Letter to the President of China regarding the intimidation and harassment of human rights and public interest lawyers

SUMMARY

The Committees on International Human Rights and Asian Affairs authored a letter to the President of the People’s Republic of China to express grave concern regarding the intimidation, arrest, detention, and in many cases ongoing enforced disappearance of 228 – an unprecedented number – of Chinese lawyers, lawyers’ family members, support staff, and human rights and legal activists in a sweeping crackdown that began on July 9th. These methods – which violate Chinese and international law – are being used against lawyers who were carrying out their duties as legal professionals simply because their work relates to human rights matters and public interest causes. The letter expresses distress that many of those who remain in detention have been denied access to legal counsel and to their families. The letter urges that the targeted individuals be released, that any ongoing detentions conform to international standards of detention, and that the Chinese government take other steps to ensure that lawyers in China are free to carry out their professional obligation without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference, in conformity with international standards and Chinese domestic law.

An unofficial translation is available here.