Imagine being harassed, detained, imprisoned or beaten to the point your bones shattered simply for doing your job of defending human rights through the law.

That’s what Chinese authorities are doing with some lawyers, unleashing an uncompromising series of measures intended to rein in the legal profession and suppress the few lawyers who dare to pursue human rights cases.

State efforts to control lawyers have intensified over the last two years, particularly in recent months among Government fears of a “Jasmine Revolution” inspired by the Arab Spring. New regulations introduced in 2009-2010 have prohibited lawyers from defending certain clients, commenting on their work to the media or challenging court malpractice.

Our new report Against the law: Crackdown on China’s human rights lawyers deepens highlights a handful of shocking cases where human rights lawyers have had their licences revoked, have been ‘disappeared’, harassed, or even tortured for pursuing human rights cases.

Suspension of lawyers’ licences

Lawyers now undergo an ‘Annual Assessment’ - which many believe has no legal basis under Chinese law. Those who dare take up ‘sensitive‘ cases, such as those relating to human rights or forced evictions, often fail this assessment. As a result, their licence is suspended or revoked.

Lin Hongnan’s licence was taken away for one year as punishment for 'leaking state secrets'. This happened five days before he was due to represent three Internet activists, who had posted material online exposing an alledged police cover-up of a woman who was gang-raped and murdered.

Police harassment

For human rights lawyers who refuse to give up their work, police surveillance and intimidation becomes an everyday reality.

Lawyer Zhang Kai recalls how his car was followed by three vehicles without number plates after leaving a friend’s home in Beijing one night in December 2010. Suddenly, the cars blocked their way forward and 15 to 20 men got out and began attacking the lawyers car. He eventually managed to flee, but only after the gang had smashed in the car's mirrors and beaten its windows.

Torture and punishment

The few lawyers that continue to pursue ‘sensitive’ cases after harassment and surveillance often face unfair trials. While serving sentences, some have been tortured and subjected to brutal attacks.

Ni Yulan was arrested and tortured several times since she began representing people forcibly evicted from their homes in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics. She lost her licence, and her own home was demolished by authorities. While in custody, she was beaten until her bones broke. Today, she’s wheelchair bound and unable to walk unaided. When she recalled the experience in June 2010, she said "I heard my bones crack. It was so painful my mind went blank."

End the crackdown

There are more than 204 000 lawyers in China, but only a handful dare risk taking on cases that deal with human rights.

  • Lawyers who take up human rights cases should be able to do so free from harassment and the risk of being barred from practicing law, arbitrary detention, torture and imprisonment
  • The government must restore licences to practice lawyers suspended of disbarred for defending human rights cases
  • Governance of lawyers must be left to genuinely independent lawyers.

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