Mass Crackdown on Chinese Lawyers and Defenders

2017

Wu Gan (aka Tufu) formally indicted for subversion of state power (indictment dated December 23) and will stand trial at Tianjin Municipal No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, according to an online statement made by his defense lawyer Ge Yongxi (葛永喜).

At the Tianjin’s No 2 Detention Center this afternoon, Ge Yongxi was told that he would not be allowed to meet with his client until his representation of Wu Gan was confirmed by the court. Source.

Lawyers Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) and Liu Zhengqing (刘正清) meet with their client, lawyer Xie Yang, who has been detained since July 2015 on charges of “inciting subversion of state power.” Transcripts released from the lawyers’ interview with Xie Yang reveals the following: he remains in detention after refusing to plead guilty and frame fellow lawyers as conditions to his release on bail; he has suffered extensive torture while in detention. Source. 

Yuan Shanshan says that her husband, Xie Yanyi, has been released from detention but remains under surveillance in a hotel in Tianjin. Source.

RFA reports that Tang Zhishun and Xing Qingxian have been released from detention: Tang Zhishun has returned to his home in Beijing, but Xing Qingxian’s whereabouts remain unknown, according to his wife, He Juan. Source.

Lawyer Li Chunfu, brother of human right lawyer Li Heping, is released on “bail pending further investigation” and returned to his Beijing home in psychological distress. Wang Qiaoling, wife of Li Heping, reports that Li Chunfu was skin and bones, dazed, and in a state of extreme fear. In the days following his return he was anxious, aggressive, and violent towards his wife Bi Liping (毕丽萍). Source.

Li Chunfu is hospitalized and diagnosed with symptoms of schizophrenia after experiencing extreme torture while being under “residential surveillance in a designated place” for 500 days. Source. 

Xie Yanyi returns home after being detained since July 2015. He was first released on January 5 but held under surveillance in a hotel in Tianjin. Source. 

According to China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, while under “residential surveillance in a designated location” for six months, Li Heping, Wang Quanzhang, and other lawyers suffered extreme torture, including electric shock with voltage high enough to cause fainting. Source.

Wang Qiaoling, wife of 709 lawyer Li Heping, finds out after numerous inquiries that her husband is held at the Tianjin No. 1 Detention Center under a different name, Li Xiaocun. The detention center had previously denied that it was holding Li Heping. Source.

A group of senior judges, lawyers and jurists from countries around the world including Australia, France, Spain, U.S. and U.K. issue an open letter expressing continued concern over the treatment of lawyers and legal assistants, as well as their colleagues, supporters, and family members in China. Source.

The European External Action Service issues a statement calling for an investigation into the account of torture of Xie Yang, and allegations of torture of Li Heping and Wang Quanzhang, and the release of the lawyers and human rights defenders that remain in detention. Source.

TIt is confirmed online that Xing Qingxian has been released on bail and has returned home to Chengdu, approximately one month after his actual release from detention. Source.

Wang Quanzhang is indicted is on “subversion of state power. “ Source.

An article in the state-run The Global Times claims that lawyer Jiang Tianyong fabricated reports of lawyer Xie Yang’s torture, and states that Xie Yang told reporters that he was in good condition and able to contact family members while being held under residential surveillance. Xinhua accuses four foreign media outlets of producing “fake news” in reporting Xie Yang’s torture claims. Source. 

China Central Television (CCTV) broadcasts an “interview” with lawyer Jiang Tianyong “confessing” to distributing fabricated reports of lawyer Xie Yang’s torture. Source. 

Chen Guiqiu, wife of Xie Yang, releases a video calling for international attention on her husband’s case. She also condemns the deterioration of the rule of law in China and urges the authorities to release all those detained. Source. 

Lawyer Chen Jiangang releases a half-hour video in which he stands by the veracity of his transcripts of his meetings with detained lawyer Xie Yang, who detailed acts of torture he suffered in detention. Chen also denounces state-run media reports that claimed that Xie’s allegation of torture was fabricated. Source. 

