China has detained prominent rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on the charge of “causing a disturbance,” what is seen as an attempt to deter activists from marking the upcoming 25th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.
According to the newspaper South China Morning Post, Pu had been criminally detained by Beijing police after attending a meeting to commemorate the 1989 crackdown on democracy as well as “explore its implications and consequences and call for an investigation into the truth of June 4.’’
At least 15 people – scholars, activists and relatives of the victims killed in the Tiananmen crackdown – attended the gathering at a private home in Beijing on May 3, 2014. At least five other people taken away for questioning after the meeting.
Pu is a prominent figure in the Weiquan movement, having advocated for writers and journalists in a number of high-profile cases, including artist Ai Weiwei. He was featured in magazines for leading campaigns against labour camps.
Due to his outspoken criticisms of official policies, Pu is monitored by security forces, and has been detained and questioned on several occasions. Pu was banned from all microblogging platforms in China in 2013 after he used them to publicly criticize retired senior leader of the Communist Party Zhou Yongkang.
Pu also participated in the 1989 pro-democracy movement as a student.
Photos of Pu in the 1989 Tiananmen protest. Photo circulated on Twitter.
Any information related to the Tiananmen movement is still censored in China. A search of “Tiananmen” on popular microblogging site, Sina Weibo, reveals a message telling users that results cannot be found according to related laws and regulations.
Many lawyers showed concern for Pu and called for Pu’s release on Weibo. However, most messages supporting Pu were deleted.
Bejing Lawyer Deng Shulin‘s message was soon deleted:
This article was originally published on Global Voices.
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