Human rights lawyer fleeing China arrested in Laos, could be deported
Lu Siwei was seized by Laotian police
Lu Siwei, a Chinese rights lawyer has been arrested in Laos while attempting to board a train for Thailand. Lu, whose lawyer licence was stripped for taking on sensitive cases may now be deported to China where he could face prison time, activists and family members fear.
“I’m extremely worried for his safety. If he’s sent back to China, he’d definitely be imprisoned,” Zhang Chunxiao, Lu's wife was quoted as saying byThe Associated Press.
Lu was stripped of his legal licence in 2021 for representing a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who attempted to flee to Taiwan. Later in the same year, he was barred from leaving the mainland and an exit ban was placed on him when he was to visit the US for a visiting fellowship.
While defending the activist was probably the last straw, Lu had already written himself into the bad books of Politburo when he defended rights lawyer and Xi Jinping critic Yu Wensheng.
Yu was charged with inciting subversion of state power after a letter calling for democratic reforms in 2018.
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Ever since coming under the scanner, Lu hasbeen separated from his wife and daughter, who both resettled in the US last year. Lu's family recently contacted Bob Fy, founder of Texas-based religious rights group ChinaAid, to assist the lawyer escape from China.
According to Bob, Lu had valid visas for the US and Laos but the arrest on foreign soil exemplifies how ferociously Beijing pursues critics, even abroad.
“This clearly shows the long arm of China beyond its borders to control and arrest those travelling overseas,” Fu said. “It’s very chilling.
After Fu's arrest, Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders took to Twitter and demanded early release of him from the Laotian authorities.
"Very disturbed by reports that Chinese HRD & lawyer Lu Siwei was arrested in #Laos today as he boarded a train to Bangkok to fly to the US & reunite with his family. The Laotian authorities must immediately disclose his whereabouts & release him," she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Under Xi Jinping, there has been a heavy clampdown on the legal rights of citizens. In 2015, over ahundred activists and rights lawyers were arrested in what was later termed the“709 crackdown” – named after July 9, the day it was launched.
(With inputs from agencies)
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