Zhang Kai (lawyer)

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Zhang Kai (Chinese: 张凯; pinyin : Zhāng Kǎi) is a human rights attorney known for defending churches in China that were forced to remove their crosses and crucifixes. Zhang is also known to defend, stand up for, or fight for disadvantaged people. One example is Feng Jianmei, a woman who was forced by government agencies to have an abortion in 2012.

Arrest and Detention

Zhang Kai was arrested on August 25, 2015 in Wenzhou , Zhejiang Province , a city with a strong Christian influence. He had represented churches whose crosses were torn down by government officials. Zhang was also accused of "masterminding illegal religious gatherings". He was charged with "endangering state secrets" and "gathering a crowd to disturb public order," which is why he was reportedly detained.

Zhang planned to meet with a group of religious leaders, U.S. Envoy for Religious Freedom , David Saperstein, the following day.

Province officials carried out a campaign removing crosses from more than 1,200 churches and other buildings. Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping was once the secretary of the provincial party committee. Since he came to power in 2012, Xi's strict political regime has been hitting human rights lawyers, liberal academics, journalists , bloggers and militant women's rights activists .

Right-wing groups claim that this campaign was directed against hundreds of parishes.

Zhang, like many Chinese human rights lawyers, is a Christian and posted an online essay in early 2015 condemning the Communist Party's treatment of Chinese churchgoers .

Zhang made a confession on TV that was refused by his followers. Zhang Lei, a colleague, said, "It is absolutely terrifying when a person is forced to make a confession on television."

Mervyn Thomas, executive director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide , said this alleged "confession" by attorney Zhang Kai was another worrying development regarding the ongoing crackdown on those who want to peacefully uphold human rights and the rule of law in China. Zhang had been detained for months without any contact with the outside world or a lawyer. He suddenly appeared on television and confessed to deceiving churches and Christians. Zhang Kai has not even been officially arrested, but has already been presented as guilty on state television.

Mervyn Thomas also said that Zhang Kai has the right to a fair and public trial with an attorney of his choice. Christian Solidarity Worldwide urged the Chinese government to urgently review his case and provide him with access to a lawyer. The Chinese government should also release all lawyers, activists and dissidents who are imprisoned for their peaceful defense of religious freedom or their beliefs and other human rights.

release

Zhang Kai, a human rights attorney and religious freedom defender, was reportedly released on March 23, 2016. He reportedly sent a message through WeChat confirming his release and that he was back in his hometown in Inner Mongolia .

Zhang was arrested in August 2015 for allegedly disturbing the "social order". He was accused of, among other things, theft, espionage and other crimes. In February 2015, he reportedly confessed to state television that he had disrupted the social order in China and behaved badly.

Lawyers and activists imprisoned in China

According to reports, Chinese authorities have also detained the following people: lawyers Wang Yu, Zhou Shifeng, Li Shuyun, and Xie Yanyi ; Li Heping and his two assistants, Zhao Wei and Gao Yue; another legal assistant, Liu Sixin; and activists Hu Shigen and Gou Hongguo.

In June 2016, the South China Morning Post reported that Zhao Wei had been released after what appeared to be a "confession". But these reports could not be confirmed. Her husband believed she may have been forced to withdraw and denied the authenticity of the statements on her Sina Weibo social media account.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Edward Wong, Chinese Lawyer Who Was Detained While Defending Churches Is Released , The New York Times, March 24, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  2. ^ Yan Shuang, Fury over 'forced abortion' , Global Times, June 14, 2012, accessed August 23, 2017
  3. ↑ a b China releases Christian human rights lawyer held for months in detention , South China Morning Post, March 24, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  4. ^ Neil Connor, Christian lawyer Zhang Kai released in China , The Telegraph, March 24, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  5. ↑ Carey Lodge, US demands release of Chinese Christian pastors and activists s, Christian Today, September 2, 2015, accessed August 23, 2017
  6. ↑ a b Tom Phillips, Anger as Christian lawyer paraded on Chinese state TV for 'confession' , The Guardian, February 26, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  7. ^ Tom Phillips, Chinese human rights lawyer could face spying charges , The Guardian, September 4, 2015, accessed August 23, 2017
  8. ↑ a b CHINESE LAWYER ZHANG KAI IN TV CONFESSION , Christian Solidarity Worldwide, February 25, 2016, accessed on August 23, 2017
  9. ↑ a b Chinese human rights lawyer Zhang Kai released , Christian Solidarity Worldwide, March 23, 2016, accessed on August 23, 2017
  10. ↑ China: Detained Lawyers, Activists Denied Basic Rights , Human Rights Watch, April 3, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  11. ↑ Josh Rudolph, "Released" Legal Assistant Zhao Wei Still Missing , China Digital Times, July 15, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
  12. ↑ Young Chinese legal activist 'regrets' civil rights activism , South China Morning Post, July 11, 2016, accessed August 23, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Zhang, Kai
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Attorney in the People's Republic of China
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century