Crackdown on Chinese lawyers fighting for human rights
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A new clampdown by China against lawyers who defend human rights. Human Rights Watch China (HRWC) claims that Guo Feixiong, in prison, has not been allowed to see his lawyer, Hu Xiao, who traveled more than 1,500 kilometers in order to appeal his sentence.
In 2005, Guo (in the photo), as a lawyer, helped the inhabitants of the village of Taishi (Guangdong) to expel the corrupt village chief. In September of 2006, he was arrested for "illegal commercial activities," and in November of 2007 he was sentenced to five years in prison. Now he is contesting his arrest and sentencing, saying that his confession was exacted under torture. HRWC claims that he was: interrogated for 13 days straight without being allowed to sleep; hung from the ceiling by his arms and legs; subjected to electric shocks applied to his genitals; tied to his bed for 42 days; and repeatedly beaten in prison. Last October, his lawyer went from Beijing to visit him in prison in Meizhou (Guangdong), but waited for a number of days without receiving permission to see him.
HRWC claims that on October 30, activist lawyers Cheng Hai and Li Subin were "asked" to leave the Beijing Yitong Law Firm, the professional association where they work. The two are among 35 lawyers who on August 26 published an appeal on the internet calling for the direct election of the directors of the lawyers' association of Beijing, a self-governing body whose members are appointed by the state. Five other signatories have been fired or driven out of their professional associations.
Li Subin says that six or seven officials of the district justice office of Haidian came to his office, took photographs, and interrogated those present about their activities.
In September, another lawyer, Tang Jitian, who also signed the appeal, left the professional association where he worked due to severe pressure from his superiors, "in order to save his future." On September 24, he presented a citation against the Beijing lawyers' association, claiming that this conduct violates the principles of Chinese law and international agreements. But the court has not yet agreed to hear his case.
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