Depressed and unemployed': China's rights lawyers battle disbarment

Once a staunch defender ofrightsactivists in court, Liu Zhengqing has sunk into a depression since being barred by Chinese authorities in January.

"I have been unemployed at home," the 55-year-old told AFP, adding that it is especially hard to find work given his age.

"I am totally dependent on savings."

Liu is one of at least a dozen Chineserightslawyersto have their licenses cancelled or revoked since 2018 in what activists say is an effective way for authorities to silence them without attracting as much attention as an arrest.

"The ongoing disbarment continues to serve as an effective tactic by the Chinese government to further diminish the space forhuman rightsadvocacy," said Yaqiu Wang, a researcher atHuman RightsWatch.

"Disbarment is to deprive the livelihood ofhuman rightslawyersand their families," she told AFP.

InChina, authorities can revoke a lawyer's license to punish behaviour such as bribing judges, but also ambiguous offences such as "seriously disrupting court order".

A license can also be cancelled if they do not practise in a six month period -- which is not uncommon forrightslawyerswho have been detained or arrested.

The growing number of disbarredrightslawyersfollows one of the largest clampdowns onChina's legal profession in the country's recent history.

Police sweep launched on July 9, 2015, saw more than 200 Chinesehuman rightslawyersand activists detained or questioned in a huge operation -- later dubbed the "709 crack down", thatrightsgroups called "unprecedented."

But Chinese authorities have changed their approach since then, noted Xie Yang, ahuman rightslawyer who says he was tortured in police custody during his detention in that crackdown.

Instead of detaininglawyers, "they will just revoke your license", he told AFP.

It's an effective method, he added."A lot of people do not dare speak up."

Widespread disbarment over the past two years has been "an even better deterrent than arrestinglawyers", agreed Sui Muqing, another Chinese lawyer who was detained during the "709 crack down".

While mostlawyersdo not see themselves at risk of arrest, he said, disbarment is something that every lawyer could face.

Though the role of Chineserightslawyersis sometimes limited inChina, they serve important functions beyond legal defence.

Friends and family are not generally allowed to visit detained individuals before sentencing, butlawyersmostly are, making them a crucial link between those arrested and the outside world.

Lawyerscan also raise awareness of the case or share information with reporters.

Human rightsattorneys sometimes have large followings on Chinese social media, which they use to connect with ordinary people to raise awareness ofrightsabuses inChina, said Wang, ofHuman RightsWatch.

By removinghuman rightslawyersthe government can appoint their ownlawyers, who may be under pressure to "defend the interests of the government,not their clients," she explained.

The silencing effect of disbarment can be seen in the case of Huang Qi,China's first "cyber-dissident", who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in July.

Huang, who ran a website that reported on sensitive topics including local corruption, lost two of hislawyersbefore he went to trial: Liu and Sui.

By the time he was sentenced, there was so little access to Huang that even his mother -- who said she was prevented from leaving her house the day of his trial, was not informed of the court's decision.

Overall, the aftermath of the 2015 police sweep has ushered in a period of more repressive policies towardslawyers, severalrightsattorneys inChinatold AFP.

While some have had their licenses revoked or cancelled, others remain in detention.

Wang Quanzhang, who was charged with "subversion of state power" in 2016, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in January.

And like other activists and dissidents inChina, somelawyersremain under surveillance or face ongoing restrictions even after they are released from detention.

Jiang Tianyong, who took on high-profile cases including those of Tibetan protesters, is "still under house arrest" after he served his jail sentence in March, wrote Jiang's wife, who regularly posts about her husband on Twitter.

"You can tell that they are becoming increasingly strict in their control," said one Chineserightslawyer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

In the aftermath of the "709 crackdown", Chinese authorities can represslawyersfor making critical comments online, even those on topics such as industrial accidents, not justhuman rights, he said.

"In reality, you make such comments because you hope the country will become better," he told AFP.

But now, "you cannot speak at all".