Lawyers in China detained for ‘seriously violating the law’

Dozens of lawyers in China have been detained by police in the past few days in what appears to be a coordinated operation.

The authorities have targeted lawyers who take cases on free speech and abuses of power, presenting them as greedy and recklessly disregarding social order.

The Ministry of Public Security said social media celebrities and petitioners were also suspects but that lawyers were at the core.

In particular, it accused Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm of hiring protestors and influencing court decisions while ostensibly “defending justice and public interests”.

It said the firm organised over 40 incidents that disrupted public order – in one instance the firm apparently presented a normal police shooting as a murder conspiracy.

According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International at least six lawyers have been detained since last Thursday with over 50 taken in by police for questioning in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shangai.

Wang Yu, a human rights lawyer who worked for Fengrui, disappeared from her home last week and is now believed to be in detention.

Her colleague, Zhou Shifeng, went missing the day after a client of his was released.

China’s state media has confirmed they are among the six in criminal detention for “seriously violating the law”.

Another employee of the firm, Wu Gan, an online activist, has been accused of exploiting his fame and exaggerating incidents for personal gain.

He has been in detention since May, charged with “inciting subversion”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year during a period of legal reform that the rule of law would be “a knife whose handle was in the hands of the party and the people”.