Zhuang Lu, a 27-year-old woman who worked as the Finance Secretary for the Open Constitution Initiative (OCI, known as Gongmeng in Chinese), a legal aid and research organization, is now known to be staying at her parents' home in Fujian province, southeast China.

According to her friends, police in the Chinese capital, Beijing, sent Zhuang Lu back to Fujian province on 23 August, one day after she was released from police custody. She is currently staying at her parents’ home and has had only limited contact with friends and family since her return to Fujian. Police have warned her not to speak to the media about her detention.

On 29 July, she was detained by police along with male lawyer Xu Zhiyong, the founder of the OCI, where she worked prior to her detention. Both were formally arrested on suspicion of "tax evasion" on 13 August. Beijing police released Zhuang Lu on 22 August. Xu Zhiyong was released on bail pending investigation on 23 August.

Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

Background

On 17 July, the Beijing authorities announced that they would be shutting down the OCI office, as it had not registered properly as a civil society organization.

Sources in China believe that Chinese authorities released Xu Zhiyong to silence domestic protests concerning the closure of the OCI. Sources are also believed that Zhuang Lu was being detained in an attempt to keep OCI staff and volunteers from speaking publicly about the closure, and to halt OCI’s human rights work.