Xie Yang’s wife, Chen Guiqiu (陈桂秋), writes letter to the state-appointed lawyer, He Xiaodian (贺小电), criticizing him for meeting with Xie Yang without the knowledge of or permission from Xie’s family, while the authorities have repeatedly refused to allow the two family-appointed lawyers, Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) and Liu Zhengqing (刘正清), to meet with Xie. Source.

Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) receives another phone call from Beijing Chaoyang Bureau of Justice stating that he will be investigated for the transcripts he posted online regarding Xie Yang’s alleged torture in detention. Chen also reports that lawyer He Xiaodian has again met with Xie Yang, and stresses that the authorities refusing to let Xie meet with the lawyer of his family’s choosing is unreasonable and unlawful. Source.

Xie Yang’s wife, Chen Guiqiu (陈桂秋), issues statement that Changsha Intermediate People’s Court will try Xie Yang on April 25, 2017 for inciting subversion of state power and disrupting court order, and that his defense lawyer at court will be He Xiaodian. Source.

Dozens of supporters gather outside Changsha Intermediate People’s Court for Xie Yang’s trial on charges of inciting subversion of state power and disrupting court order but were told that the trial has been postponed indefinitely. Source.

May 3

While on holiday in Xishuangbanna, lawyer Chen Jiangang (陈建刚), his wife, two children, and two of his friends are detained at a Jinghong, Yunnan police station around 1pm. At around 5pm, all six are taken away from the station in vehicles by armed police. Source. In January 2017, published transcripts of his meetings with his client Xie Yang (谢阳), detained 709 lawyer, who detailed torture he suffered in detention. Xie is charged with “inciting subversion of state power.”

May 8 

Lawyer Xie Yang is tried at Changsha Intermediate People’s Court for inciting subversion of state power and disrupting court order. No verdict is announced. The court announces in a Weibo post that lawyer Xie Yang is charged with “inciting subversion of state power and disrupting court order.” The court also releases a video on a Hunan TV station showing Xie Yang admitting to working with foreign media outlets to sensationalize stories, and stating that he had not been tortured. Source.

State-run media outlet The Global Times reports that Xie Yang has been released on bail following the trial. Source.

Earlier this year, on January 13, Xie said in a hand-written note that was later released online: “If, one day in the future, I do confess—whether in writing or on camera or on tape — that will not be the true expression of my own mind. It may be because I’ve been subjected to prolonged torture, or because I’ve been offered the chance to be released on bail to reunite with my family.” Source. 

May 9

Lawyer Li Heping returns home. In photographs and a video clips released online, he appears to have lost weight and has visibly aged, with his hair now white. He was first detained on July 10, 2015. Source.

May 18

At an U.S congressional hearing titled “Disappeared, Jailed, and Tortured in China: Wives Petition for Their Husbands’ Freedom,” Chen Guiqiu, wife of Xie Yang, along with Wang Yanfeng, wife of lawyer Tang Jingling, and Lee Chin-yu, wife of Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che, testify about their husbands’ cases—including their disappearances, denied access to lawyers, and torture in detentionLi Wenzu, wife of lawyer Wang Quanzhang, also testifies via a video message. Source.

May 26

Family of lawyer Wang Quanzhang, including his father, mother, and wife Li Wenzu, are followed by police as they attempt to file a lawsuit against the Supreme People’s Procuratorate for illegal procedures in the processing of his case. Wang has been missing for 685 days and no information has been released to his family or lawyers. The lawsuit was not accepted by the procuratorate, which claimed the family did not follow appropriate procedures. Source.

Jun 5

Jiang Tianyong's father receives an official notice, dated May 31, 2017, stating that Jiang has been formally arrested on suspicion of subverting state power. The notice also states that he is being held at Changsha City No. 1 Detention Center. This is the first time his family has been made aware of his whereabouts in the six months since his detention. Source.