Detained rights activist Huang Qi (黄琦) was formally arrested by Sichuan police the afternoon of Friday, July 18, Human Rights in China has learned. Huang, who travelled to the Sichuan earthquake zone and published news about the plight of parents who lost children in the disaster, was detained by authorities on June 10, 2008.
Police presented Huang’s mother with Huang’s arrest warrant at 3:00pm on Friday (Beijing time). Huang has been kept incommunicado since his detention began on June 10, with authorities prohibiting family members from meeting with him. Huang continues to be denied access to legal counsel, ostensibly on grounds that his case concerns "state secrets."
For more information about Huang Qi, see:
- HRIC Case Update: "Huang Qi Denied Access to Counsel," June 24, 2008, http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/60742;
- HRIC Press Release: "Rights Activist Huang Qi Detained on Suspicion of Holding State Secrets," June 16, 2008, http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/56586;
- HRIC Press Release: "Human Rights in China Condemns the Detention of Huang Qi by Police in Chengdu," June 14, 2008, http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/56408.
For more information on the revised Lawyer's Law, see:
- HRIC Press Release: "Revised 'Lawyers Law' Fails to Protect Lawyers," June 19, 2007, http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/56883.
- "Incorporating Responsibility 2008: About the Issue: Olympics and the Rule of Law," February 2008, http://www.ir2008.org/02/issue.php.
For more information about China's state secrets system, see:
- HRIC Press Release: "New HRIC Report Details State Secrets System," June 12, 2007, http://hrichina.org/public/contents/41500.
- HRIC Report: State Secrets: China’s Legal Labyrinth, June 12, 2007, http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/41421.
