Print

Mail

wiki links

Lawyer who helped Beijing’s evicted residents sent to jail

A Chinese lawyer who defended residents forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for development was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday for obstructing official duties, her husband said.

Ni Yulan (倪玉蘭), 47, was arrested in April for allegedly assaulting a worker who, along with police, was trying to demolish her family’s house in an old neighborhood in central Beijing, her husband Dong Jiqin (董繼勤) said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it was Ni who was assaulted when one of the workers hit her on the head with a brick.

Dong said his wife was sentenced to two years in prison at a two-and-a-half-hour, closed-door trial. He said she plans to appeal.

Ni had numerous run-ins with authorities after helping those whose homes in Beijing were being demolished to make way for development for the Olympics, Human Rights Watch said. Dong said Ni was beaten by police during her latest detention.
This story has been viewed 910 times.