Beijing’s security forces are transforming China into a place of ‘fear and panic’, the families of 12 attorneys and activists who disappeared during a crackdown on human rights lawyers have claimed.
In an open letter to Guo Shengkun, the minister of public security, the families said they had heard nothing from their relatives since they were detained during a roundup of government critics nearly two months ago.
‘Words fail to express our anxiety and helplessness,’ they wrote, according to a translation by China Change, a human rights website.
‘When a terrorist attack is perpetrated, a terrorist group will come out and claim responsibility for it. When the police system of the People’s Republic of China disappears its citizens, shouldn’t it make a statement and say something?’
On 9 July Chinese security services launched what observers describe as an unprecedented offensive against the country’s outspoken ‘rights defence’ movement, a network of lawyers known for taking on politically sensitive cases.
Scores of lawyers and their associates were detained or interrogated in what activists believe is a coordinated attempt to stamp out opposition to the Communist party.
Many were subsequently released after being warned not to speak out, but more than 20 activists, lawyers and legal staff remain in detention, with some being held in undisclosed locations.
This post was published at David Stockmans Contra Corner on August 31, 2015.
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