and as part of a crackdown on lawyers who have helped people fight for their legal rights.
A well-known human rights lawyer, Wang Yu, was taken into custody six months ago and accused the next month of inciting subversion and "causing disturbance," Reuters reported. Wang Yu's husband Bao Longjun, who worked with her, was also charged with "inciting subversion of state power."
A formal notice from police in the northern city of Tianjin was received on Wednesday, said Li Yuhan, a lawyer representing Wang Yu. Li Yuhan said that subversion of state power is a serious charge. "It could attract a life sentence," she said.
Li Yuhan said that she never thought that Wang Yu would be charged with subversion of state power. Li said that Wang Yu has provided her legal services to people on the lowest rungs of society.
According to Amnesty Intenational's report, at least six lawyers and activists have been formally arrested of "inciting subversion of state power" and subverting state power after months of secret detention. As much as 248 lawyers and activists are targeted in detentions, and 23 of them are still missing or in police custody.
Wang Yu defended Li Tingting, a feminist right advocate detained in March last year over a planned protest against sexual harassment in several Chinese cities in a case that drew international scrutiny. She also defended Ilham Tohti, a professor accused of inciting separatism in his native Xinjiang who was sentenced last year to life in prison, and Cao Shunli, an activist who died in detention after being denied medical treatment.
Li Yuhan said she had not met Wang Yu since her client's detention in July. Police denied her requests to meet Wang seven times in the past six months.
China also detained a Swede, Peter Jesper Dahlin, a co-founder of the China Urgent Action Working Group, which works with lawyers who provide services to victims of rights violations in the country. Dahlin was investigated "on suspicion of engaging in activities harmful to Chinese national security."
The United States has expressed it concerns about the crackdown against Chinese human rights lawyers, VoA News reported.
The U.S. Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said that the U.S. urges China to drop the charges and immediately release the lawyers and others detained for seeking to protect the rights of Chinese citizens.
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