Several Chinese lawyers are arrested; state media said one was 'blabbering about the rule of law'
Among those arrested was Wang Yu, a prominent human rights lawyer in China. AP photo / Mark Schiefelbein.
China has formally arrested several human rights lawyers on charges of subversion about six months after detaining them, according to other lawyers.
Among those arrested was Wang Yu, the country’s most prominent woman human rights lawyer, report Reuters and the Associated Press.
Wang has defended an online free-speech advocate and a member of the so-called “feminist five” planning a protest against sexual harassment. China’s state media accused Wang last year of “blabbering about the rule of law and human rights.”
At least five lawyers have been arrested, according to Reuters.
Conviction on a subversion charge could bring a sentence of life in prison. According to AP, the charge is “an indication that the ruling Communist Party sees this group of lawyers as a threat to its monopoly on power.”
