A UN human rights expert today expressed dismay at the shocking treatment of human rights defenders and lawyers in
China, saying they continue to be charged, detained, disappeared and tortured five years after the start of a crackdown
on the profession under the guise of national security concerns.
“Since the so-called ‘709 crackdown’ began on 9 July 2015, the profession of human rights lawyer has been effectively
criminalised in China,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
The UN expert cited the recent arrest and enforced disappearance of human rights defender and lawyer Chang Weiping as
emblematic of the Government’s ongoing efforts to silence lawyers who have been outspoken about the deterioration of
human rights in China.
In January 2020, Mr. Weiping was forcibly disappeared for 10 days in “residential surveillance at a designated location”
(RSDL) by security officials in Baoji city on suspicion of “subversion of state power”, and his law licence was
annulled.
The lawyer posted a video online in October, describing the torture and ill-treatment he was allegedly subjected to
during his detention in RSDL, and the psychological and physical sequelae he has sustained as a result. Days later, on
22 October, Mr. Weiping was detained by security officials in Baoji city and placed once again in RSDL, in retaliation
for his video. Since then, the defender’s whereabouts remain unknown, his lawyers have been unable to contact him and no
charges have been brought against him.
“In a shocking display of disregard for human rights, the authorities have re-arrested a human rights defender for
courageously sharing his experience and denouncing human rights violations, and attempted to portray him as a threat to
national security,” said Lawlor.
“The fact that the lawyers initially hired by Mr. Weiping’s family to represent him have both withdrawn from his case
due to pressure they received from officials is also telling of the gravity and scale of the situation faced by human
rights defenders and lawyers in China.”
The UN expert expressed concern at reports indicating that other human rights defenders and lawyers, some who have been
arrested and detained since the 2015 crackdown and subsequently released, have reportedly faced so-called security
measures in the days before Human Rights Day on 10 December.
Lawlor also expressed concerns regarding the harassment of the families of human rights lawyers who are disbarred and
detained. Families of human rights defenders and lawyers are routinely threatened, summoned for questioning, subjected
to surveillance by the authorities and socio-economically affected on account of the loss of income to the household.
Lawlor also highlighted the inherent contradiction in targeting lawyers under the pretext of protecting the rule of law.
“I respect and appreciate the importance of safeguarding national security and the right of every Government to do so,”
said Lawlor. “However, the lives and livelihoods of its citizens and their human rights should not be the cost of doing
so.
“Fundamental human rights are not a threat to any Government or society, and neither are the individuals who defend
those rights. I urge the Chinese authorities to release at once Chang Weiping and all other detained and disappeared
human rights defenders.”
The expert’s call was endorsed by: The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Mr. Tae-Ung Baik (Chair-Rapporteur), Mr. Henrikas Mickevičius (Vice Chair), Ms. Aua Baldé, Mr. Bernard Duhaime, and
Mr. Luciano Hazan, Mr. Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and Mr. Diego García-Sayán, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.