US says Beijing must restore rights of lawyers representing HK 12

The United States is “deeply concerned” by China’s attempts to disbar and harass Lu Siwei and Ren Quanniu, human rights lawyers representing the Hong Kong 12, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

“We urge Beijing to respect human rights and the rule of law and to reinstate their legal credentials at once,” Price said in a post on Twitter.

On January 16, the license of Lu, who represented one of 12 Hong Kong activists who tried to flee to Taiwan, was  revoked by the Sichuan Provincial Justice Department in a formal notice.

Ten of the 12 activists caught at sea in August were sentenced by a Shenzhen court in December to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years for illegally crossing the border and organizing illegal border crossings.

Beijing, which requires lawyers to swear an oath of loyalty to the ruling Communist Party, has tightened control over the profession. Other lawyers have been stripped of their licenses for representing defendants in politically sensitive cases. Some have been imprisoned.

In a notice, the Chengdu office of the Sichuan Justice Department said Lu had violated laws on professional legal conduct. It accused him of making comments online that had a “negative impact on society.”

Also, Ren Quanniu, another lawyer for one of the 12 activists, was notified by the Zhengzhou office of the Henan Justice Department that he could lose his license. He was told that comments he made in court had caused a “negative impact on society.” -Reuters/AP