More than 130 attorneys and
legal staff were summoned or taken away in July for questioning in what
campaigners called the fiercest attempt in decades to silence activists
attempting to redress injustices in China’s tightly controlled courts.
Zhou Shifeng, the founder of
Beijing's Fengrui law firm, which was at the centre of the crackdown, has now
been accused of “state subversion”, which carries a maximum sentence of life in
jail, his colleague Liu Xiaoyuan said on a verified social media account Tuesday.
It was the first time
relatives have learnt the whereabouts of the 16 lawyers and their staff, who
have been held by police in undisclosed locations for months.
READ MORE - What China’s crackdown on lawyers says about
authorities’ fear of burgeoning rights defence movement
The charges make it highly
likely that the detainees will be tried, and face potentially lengthy jail
terms.
Chinese courts are tightly
controlled by the ruling Communist party and have a conviction rate of more
than 99.9 percent, with forced confessions often used as evidence.
A week after he was
arrested, state media said Zhou – who provided legal advice to victims of a
2008 poisoned baby milk scandal – “confessed” to an unspecified crime.
Trainee lawyer Li Shuyun, 24, is accused of the
same charge as Zhou, Liu added. Fengrui lawyer Wang Quanzhang is also held for
the charge, his sister said in an Internet post.
Four other people are said
to be accused of “incitement to state subversion”, which carries a maximum
sentence of 15 years.
They include 24-year-old
legal assistant Zhao Wei, her husband and mother both told AFP, citing a police
notice.
“I feel deep grief,” added
mother Zheng Ruixia.
Zhou, Zhao and Li are being
held at a detention centre in the northern port city of Tianjin, the notices
said.
READ MORE - ‘Sins of the father’: How China targets
children of lawyers and activists as crackdown widens
Friends also posted notices
on social media showing that lawyers Xie Yanyi, Xie Yang and Sui Muqing had
been formally arrested on the same incitement charge.
Over the past decade a small group of a few
hundred Chinese lawyers used the courts to seek redress – sometimes
successfully – for what they considered egregious rights violations.
They include victims of
forced demolitions, illegal “black jails”, dissidents jailed for their writing,
and others detained for practising their religious faith.
State media – which in the
past sometimes praised rights lawyers' efforts -- have called the attorneys a
“criminal gang” who created public disorder by organising protests outside
courthouses.
China’s ruling Communist Party does not tolerate
organised dissent, and has tightened controls on civil society under the
leadership of President Xi Jinping.
Despite official harassment,
dozens of Chinese lawyers have come to the defence of their colleagues.
“We are defenders of human
rights and the law, and possess an unyielding conviction that the rule of law
will ultimately triumph over dictatorship,” a New Year statement attributed to
300 lawyers posted online said.
“The smog is thick and the
night dark, but the sun will shine as the time comes,” they added.
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