Defense Lawyers Released from Chinese “Black Jail”

ICC Note:
China Aid has come forward on the behalf of four defense lawyers jailed for attempting to defend innocent worshippers detained and tortured for the expression of their faith. The recently-released lawyers issued a joint statement condemning Chinese officials’ continued breach of human rights and religious freedom. Legal persecution of Christians continues to be a primary issue for the growing body of believers in the world’s most populous country. As the faithful continue to see their churches shut down and their members illegally detained in so-called “black jails,” organizations such as ICC and China Aid continue to call on China to right past wrongs and to respect every individual’s right to worship freely.
04/13/2014 China (ChinaAid) – ChinaAid is authorized to release a statement by four Chinese rights defense lawyers who were detained and tortured for seeking to meet with clients in Jiansanjiang, Heilongjiang. Their clients were all detained arbitrarily in “black jails” for their religious practice.
“The Jiansanjiang authorities’ brutal treatment of these lawyers shows utter contempt for both the rule of law and religious freedom,” said Bob Fu, China Aid founder and president. “China’s top leaders have a critical choice to make that will shape the county’s stability and prosperity: will they continue to blatantly ignore the rule of law or will they take steps to protect the fundamental freedoms of the Chinese people. We appeal to the CCP leaders to hold those responsible accountable for the torture and detention of the lawyers and to take steps to end “black jails” according to the Chinese law and international norms. We urge the international community to raise these issues with Chinese officials.”
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