Two lawyers linked to case of 12 Hong Kongers say they face having licences revoked

HONG KONG/BEIJING • China has said it would revoke the licences of two human rights lawyers involved in the case of 12 Hong Kongers who the Chinese authorities arrested at sea and accused of trying to flee to Taiwan, according to the two lawyers.

One of them, Mr Ren Quanniu, said the authorities warned him in September that taking on the case could imperil his licence. The lawyers said they had received letters on Monday about revoking their licences, and were given three days to appeal. Both said they intended to do so.

Families of two of the defendants appointed Mr Ren and Mr Lu Siwei to represent them, but the lawyers were denied access.

The 12 were represented in court by lawyers appointed by the Chinese authorities.

China's Ministry of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both lawyers have been critical of China's legal process, and say the licence threat is linked to the Hong Kongers' case, which drew criticism from international rights groups and foreign governments. Mr Ren had represented citizen-journalist Zhang Zhan who was given four years' jail over her reporting on the coronavirus in Wuhan.

Ten of the 12 Hong Kongers were last week given between seven months and three years' jail by a Shenzhen court for illegal border crossing. Two were returned to Hong Kong for trial on charges linked to last year's protests.

The letters were issued by the jurisdictions where the lawyers are based. If they lose their licences, they will be unable to practice law in China.

In a letter from the justice department of Sichuan province seen by Reuters, Mr Lu was accused of "making multiple inappropriate remarks online" over a long period of time, "severely damaging the image of the industry" and "causing negative impacts on society". He told Reuters: "I have no regrets."

Mr Ren showed Reuters a letter from the Henan province justice department accusing him of violating regulations over a case he took in 2018 representing a defendant in a religious matter. The Henan department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Sichuan justice department could not be reached for comment.

Mr Ren said that a local lawyers' association, the local justice department, and local national security officers had pressured him to drop the Hong Kong case in September, warning after an initial attempt to visit the detainee that his licence was at stake.

The family of detainee Wong Wai Yin, who hired Mr Ren, said they were appalled by the news.

Rights groups say human rights lawyers in China are routinely targeted with jail terms and disbarment, and such pressure has intensified in recent years under a crackdown on dissent under President Xi Jinping.

REUTERS