Relatives Of Jailed Lawyers Protest In Beijing

Four relatives of imprisoned human rights lawyers on Wednesday staged a protest outside the mainland’s top court and prosecutor’s office in Beijing, urging the release of their loved ones.

The women held up a Lunar New Year-style banners, on the second day of the new year. They wished the courts would hand down fewer unjust rulings in the coming year.

Their relatives were among those targeted in a sweeping, nationwide crackdown on hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists that started in July 2015.

One of the women taking part in the protest on Wednesday morning was Li Wenzu, who said she would not stop her calls for her husband, Wang Quangzhang, to be acquitted and released.

Wang, a prominent human rights lawyer, was arrested in 2015 and was last month sentenced to four-and-a-half years for state subversion.

Li said she doesn’t know the current status of her husband, and doesn’t know whether he plans to appeal.