China on Wednesday rejected as “irresponsible” comments by UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein calling for the immediate release of rights lawyers and activists detained in the country.
China on Wednesday rejected as “irresponsible” comments by UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein calling for the immediate release of rights lawyers and activists detained in the country.
Mr Hussein on Tuesday raised concerns about the arrest of an estimated 250 lawyers and activists in a crackdown since July, war-ning that China appeared to be locking up government critics regardless of whether they had committed a crime. But China said in a statement that “all those cases raised (by Mr Hussein) involve illegal and criminal activities, and has nothing to do with restrictions of the rights and freedoms”.
“The high commissioner made irresponsible comments in disregard of facts,” added the statement from Beijing’s mission to the UN in Geneva.
Meanwhile, China said that missing Hong Kong bookseller Lee Bo was ass-isting a police enquiry and did not want publicity. “Lee repeatedly clarified that he voluntarily went back to mainland China for assisting in the investigation, and is safe and sound,” Ch-ina’s mission in Geneva said in a statement. “Lee hopes that the general public respect his personal ch-oice and privacy and do not hype up the case.”
The Chinese police have detained about 250 human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and activists across the country, although the UN statement said many had subsequently been released.
Another bookseller, Gui Minhai, had left the country in 2004 after being handed a suspended sentence for killing a student by drunk driving, but gave himself up to the police in October 2015, and was also involved in other crimes, the statement said.
Foreign diplomats have said Mr Gui and Mr Lee were believed to have been abducted or coerced from Thailand and Hong Kong respectively, and taken to China. Three others also went missing.
Mr Lee holds a British passport, while Mr Gui is a naturalised Swedish citizen.
Asked about the latest Chinese statement on Lee, the British Embassy in Beijing referred Reuters to comments last week by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who said Lee had probably been “involuntarily removed” to China from Hong Kong.
