Details about the fate of a Chinese lawyer disappeared by authorities more than three years ago have emerged for the first time, according to his wife, who fears his jailors are forcing him to take medication.
Wang Quanzhang (王全璋), who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, has had no contact with the outside world since he disappeared in a 2015 police sweep aimed at courtroom critics of communist authorities.
He has since been charged with “subversion of state power,” but authorities blocked lawyers and family from visiting him.
His case has attracted international attention. German chancellor Angela Merkel met his wife, Li Wenzu (李文足), during a May visit to Beijing — a rare show of solidarity from a world leader.
A month earlier, Li attempted to march 100km to a detention facility to highlight her husband’s plight before she was thwarted by police.
Li said that her husband had been able to meet his own defense lawyer Liu Weiguo (劉衛國) earlier this month at a detention center in Tianjin, near Beijing.
However, that meeting sparked fresh concerns.
“I’m more worried about his health condition,” she said, adding that she had been told by Liu that his jailors had been giving him blood pressure medication.
Wang had no previous history of the disease, she said, raising fears he was being force-fed the drugs.
Amnesty International said that several detainees caught up in the same crackdown that led to Wang’s arrest were made to take similar medication, resulting in severe health effects.
More than 200 Chinese human rights lawyers and activists were detained or questioned during the sweep on July 9, 2015, that ensnared Wang, making it the largest clampdown on the legal profession in recent history.
While most were released on bail, a handful were convicted of various crimes and sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
Wang is the last person in the “709 crackdown” to remain in legal limbo and no trial date has been set for him.
Li is also afraid that her husband has been threatened with physical violence if anyone speaks to the press about his situation, she said.
As a result, Wang’s lawyer Liu has so far refused to speak to journalists.
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