Chinese rights lawyer disappeared after US honors her with courage award
Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Yu missed a virtual award ceremony on the International Women’s Day after the Department of State lost touch with her for two days, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
Wang, who was imprisoned and now barred from leaving China, was among the 21 women around the world honored by the U.S. with International Women of Courage award.
“We have not been in regular communication over the past two days. We are concerned because we know that she wanted to attend today’s ceremony. We’ll be following up and if necessary, speaking out on her case,” said Blinken on Monday.
He said Wang has represented cases involving abused children, ethnic minorities, women and religious adherents, but her work has brought government prosecution through today.
In 2015, Wang was one of the first lawyers arrested in the nationwide 709 crackdown in 2015, which saw over hundreds of civil rights lawyers and advocates picked up and prosecuted. Now under an exit ban, she has been harassed and physically assaulted by police since she began to take on right abuse cases in 2011.
Wang had her practicing license stripped last year, which she attributed to her support to another rights lawyer Yu Wensheng.
Other awardees include jailed Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, who has fought for the democratic movement in the aftermath of a disputed election, Congolese advocate for wartime sexual violence survivors Julienne Lusenge and Venezuelan labor rights advocate Ana Rosario Contreras.
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