His Excellency Mr Xi Jinping, The President
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100017
People's Republic of China
His Excellency Mr. Guo Shengkun
Minister of Public Security
No.14, Donchang’anjie,
Dongchengqu, Beijing 100741
People’s Republic of China
Date: 21 July 2015
Your Excellency,
Re: The recent arrest of a large group of human rights lawyers in China
The
undersigned organisations strongly condemn the recent unprecedented and
seemingly well-coordinated detention of a large number of human rights
lawyers in China. It followed the disappearance of Lawyer Wang Yu on 9
July 2015 and included inter alia:
•
the criminal detention of lawyers and legal assistants Wang Yu (王宇),
Zhou Shifeng (周世鋒), Wang Quanzhang (王全璋), Huang Liqun (黃力群), Sui Muqing
(隋牧青)and Xie Yang (谢阳), Bao Longjun (包龍軍), Liu Sixin (劉四新), Ge Ping (戈平)
and Li Heping (李和平);
•
searching of the offices of Fengrui Law Firm (锋锐) and of Xiyuanwang
(洗冤网), a network set up to work on wrongful criminal conviction cases,
in Beijing.
As of 19 July 2015, a total of at least 233 lawyers, law firm staff, and human rights defenders have been detained, arrested, held incommunicado, summoned, or otherwise had their freedom temporarily restricted.
Many
of those detained were part of a group of over 100 lawyers and rights
activists who signed a public statement on 9 July 2015 condemning Wang
Yu’s disappearance.
Furthermore we have noted
that official media reports have pro-actively portrayed a number of
detained ‘suspects’ as criminals, including a recent CCTV 13 news report
describing recent human rights lawyer advocacy campaigns as
‘rights-defence-style trouble-making’ (‘维权式’滋事).
These
events make it impossible to take President's Xi Jinping’s recent
claims to be promoting the rule of law seriously, as they rigorously
violate many international standards, including but not limited to: the
UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of
Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect
Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (UN
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), and the UN Body of principles
for the protection of all persons under any form of detention or
imprisonment.
All these lawyers, law
firm staff and human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily deprived
of their liberty should be immediately released. If they are not
immediately released, we urgently request that you immediately confirm
the whereabouts of those currently in detention and that you ensure that
they have prompt and regular access to their lawyers and family.
Furthermore
we request that those arrested will be protected from any future
control measures typically used against human rights lawyers in China
such as: tracking and following; violent attacks; soft detention; ‘being
travelled’; being asked to have ‘chats’; being placed under criminal,
administrative, or judicial detention; being subjected to enforced
disappearance, torture or psychiatric incarceration.
We
request your urgent attention for this matter and will continue to
closely monitor the fate of the lawyers concerned in the near future.
Yours sincerely,

Lawyers for Lawyers

Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada

The Law Society of England and Wales

International Commission of Jurists

Rechters voor Rechters

Day of the Endangered Lawyer

Ordre des Avocats de Genève

European Criminal Bar Association

Amsterdamse Orde van Advocaten

Sollicitors’ International Human Rights Group

Syndicat des Avocats de France

Association of Libertarian Jurists

The Law Society of Upper Canada

International Federation For Human Rights, in the framework of its Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

World Organisation Against Torture, in the framework of its Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

Deutscher Anwalt Verein

Freedom House

European Democratic Lawyers

European Lawyers Promoting Law and Justice

Fisher Jones Greenwood Solicitors

Gillis Long Poverty Law Center

Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales

Bar Council of Ireland Human Rights Committee

International Service for Human Rights

Asociación Libre de Abogados
C.C: His Excellency Mr Xu CHEN
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Willem Lodewijklaan 10
2517 JT The Hague, The Netherlands
C.C: His Excellency Mr. Aart Jacobi
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing
4 Liangmahe South Rd.
Chaoyang district
100600 Beijing, People’s Republic of China
C.C: His Excellency Ambassador Wu Hailong
Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations in Geneva
11, chemin de Surville 1213 Petit-Lancy,
Geneva, Switzerland
C.C: Mr. Wang Junfeng
All China Lawyers Association
5/F., Qinglan Plaza
No. 24, Dongsishitiao,
Dongchengqu, Beijing 100007, People’s Republic of China
C.C: Mr. David Kaye
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
C.C: Mr Michel Forst
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – Palais Wilson
United Nations Office at Geneva
CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
C.C: Ms. Mónica Pinto
Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
8-14 Avenue de la Paix 1211
Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail: SRindependenceJL@ohchr.org
C.C: Mr. Bert Koenders
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67
2594 AC The Hague, The Netherlands
C.C: Mr. Kees van Baar
Human Right Ambassador with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67
2594 AC The Hague, The Netherlands