Human rights lawyer Sui Muqing disbarred
On 12 February 2018, human rights lawyer Sui Muqing (隋牧青) received notification that his legal license had been rescinded. Disbarment is a common tactic used by the Chinese government to deter the work of human rights lawyers, and in many cases it precedes further acts of persecution.
Sui Muqing began his legal career in 1993 and has been representing human rights cases since April 2012, after participating in a campaign requesting then-president Hu Jintao to disclose his financial assets. Since then, Sui Muqing has provided legal defence to numerous human rights defenders and victims of rights violations in China, including Chen Yunfei, Huang Qi, Guo Feixiong, Ding Jiaxi, and Wang Qingying. Sui Muqing is known for his outspoken expression of his views, and his prodigious reporting on the cases he covers. These characteristics, in addition to the sensitive nature of the cases he represents, have made him a frequent victim of government persecution. The human rights defender has been detained and arrested on multiple occasions, including a five-month detention in an undisclosed location during China’s “709” crackdown on human rights lawyers.
On 12 February 2018, human rights lawyer Sui Muqing (陈武权) received notification that his legal license had been rescinded. Disbarment is a common tactic used by the Chinese government to deter the work of human rights lawyers, and in many cases it precedes further acts of persecution.
Sui Muqing began his legal career in 1993 and has been representing human rights cases since April 2012, after participating in a campaign requesting then-president Hu Jintao to disclose his financial assets. Since then, Sui Muqing has provided legal defence to numerous human rights defenders and victims of rights violations in China, including Chen Yunfei, Huang Qi, Guo Feixiong, Ding Jiaxi, and Wang Qingying. Sui Muqing is known for his outspoken expression of his views, and his prodigious reporting on the cases he covers. These characteristics, in addition to the sensitive nature of the cases he represents, have made him a frequent victim of government persecution. The human rights defender has been detained and arrested on multiple occasions, including a five-month detention in an undisclosed location during China’s “709” crackdown on human rights lawyers.
On 23 January 2018, Sui Muqing received an advance notice from the Guangdong Province Judicial Bureau notifying him that his legal license was facing imminent rescission. According to the official notice, the decision was based on an act of “disrupting court order” during the 2014 trial of Ding Jiaxi, and the defender’s taking of photographs during a 2017 meeting with his detained client Chen Yunfei. On 3 February 2018, Sui Muqing attended a hearing on the revocation of his legal license; he was officially informed of his confirmed disbarment on 12 February. Since then, Sui Muqing’s wife and child have learned that they have been placed under travel ban.
Front Line Defenders believes that Sui Muqing’s disbarment is unjustified, and constitutes an attempt by Chinese authorities to further constrict the lawful work of human rights lawyers in China.
