Why are lawyers being arrested in China? By Clara DELMAS

For several months now lawyers are being arrested in China. What is their crime? They defend human rights…

Despite some positive steps since Xi Jinping's coming to power in March 2013, the Communist Party has got a tight grip on political life and much of society. China’s authoritarian government has restricted self-expression of its citizens. In the most developed countries human rights are respected whereas in China they are not.

It was about this subject that many lawyers have spoken at their risk of their lives. On July 9, 2015, early in the morning, Wang Yu, a human rights lawyer, sent a worried text to her friends: as “punishment” her internet and electricity were cut off. A few hours later, she sent another message and people tried to break into her home. Around midday, her friends could no longer get in touch with her because she was no longer at home. Wang Yu’s disappearance marked the start of a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers by the Chinese authorities.

Amnesty International made a priority out of it. This disappearance became personal to them. They found that many of the lawyers arrested have worked on high-profile human rights cases that are deemed damaging to the Chinese government. More than 200 lawyers and associates have been detained, with at least 25 still missing or detained by police.

I think that the Chinese government’s attitude is ignominious. People are not free; they are afraid to express themselves. The behaviour of the other countries is shameful too because, even if they know what is happening they turn a blind eye and continue to trade with China.

Websites:

Amnesty: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/china-hundreds-human-rights-lawyers-targeted
Vice News: https://news.vice.com/article/china-has-arrested-a-group-of-lawyers-already-being-secretly-detained
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/world/asia/china-rights-lawyers-arrest.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/22/world/asia/china-missing-rights-defenders.html
The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/china-lawyer-crackdown-arrest/424005/
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/12/asia/china-sweden-human-rights/

Clara DELMAS would like to become a lawyer after her Law studies. Her main motivation is to promote human rights and to fight injustice.