China - to disqualify two Chinese lawyers who supported democratic activists in Hong Kong

Recently NHK News On-line reported the following:

中国 香港の民主活動家ら支援の中国の弁護士2人 資格剥奪へ

2021年1月5日 6時03分

中国当局は、香港から台湾に密航しようとした罪で実刑判決を受けた香港の民主活動家らを支援した中国の弁護士2人に対し、弁護士資格を剥奪すると通告し、弁護士は「不当な迫害だ」として反発しています。

資格剥奪の通告を受けたのは、中国で人権派弁護士として知られる任全牛弁護士と、盧思位弁護士の2人です。

2人は、香港から船で台湾に密航しようとした罪で、12月30日に中国の裁判所で実刑判決を受けた香港の民主活動家や学生などの家族から依頼され、裁判での弁護や拘置所での接見を求めていました。

裁判で、2人が弁護を担当することは認められませんでしたが、中国の司法当局は資格剥奪の理由について、2人が過去に担当した裁判の内容やインターネット上での書き込みなどを挙げ「弁護士のイメージが著しく損なわれた」としています。

一方で、任弁護士はNHKの電話取材に対し、家族からの依頼を受けたあとの去年10月ごろから中国当局による圧力が一段と強まったとしたうえで、資格剥奪の通告について「今回の裁判に関わったことが問題視されたのは明らかだ。ありもしない法律の規定による弁護士への不当な迫害だ」と強く反発しています。

Translation

Chinese officials informed two Chinese lawyers who had helped Hong Kong democratic activists sentenced for smuggling from Hong Kong to Taiwan that they would be disqualified; the lawyers opposed to that as an "unjustified persecution."

The people that had been notified of disqualification were two known human rights lawyers in China, respectively lawyer Rèn quán niú (任全牛) and lawyer Lú sī wèi (盧思位).

The two had been entrusted by family members of the Hong Kong democratic activists and students who were sentenced to prison in a Chinese court on December 30 for attempting to stowaway from Hong Kong to Taiwan by ship to defense them in court, and to look for and interview them at the detention center.

While these two were not allowed to do the defence at the trial, the Chinese judiciary supposed that the reason for their disqualification was their writings on the Internet about the contents of the court trials in the past which they had taken part, and as such “the image of a lawyer has been significantly damaged. "

On the other hand, lawyer Ren told NHK's telephone interview that from around October last year the pressure on him from the Chinese authorities had increased further after receiving a request from his family. Regarding the disqualification notice, he strongly opposed that "it is clear that my involvement in this trial has bee seen as a problem. It is an unjust persecution of a lawyer under the provisions of a non-existing law."

So, the treatment received by these two lawyers makes me to wonder once more whether China is a society ruled by law as measured by western standards.