After the 709 arrests six years ago, the wives of arrested lawyers, such as Wang Qialing and Li Wenzu, have been running for their husbands outside the high walls. Although their husbands have been released, more lawyers have been re-imprisoned, and their wives have become the “second generation of 709 wives. It has been more than eight months since Chinese rights lawyer Chang Weiping, who participated in the Xiamen meeting, was “disappeared” after his torture story was exposed last year. Ding Jiaxi, a human rights lawyer, was also arrested for his involvement in the Xiamen meeting. Their wives outside the walls continue to speak out for their husbands, even in the face of threats.
Chinese human rights lawyer Chang Weiping was accused of “subverting state power” for his participation in the “Xiamen Conference” in late 2019. In October last year, he was taken away by the Baoji City Public Security Bureau after making a video recording of his torture while under residential surveillance.
Chen Zijuan, the wife of Chang Wei Ping, was interviewed by the station and said that she had exhausted all options but still had no news of her husband, and that officials kept pressuring lawyers to represent him, forcing him to replace five lawyers.
Chen Zijuan: “There is no lawfulness at all, I filed a complaint with the Procuratorate, but I was told to find the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, just jumping around, a matter of life and death, no one cares. The first lawyer was chased by the Justice Bureau from Chongqing to Baoji, where he was forcibly taken away, and said that his lawyer’s license would be cancelled if he did not return. Not that I want to change so many lawyers, but lawyers have been suppressed, not allowed to participate in the case.”
The wife is worried that her husband will become Wang Quanzhang’s second
Chen Zijuan said she was worried about her husband’s health and that he would be like Wang Quanzhang, the lawyer arrested in the “709 arrests”, who has been out of touch with the outside world for years.
Chen Zijuan: “I’ve heard about Wang Quanzhang and Li Wenzu before, Wang Quanzhang is not heard from for several years, no lawyers and family members to meet, our situation is the same, I did not think such a thing would come to us, I do not know what they want, but it has been more than eight months. I wish I could see him and call or have a lawyer meet to make sure I know if he’s alive or dead, if he’s healthy and if he’s still mentally sound.”
Chen Zijuan described her current situation as having no recourse, feeling so powerless and scared, but also not being able to compromise in silence when losing a loved one.
Chen Zijuan: “9 times to my work unit to warn me, not to speak out, or will let the work unit discipline me, dismiss me, constantly threatening me. I have worries, because I am the only source of income in the family, but I can not compromise, if I do not reveal their behavior, they are more reckless, about my husband’s life and death, we have no way to accept friends and relatives were wronged, but as if nothing happened, continue to work and live normally, as a person, there is no way to endure such things.”
Ding Jiaxi’s Wife Reveals Husband’s Torture in Prison
Ding Jiaxi, a human rights lawyer who was also arrested for the Xiamen meeting, and Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar, have been detained for more than a year and a half (December 2019-present), and Ding’s wife Luo Shengchun, who is in the United States, was interviewed by the station. She said that for the family, the right to meet with a representative lawyer is important and is their communication bridge, and it was with the help of the representative lawyer that she learned about her husband’s torture treatment.
Luo Shengchun: “After the lawyer was able to meet with him, Jiaxi described how he was tortured, including not being able to sleep for a week to ten days, playing Xi Jinping’s lectures at a loud volume for a long time, and now one leg is still unable to move freely, the lawyer was used as a bridge, and every time the lawyer met with him, I asked the lawyer to bring a letter of conviction to my husband to listen to, so he knew the situation at home. “
Officials hinted that they would re-sentence Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong
Luo Shengchun said Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong’s case, once again referred back to the prosecutor’s office, is expected to prosecute or not, there will be a decision within one to one and a half months. She is convinced that her husband is innocent, but worried that this time he will be heavily sentenced to long prison terms.
Luo Shengchun: “Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi has been insisting on non-violence, non-cooperation, the lawyer met, Ding Jiaxi has revealed the official threat, and quoted threatening speech, said he and Xu Zhiyong one can not escape, is reflected to be sentenced to life imprisonment, the most worried is in the absence of any criminal facts, put them in long-term imprisonment.”
She said that the representative lawyer was able to meet Ding Jiaxi after the meal arrangements have improved, but the detention center nearly a month to let them replace the mask, I hope the detention center can be required by law, improve the health situation.
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