CSW and China Aid host human rights lawyers

CSW AND CHINA AID HOST HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYERS AT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and China Aid will host prominent Chinese human rights lawyers Mr Li Subin and Ms Wu Chenglian, who will give evidence at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee Meeting on Human Rights in China on 15 July in Brussels.

The focus of the hearing is the bi-annual EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, the key mechanism through which human rights concerns are raised between the two parties. The lawyers will give evidence on the pressures currently facing human rights lawyers in China. In recent months lawyers taking on sensitive cases have been under pressure from authorities, resulting in some losing their licences to practice. Some lawyers have also faced physical harassment and imprisonment. MEPs will have the opportunity to discuss the future of the human rights dialogue and focus on current human rights concerns in China.

Mr Li Subin is a Chinese human rights lawyer who began practising law in 1991. Because of his activism and the sensitive human rights cases taken by his employers, Beijing Yitong Law Firm, they have been under pressure and harassment from Public Security Bureau officials, and Mr Li’s licence to practice law was not renewed by the Chinese government.

Ms Wu Chenglian is one of a small number of female human rights lawyers currently practising in Beijing. She has worked on numerous sensitive human rights cases, including those affecting religious freedom, in her legal career. Ms Wu provides pre-conflict training and counsel to civil society leaders in how to legally respond to government-initiated harassment.

China Aid Association (CAA) advocates on behalf of those unjustly detained by the Chinese authorities including human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Uighur Christian Alimujiang Yimiti.

CSW National Director Stuart Windsor says, “CSW commends the European Parliament’s commitment to raising human rights concerns with China. We urge the EU to encourage the Chinese government to reinstate those lawyers who have lost their licences and to ensure protection for human rights lawyers.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.