IAPL
Lawyers for Lawyers has learned that Chinese lawyers Xie Yang, Wang Yu and Song Yusheng have been detained, disbarred or harassed in January 2022. In a statement we express concern about the recents acts of harassment against the lawyers.
Lawyers for Lawyers has learned that Chinese lawyers Xie Yang, Wang Yu, and Song Yusheng have been detained, disbarred or harassed in January 2022. In a #statement we express concern about the recents acts of harassment against the lawyers. https://t.co/nrzAZJ7CEv
— Lawyers for Lawyers (@L4L_INT) January 28, 2022
Beijing-based lawyer Song Yusheng was summoned to a disbarment hearing in Beijing on 11 January 2022. Song Yusheng defended human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng in 2018, and was until recently engaged in the defence of (some of the) 12 Hong Kong citizens that were arrested at sea whilst trying to flee to Taiwan after their involvement in protests against the National Security Law in Hong Kong. According to news reports, he faces disciplinary action for his speech in defence of his client(s). Mr. Song is the fifth lawyer who faces disciplinary sanctions after involvement with the case of the 12 Hong Kong citizens.
Defense lawyers for Song Yusheng, Peng Jian and Wang Quanzhang, argue his speech did not violate Association rules & hearing sets an extremely dangerous precedent to limit lawyers' defense efforts in court. https://t.co/lPzxu46wmd https://t.co/9SNK1tpidt pic.twitter.com/ksK4dcDk5m
— CHRD????? (@CHRDnet) January 11, 2022
Beijing lawyer Wang Yu, a victim of the ‘709-crackdown’ has not only lost her license to practice law in November 2020, she is also forbidden from applying for a passport and traveling overseas. After her disbarment she continued handling legal cases and giving legal advice as a “citizen agent”. It has been reported she was publicly assaulted outside a court house on 13 January 2022 because of a case she was handling in Suzhou. The police have reportedly failed to make a report or to seek out surveillance camera footage of the assault. This comes after Wang Yu went missing for a week in March 2021 after being given an International Women’s Day Award by the United States government.
“The restrictions came as authorities detained two prominent human rights activists, lawyer Xie Yang and writer Yang Maodong, while a third rights lawyer missing since early December is believed by relatives to be in secret detention.”@the29principles https://t.co/DQ0DxRNsEN
— Chakra (@chakraip) January 27, 2022
Furthermore, according to the information received, human rights lawyer Xie Yang was detained by national security police on 11 January 2022 for “inciting subversion of state power” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, often used as catch-all charges to detain lawyers and human rights activists in China. According to his wife, who lives in the United States, his phone was operational but calls were forwarded to voicemail. Xie Yang was first detained in Changsha No. 1 Detention Centre, but his current whereabouts could not be determined with certainty. Xie Yang had been detained previously after being targeted during the ‘709-crackdown’ and lost his license to practice law in 2020.
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