BY SUI-LEE WEE
BEIJING Tue Aug 19, 2014 12:31pm BST
Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang talks to media in Beijing in this July 20, 2012 picture.
CREDIT: REUTERS/PETAR KUJUNDZIC
(Reuters) – Chinese police have questioned a prominent human rights lawyer about meetings with the former U.S. ambassador to China, his alleged “insults” against senior officials and his frequent trips to Japan, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Pu Zhiqiang, one of China’s most outspoken dissidents, was arrested in June on charges of causing a disturbance and illegal access to personal information in a case that sparked an outcry among rights workers in China and the West.
Pu, 49, a free-speech lawyer, has represented many well-known dissidents, including artist Ai Weiwei and activists of the “New Citizens’ Movement”, a group that has urged Chinese leaders to disclose their assets.
He also opposed forced labour camps, which the government has abolished, and he was featured prominently in state media for that campaign – unusual for a government critic.