Xu Zhiyong aide’s status is uncertain

27 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost

Human rights advocates in China indicated that Zhuang Lu, the office assistant at the prominent human rights law centre Gongmeng may not have been released, as was previously stated. Ms Zhuang made a short phone call to her mother on 26 August in order to tell her that she was awaiting trial and forbidden from leaving Beijing. Read more here

China frees activist Xu Zhiyong

24 Aug 2009 | Index Index, minipost

Chinese authorities have released legal activist Xu Zhiyong and two other activists. Xu Zhiyong, founder of the Beijing-based Open Constitution Initiative, was unexpectedly freed on bail, along with co-worker Zhuang Lu, after more than three weeks in prison on charges of tax evasion.  In a separate case, Ilham Tohti, an economics professor who had written about economic discrimination against the Uighur minority, was released after about six weeks in custody. Read more here