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| China Arrests Rights Lawyer and Her Husband on Subversion Charges | China Arrests Rights Lawyer and Her Husband on Subversion Charges |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| BEIJING — A well-known Chinese human rights lawyer and her husband, a trainee lawyer, have been arrested on charges of political subversion, her lawyer said on Wednesday. The arrest of the couple followed the disclosure this week of formal charges for a number of legal workers who have challenged the grip of state power on citizens’ lives. | |
| The lawyer, Wang Yu, was formally arrested on suspicion of “subversion of state power,” a charge usually applied against dissidents accused of organizing political challenges to Communist Party rule. Ms. Wang’s husband, Bao Longjun, who worked with her, was charged with “inciting subversion of state power,” a slightly lighter charge also used to imprison dissidents. | |
| “Subversion of state power is serious,” Li Yuhan, a lawyer representing Ms. Wang, said. “It could attract a life sentence.” | “Subversion of state power is serious,” Li Yuhan, a lawyer representing Ms. Wang, said. “It could attract a life sentence.” |
| Ms. Li said that she was told of the couple’s formal arrest by their family members, who received notices by mail that arrived on Wednesday. The charges come approximately six months after the couple’s detention. | Ms. Li said that she was told of the couple’s formal arrest by their family members, who received notices by mail that arrived on Wednesday. The charges come approximately six months after the couple’s detention. |
| Ms. Wang “most probably also knows that she’s been charged; they would have shown her the arrest notice,” Ms. Li added. “But I haven’t been able to see her, so I don’t know for sure whether she’s received the notice.” | Ms. Wang “most probably also knows that she’s been charged; they would have shown her the arrest notice,” Ms. Li added. “But I haven’t been able to see her, so I don’t know for sure whether she’s received the notice.” |
| Before the latest arrest revelations, the families of four legal activists received notices this week that their relatives had been charged with subversion. Those charged included two lawyers and an intern lawyer who worked for the Fengrui law firm in Beijing — where Ms. Wang and Mr. Bao also worked. | Before the latest arrest revelations, the families of four legal activists received notices this week that their relatives had been charged with subversion. Those charged included two lawyers and an intern lawyer who worked for the Fengrui law firm in Beijing — where Ms. Wang and Mr. Bao also worked. |
| The law firm has become a focus in the government’s efforts to discredit rights lawyers as venal subversives abusing courts to create personal gain and “social chaos.” | The law firm has become a focus in the government’s efforts to discredit rights lawyers as venal subversives abusing courts to create personal gain and “social chaos.” |
| Ms. Li said that claims laid out in reports on Chinese state-run television of rabble-rousing court disruptions by Ms. Wang, even if proven to be true, were “not enough to constitute subversion.” | Ms. Li said that claims laid out in reports on Chinese state-run television of rabble-rousing court disruptions by Ms. Wang, even if proven to be true, were “not enough to constitute subversion.” |
| The unusually heavy allegations of subversion illustrate the party leadership’s determination to dismantle the loose movement of lawyers who have used litigation, online appeals and publicity to challenge arbitrary power, said Maya Wang, a researcher on China for Human Rights Watch. “The scale of this roundup is unprecedented in recent years,” said Ms. Wang, who is based in Hong Kong. | The unusually heavy allegations of subversion illustrate the party leadership’s determination to dismantle the loose movement of lawyers who have used litigation, online appeals and publicity to challenge arbitrary power, said Maya Wang, a researcher on China for Human Rights Watch. “The scale of this roundup is unprecedented in recent years,” said Ms. Wang, who is based in Hong Kong. |
| “This mass roundup of lawyers is meant to, through targeting lawyers affiliated with Fengrui law firm, strike fear at the community of human rights lawyers to significantly curtail their activism,” she said. “The authorities are basically labeling this modus operandi of the rights movement as a form of subversion.” | “This mass roundup of lawyers is meant to, through targeting lawyers affiliated with Fengrui law firm, strike fear at the community of human rights lawyers to significantly curtail their activism,” she said. “The authorities are basically labeling this modus operandi of the rights movement as a form of subversion.” |
| Wang Yu, 44, had defended Ilham Tohti, a professor accused of inciting separatism in his native Xinjiang who was sentenced last year to life in prison. She also represented Li Tingting, a women’s rights advocate detained in March last year over a planned protest against sexual harassment on public transportation. | Wang Yu, 44, had defended Ilham Tohti, a professor accused of inciting separatism in his native Xinjiang who was sentenced last year to life in prison. She also represented Li Tingting, a women’s rights advocate detained in March last year over a planned protest against sexual harassment on public transportation. |
| Ms. Wang, Mr. Bao and other members of their firm were taken away by the police in July, swept up in a wave of detentions of nearly 250 lawyers, legal workers and activists. According to account by Amnesty International, 23 people caught up in that crackdown remain in custody or unaccounted for. | Ms. Wang, Mr. Bao and other members of their firm were taken away by the police in July, swept up in a wave of detentions of nearly 250 lawyers, legal workers and activists. According to account by Amnesty International, 23 people caught up in that crackdown remain in custody or unaccounted for. |
| A Swede, Peter Jesper Dahlin, who worked in Beijing supporting Chinese rights activists, was also detained in January. On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Mr. Dahlin was being held and investigated “on suspicion of engaging in activities harmful to Chinese national security.” | |
| Ms. Wang and Mr. Bao suffered additional upheaval late last year, when their teenage son, Bao Zhuoxuan, was captured in a border town in Myanmar. The son had been denied permission to attend school in Australia, and he slipped into Myanmar as part of a plan that was to take him to the United States via Thailand. He was taken back to China and is living under surveillance with Ms. Wang’s mother in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia. | |
| Ms. Li said that she has been repeatedly rebuffed by the authorities when she sought to see Ms. Wang, who is being held in Tianjin, a northern port city, where her husband is also in custody. In politically contentious cases, lawyers often have difficulty seeing suspects or defendants. | Ms. Li said that she has been repeatedly rebuffed by the authorities when she sought to see Ms. Wang, who is being held in Tianjin, a northern port city, where her husband is also in custody. In politically contentious cases, lawyers often have difficulty seeing suspects or defendants. |
| “It’s been half a year since I last saw her,” Ms. Li said. “I went seven times, but I couldn’t see her.” | “It’s been half a year since I last saw her,” Ms. Li said. “I went seven times, but I couldn’t see her.” |