{"id":5399,"date":"2015-07-18T23:03:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T03:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/?p=5399"},"modified":"2015-07-16T23:33:30","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T03:33:30","slug":"chinese-lawyers-at-risk-of-torture-as-crackdown-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/chinese-lawyers-at-risk-of-torture-as-crackdown-continues","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Lawyers &#8216;At Risk of Torture&#8217; as Crackdown Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/07\/CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5400\" src=\"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/07\/CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/07\/CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/07\/CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2015\/07\/CJyb4u2UsAAHJLL.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>2015-07-16<\/p>\n<p>Three top Chinese rights lawyers are at &#8220;grave risk of torture&#8221; amid a massive police operation targeting the country&#8217;s embattled legal profession, an international rights group said on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Some 200 lawyers, paralegals, and rights activists have been targeted by China&#8217;s<!--more--> state security police since July 10, with 30 people still missing or in police custody by Thursday afternoon, rights groups said.<\/p>\n<p>The Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) said in a statement on its website: &#8220;205 lawyers\/law firm staff\/human right activists have been detained\/arrested\/incommunicado\/summoned\/restricted freedom temporarily.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>London-based Amnesty International meanwhile said it had counted 194 lawyers and related activists targeted, with 30 remaining behind bars or under house arrest by Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>It said lawyers Xie Yang, Sui Muqing, and activist Gou Hongguo are being held on suspicion of &#8220;incitement to subvert state power,&#8221; a state security charge that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years&#8217; imprisonment in &#8220;serious cases.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;All three men are at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment,&#8221; the group said in a statement on its website.<\/p>\n<p>Xie, Sui, and Gou have been placed under &#8220;residential surveillance,&#8221; which involves placing a heavy police guard over a detainee, either at their home or at an undisclosed location like a holiday resort or a private house.<\/p>\n<p>China&#8217;s laws on state security crimes state that police can hold suspects in secret for up to six months without needing to inform their families or ensure their access to lawyers.<\/p>\n<p>Unprecedented severity<\/p>\n<p>Amnesty International China researcher William Nee called on police to disclose the whereabouts of the detainees, and to allow them visits from lawyers and family members.<\/p>\n<p>Nee said the scale and severity of the current crackdown by the ruling Chinese Communist Party is unprecedented.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The authorities appear intent on spreading fear among those willing to stand up for human rights,&#8221; Nee said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The use of state security charges is chilling, and only underlines the ferocity of the attack against rights lawyers,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>It is possible that many of those who remain in detention, as well as those who have been summoned and questioned, could face similar state security charges, according to Amnesty.<\/p>\n<p>Wang Xiaoli, a lawyer based in the eastern province of Jiangxi, said she had been questioned and warned by police after she signed an open letter protesting the crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are going after all the people who signed the letter of support, and have taken statements while &#8216;drinking tea&#8217; with them to tell them not to openly support the lawyers any more,&#8221; Wang said.<\/p>\n<p>She said that ordinary Chinese people are next in the firing line, however.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If they have detained all the lawyers, then who is going to help regular citizens when they target them?&#8221; she said.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/risk-07162015133347.html\">For detail please visit here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2015-07-16 Three top Chinese rights lawy &hellip; 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