ZCZC
BFF-29
CHINA-POLITICS-RIGHTS
Contact made with Chinese lawyer detained for three years
BEIJING, July 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Details about the fate of a Chinese
lawyer disappeared by authorities over three years ago have emerged for the
first time, according to his wife, who fears his jailors are forcing him to
take medication.
Wang Quanzhang, who defended political activists and victims of land
seizures, has had no contact with the outside world since he disappeared in a
2015 police sweep aimed at courtroom critics of Communist authorities.
He has since been charged with “subversion of state power” but authorities
blocked lawyers and family from visiting him.
His case has attracted international attention. German chancellor Angela
Merkel met his wife Li Wenzu during a May visit to Beijing — a rare show of
solidarity from a world leader.
A month earlier, Li attempted to march 100 kilometres (60 miles) to a
detention facility to highlight her husband’s plight before she was thwarted
by police.
Speaking to AFP, Li said her husband had been able to meet his own defence
lawyer Liu Weiguo earlier this month at a detention centre in Tianjin, near
Beijing.
But that meeting sparked fresh concerns.
“I’m more worried about his health condition”, she said, noting that she
had been told by Liu his jailors had been giving him blood pressure
medication.
Wang had no previous history of the disease, she added, raising fears he
was being force-fed the drugs.
Amnesty International has noted several cases of detainees caught up in
the same crackdown that led to Wang’s arrest saying they were made to take
similar medications, resulting in severe health effects.
More than 200 Chinese human rights lawyers and activists were detained or
questioned during the sweep on July 9, 2015 that ensnared Wang, making it the
largest clampdown on the legal profession in recent history.
While most were released on bail, a handful were convicted of various
crimes and sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
Wang is the last person in the so-called 709 crackdown to remain in legal
limbo and no trial date has been set for him.
Li said she was also afraid her husband has been threatened with physical
violence if anyone speaks to the press about his situation.
As a result Wang’s lawyer Liu has so far refused to speak to journalists.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1357 hrs