Overseas lawyers' groups decry China rights crackdownBEIJING--Overseas bar associations and lawyers' groups Saturday issued an open letter to mainland China leader Xi Jinping criticizing the mainland's detention of lawyers and activists exactly one year after the crackdown was launched. The open letter said the lawyers' groups sought to improve the situation for Chinese lawyers and human rights defenders. Saturday marked the first anniversary of a crackdown in China on human rights lawyers and activists in which more than 200 were detained or questioned. The letter was signed by more than a dozen groups including the Hong Kong-based China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, the Amsterdam Bar Association, the Australian branch of the International Association of People's Lawyers and the International Commission of Jurists. "It is in this light that we wish to remind you of your continuous pledges, Mr. President, to uphold the rule of law in China," the letter said.

Source: The China Post July 09, 2016 16:41 UTC