Lu Siwei, a human rights lawyer in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, received a notice from the Sichuan judicial department on Jan. 15 that he had his lawyer’s license officially revoked on the grounds that his tweets endangered national security. Lu Siwei has handled a number of sensitive cases in recent years, including the Yu Wensheng case, the Qin Yongpei case, the Hong Kong people smuggling case and the Wang Zang case.
At a hearing on the revocation of business license in Chengdu on Jan. 13, his agents Cheng Hai and Xie Yangyi were prevented from entering the hearing site after calling the police. Xie Yang, a lawyer for other people who went to the hearing, and Xu Yan, wife of Yu Wensheng’s lawyer, were driven away, including ten Western embassy staff members who were also present.
In an article published on January 15, Lu Siwei responded to the official revocation of his license, stating that the factual and legal basis of the above-mentioned decision violated the basic principles set forth in Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 20 and 23 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 35 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, and Article 37 of the Law on Lawyers. He does not accept this and reserves the right to apply for administrative reconsideration and to initiate administrative proceedings. He also expresses his deepest apologies to his clients and customers who have been affected by this.
Lu Siwei is the lawyer appointed by Qiao Ying Yu’s family in the 12 Hong Kong people smuggling case. He once told the media that when he first took on the case, he did not expect that his fate would be rewritten as a result, nor did he expect the case to be so complicated.
Another lawyer, Ren Quanniu, appointed by the Hong Kong family, is holding a public hearing on Henan’s application for the authorities to revoke his lawyer’s license.
Whether or not the Twelve Hong Kong People case was a deciding factor in the revocation of the two lawyers’ licenses, they have previously stated that they have no regrets about it.
The following is a link to the Minsheng Watch website.
Lu Siwei’s response to the revocation of his lawyer’s license
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