Chinese rights lawyer and government critic detained

Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng was detained by authorities, including a SWAT team, on Friday morning. His wife, Xu Yan, told DW that he was leaving his Beijing apartment to walk his child to school at the time.

Even several hours after Yu was taken into custody, Xu said her calls to local police had not provided her with any information about what happened to her husband.

"I do not know what they are accusing him of or where he is," she said.

Yu's arrest comes days after his license to practice law was revoked and just hours after he circulated a letter to journalists criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping and calling for constitutional reforms.

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The Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not immediately announce his detention.

"I am convinced that suggestions about changing the constitution are a part of freedom of expression, which is also a part of our constitution," Xu said.

Patrick Poon, a researcher for Amnesty International, said Yu's detention "shows that the Chinese government is less and less tolerant towards criticism of state leaders."

"It's extremely worrying if he'll be charged with any serious crimes like 'inciting subversion of state power,'" Poon added.

Yu, who was briefly detained in October last year, has long been a vocal critic of China's ruling Communist Party.

He is best known for defending other prominent rights lawyers detained for supporting Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, as well as for representing six attorneys who attempted to sue the Chinese government over the country's chronic smog problem. 

Yu's calls for reform

On Thursday, Yu disseminated a letter calling for changes to China's state constitution, which included the introduction of multi-candidate presidential elections.

"Designating the nation's president, as head of state, through a single party election has no meaning as an election," Yu wrote. "It has no power to win confidence from the nation, civil society, or the world's various countries."

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The rights lawyer also called for reduced military power and for dropping a preamble that gives the Communist Party primacy in national leadership.

His report was released as China's Central Committee debated introducing new constitutional reforms. However, critics like Yu expect these to be based on the recommendations of President Xi, with the aim of consolidating his power.

Crackdown on dissent

Yu is the latest victim of the Xi's recent crackdown on dissent, which has targeted all manner of people, from human rights lawyers to teachers and even celebrity gossip bloggers.

More than 200 rights litigators and activists have been detained or questioned since 2015. The state's suppressive measures have been described by rights groups as "unprecedented."

Last year, activist and Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo died of cancer while in detention after authorities rejected his request to seek treatment abroad. He was sentenced in 2009 to 11 years in prison for "subversion" after pushing for democratic reforms in the country.

dm/msh (Reuters, dpa, AFP)