China Holds Rights Advocates Before Activist Trial

Posted on August 18, 2006 11:35 PM | | Comments (0)

By REUTERS | The New York Times
18 August 2006

BEIJING (Reuters) - China detained two of the nation's top human rights advocates before a blind rights activist went on trial on Friday, depriving him of his legal defense, in what appeared to be part of a concerted crackdown.

Xu Zhiyong, a law academic from Beijing, was held by police on Thursday in the eastern province of Shandong, where he was preparing to defend activist Chen Guangcheng against charges of disrupting traffic and destroying property during a protest there in February, according to other lawyers defending Chen.

Xu's whereabouts when Chen's trial began in the afternoon was unclear. A police officer at the Jiehu police station where Xu had been held said he had been released, but Xu's mobile phone was turned off and fellow lawyers had not heard from him.

Also on Friday, Beijing police announced they had detained Gao Zhisheng, a combative human rights lawyer who has campaigned for Chen's release.

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Human Rights

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