China lawyer prevented from traveling to Europe to receive human rights award
Posted by chinaview on December 1, 2008
Chris Thomas, SOH Radio, on Monday, December 1st, 2008 -
Renowned Chinese human rights lawyer Li He-ping has told SOH on Sunday that he was stopped at the borders on November 27 when he tried to travel to Belgium to receive the European Bar Human Rights Award. He found out the next day that the order came from the Beijing Bureau of Public Security. Li expressed that these actions have violated the citizen’s right of travelling across the border.
He was stopped by border security at 2am on November 27, when he was about to board the flight from Beijing International Airport to Brussels, Belgium to receive his award. When questioned by Li about the reasons for his restriction, the personnel said that they never give out the reason or any information. Li called border securities the next day and was told that they received information from Beijing’s Bureau of Public Security who was prohibiting hin from crossing the border.
He says that the freedom of crossing the border is a basic right for citizens, and that China’s border control laws clearly states that 3 types of people are restricted from crossing the border, including criminal suspects, those under labour re-education and those deemed by the Chinese State Council to pose a severe threat to national security. Lawyer Li says he does not fit any one of these categories, and says that the Bureau of Public Security’s interpretation of the law is against the legislations.
He also revealed that a large number of Chinese nationals are restricted from travel overseas, including Beijing human rights lawyer Teng Bing.
Lawyer Li Heping is well known for his stance on human rights, and was the defense attorney for Shandong’s blind human rights activist Chen Guang-chen. He was also a member on the defense team in the 2006 case of Falun Gong practitioner Wan Fu. In September 2007, he was kidnapped and beaten by a dozen people in Beijing, and left in the wilderness. There have been reports that the attacks were related to his carriage of the case for another Falun Gong practitioner Cao Dong.
- SOH Radio Network: Human rights lawyer prevented from traveling to Europe to receive award
