On the morning of January 13, a hearing was held at the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice in Chengdu on the case of Lu Siwei, a mainland human rights lawyer who represented 12 Hong Kong people who were “sent to China” and whose license to practice law was revoked by the authorities. Some human rights activists who were ready to go to the hearing were taken away from their homes for “tea”.
Many Human Rights Lawyers Arrested
This morning (13), people at the scene sent out news that outside the Hall of Justice, on both the east and west sides, the security is very strict, covered with a large number of police and police cars, three or four police officers surrounded one, not allowed to take pictures and not allowed to go near the Hall of Justice, these people are very rude and barbaric behavior.
At 8:40 a.m., lawyers Xie Yan Yi, Cheng Hai and others were intercepted by the police, and the two sides argued, and the scene was intense.
Including rights lawyers Wu Kui Ming, Wang Yu, Chen Keyun, Liu Si Xin, Wen Donghai, Xie Yang, Wei Level and Yu Wensheng’s wife Xu Yan were taken to the Qingyang District Public Security Bureau Xiyuhe Police Station one after another.
Xie Yang, Ren Quanniu and other lawyers in the police station. (Courtesy of informant)
Lawyer Ren Quanniu, who is facing a suspended license at the same time as Lu Si-bit, was also present to show his solidarity. At around 10:00, as he and Xie Yang were walking along the roadside and preparing to leave, three or four people suddenly rushed up and roughly pinned Xie Yang to the ground, grabbed him by the neck and took him away.
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The reporter called the West Royal and police station to verify the whereabouts of people, hoping that the police station as soon as possible, the man who answered the phone blinked and did not respond positively, and then hung up the phone.
A person at the scene said that in addition to mainland human rights activists who came to the scene in solidarity today, there were also people from the embassies and consulates of more than 10 countries, including the United States and Australia, who came to the scene to attend the hearing, but were prohibited from doing so.
In addition, there are Chen Yunfei and other rights activists from home were taken away by the police “tea”, until 16:00 to be free. As of 18:00, Wen Donghai was still being held in detention.
The authorities’ actions sparked public anger and criticism.
Wang Yu’s husband, Bao Longjun, tweeted, “What kind of hearing is this? Has it become a meeting to arrest people?” The wife of lawyer Wen Donghai also said, “This hearing is still open? The defense lawyers are not even allowed to enter, simply shameless hearings are not open.” There are also netizens message: “open a hearing also like a big enemy, so much confidence where to go?”
Lawyer: the allegations are not evidence of political repression
Cheng Hai’s lawyer said in the hearing briefing that the hearing lasted from 9:15 to 13:00.
The evidence that the authorities accused Lu Siwei of violating the law was mainly several tweets published and retweeted on the Twitter account @lulawyer.
Lu Siwei and his agent refuted, one, Twitter is not Lu Siwei’s, there is no sufficient evidence to prove that it is Lu’s, published tweets and Lu has nothing to do; two, Twitter is a U.S. server, belongs to the U.S. jurisdiction, the Department of Justice to the United States to take evidence, according to the U.S.-China judicial assistance agreement, not through the Chinese (Communist) Ministry of Justice to request the consent of the U.S. judiciary and handling, is an abuse of power illegal behavior, the evidence taken as a whole is invalid; three, the content of Twitter is the freedom of speech of the tweeter, protected by law, so the allegations have no factual and legal basis, the case should be dismissed, and the criminal responsibility of the case officer.
Xie Yan Yi lawyer in the “dark night before the selfless person without fear – Lu Si bit lawyer license suspension hearing agent speech”, expressed his views on the case.
In his statement, he said, “The Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice’s attempt to revoke Lu Siwei’s license is a political suppression and persecution in the name of administrative punishment, and the judicial administration has become a marionette to suppress goodness and create unjust cases. The fundamental reason behind this is that Lu Siwei’s lawyer intervened in the 12 Hong Kong people case during the ‘sensitive’ period. This is further corroborated by the recent public opinion campaign in the official media on the intervention of Lu Siwei and other lawyers in the 12 Hong Kong people case before and after the Sichuan Judicial Department issued an administrative punishment notice to Lu Siwei.”
“This punishment clearly violates the principle of administrative justice and is extremely harmful.”
“The legal, objective, and independent stance as well as the humanitarian spirit that lawyers such as Lu Siwei and Ren Quanniu uphold during their involvement in the 12 Hong Kong people case, which is of constitutional significance, and their courage and commitment to defend human rights and the rule of law will certainly be written in the history of contemporary Chinese rule of law.”
Ren Quanniu lawyer hearing case will also be held at 8:30 a.m. on the 19th in Room 205 of the Henan Provincial Department of Justice, Ren Quanniu hope to get outside attention.
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