Nov. 19 is the expiration date of the twice extended investigation period for Xu Zhiyong and rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, Li Chiaochu, the girlfriend of Chinese rights activist Xu Zhiyong, who is now in custody, tweeted Thursday. Xu Zhiyong’s sister called the task force that day to inquire about the progress of the case and was told that the Shandong provincial procuratorate had approved a third extension of the investigation period until January 19 next year, according to the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law.
Article 159 of the law stipulates that criminal suspects who may be sentenced to more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment can have their investigation period extended by another two months upon approval or decision of the people’s procuratorate of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government.
Ding Jiaxi’s wife, Luo Shengchun, tweeted on Wednesday that Ding and Xu Zhiyong had been arrested by police in Linyi, Shandong province, for five months, during which time they were held in secret detention and tortured to extract confessions. The families of the two men have tried to make information public and file complaints, but have been confused and delayed by authorities.
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