Detained Chinese lawyer to receive inaugural ABA International Human Rights Award
Wang Yu.
The ABA has chosen detained Chinese lawyer Wang Yu to receive its first International Human Rights Award.
The ABA announced the award on Friday, one year after Wang was detained in China as part of a crackdown on hundreds of Chinese lawyers and human rights advocates, the ABA says in a press release. The award will be given to Wang in absentia during the ABA Annual Meeting in August.
The award recognizes Wang’s dedication to human rights, justice and the rule of law in China. She committed herself to representation of underserved and marginalized communities, and worked to expand access to justice for women and girls, according to the press release.
China’s state media had accused Wang of “blabbering about the rule of law and human rights” before her detention.
Wang was arrested along with her husband, human rights attorney Bao Longjun, and accused of inciting subversion of state power. They were formally arrested in early January, the ABA Journal reported in February.
