HK legal heavyweights urge China to ‘uphold rule of law’ as justice dept refuses to sign petition

<!–[CDATA[Ellie Ng  |  Hong Kong Free Press Several of Hong Kong’s top lawyers have launched a global petition in protest of China’s unprecedented crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists. The petition, signed by 46 legal heavyweights from the Hong Kong Bar Association and chief executive election committee, denounces China’s “intimidating harassment” of more than 200 individuals in a nationwide crackdown […]

China: Lawyers Face 15 Years in Jail on ‘Chilling’ State Security Charges

<!–[CDATA[This article was first published in Amnesty International site The Chinese authorities have ratcheted up their crackdown against human rights lawyers and activists, using draconian state security charges to detain at least three people, Amnesty International said today. Lawyers Xie Yang, Sui Muqing, and activist Gou Hongguo are being held on suspicion of “inciting subversion of […]

China’s Persecution of Activists Worsens in 2014: Rights Group

<!–[CDATA[Joshua Lipes  |  Radio Free  Asia China’s persecution of human rights activists was “unusually severe” in 2014, according to a report released Monday by an overseas-based rights group, which said President Xi Jinping had intensified a campaign last year to “purge universal values” in the world’s most populous nation. Harassment of activists “was as severe […]

China Jails Activists Who Protested Zhang Anni’s School Ban

By Wen Yuqing, Radio Free asia A court in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui on Friday handed jail terms of between one and two years to three activists who protested the removal of a veteran dissident’s daughter from school in 2013. Li Huaping, Zhou Weilin, and Yao Cheng were found guilty of “gathering a […]

Guangzhou Activists Not Given Fair Trial: Lawyers, Relative

BY Wen Yuqing  Radio Free Asia Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Friday began the trials of two prominent rights activists on public order offenses, as their relatives and lawyers hit out at court officials over a lack of a fair hearing. Judges in Guangzhou’s Tianhe’s District People’s Court refused to allow […]