We reported yesterday that the China Human Rights Defenders org had reported that…
Local authorities in china are doing their best to put pressure on law firms not to let vocal human rights lawyers speak out.. otherwise practice licenses could be revoked.. The Asia Wall St Journal has a great in depth piece on the subject today..
Here’s the intro and link to the article
Doomsday for Chinese Human-Rights Lawyers?
A silent crackdown may be under way.
"Without this stamp, I can’t practice law," Jiang Tianyong says as he pulls a leathery booklet out of his shirt pocket. He points to a dog-eared page near the back of the book: A red imprint there grants him permission to practice law in China until May 31. The following page, where his renewal stamp should be, is blank. In a few days he’ll be disbarred.
Mr. Jiang is one of at least a dozen prominent human-rights lawyers across China on the verge of disbarment, in what appears to be a clampdown on their practice. Chinese lawyers must renew their credentials every year in May at their local judicial bureau or Lawyers Association through a perfunctory process known as the "annual exam," otherwise they cannot practice. There is no actual test involved — the association or bureau simply summons lawyers to its offices, confirms they have paid their dues and gives them a stamp. "If you read the regulations, it’s very clear it should not be a substantive review, as long as you fulfill the requirements, the registration should be automatic," says Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher at Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong.
But it doesn’t always work this way. Mr. Jiang’s story is a case in point: A former school teacher from Henan province, last year he led a group of lawyers who volunteered to represent Tibetans after the March 14 riots. That April, the Judicial Bureau sent his firm a warning letter; then the head of his firm asked him to stop taking sensitive cases and giving interviews to foreign media. He aceded to neither request, and the Judicial Bureau refused to renew his license until the end of June, leaving him unable to practice for a month. This year he has continued to handle high-profile cases involving Tibetan monks, one of whom was released a few weeks ago as a result of work by Mr. Jiang and his partner. He doesn’t expect his license to be renewed before it expires Sunday.
Full article at:
