Detained Chinese rights lawyer is allowed to leave for US
A detained Chinese law professor who pushed for the adoption of a jury system in China has been allowed to leave the country for the United States.
Charges were dropped against Chen Taihe, and he joined his wife and children in California on March 1, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
Chen was detained last July in a crackdown on about 300 Chinese lawyers, legal activists and associates. Chen was released from detention in August and placed under residential surveillance, the Times reported.
Residential surveillance is a status sometimes interpreted to be the equivalent of house arrest, the ABA Journal reported in February. However, these detainees have been held in solitary confinement and subjected to extreme interrogation, forced confessions and even torture. Family members, friends and colleagues have been denied access or even knowledge of their whereabouts.
Chen’s family came to the United States at his urging after he was detained.
As of March 4, 28 Chinese lawyers or human-rights advocates were in detention or in an “incommunicado situation,” according to the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group.
“It’s really hard for me to say exactly why I was let out. I think I’m incredibly lucky,” Chen told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. “Generally, no matter what you do, nobody can get out. There is no negotiation.”
