ICC Note:

Christian lawyer Zhang Kai  is well known  for his opposition to cross demolitions in Zhejiang. In fact, Zhang was the most active and the most involved of China’s human rights lawyers. Recently, this lawyer was forced to say negative comments against his colleagues on trial. He states that he was forced out of fear and against his own will and apologized for given in to the regime. His statement online was quickly taken down by the authorities. Zhang was one of more than 700 lawyers and activists that were detained for  their commitment to defend the civil rights of Chinese citizens.

09/02/2016 China (Asia News) – A Christian lawyer says that the negative comments against some of his colleagues on trial were “forced out fear” and “against my own will” as were “the interview with a number of media”.

“With a Christian faith and a free conscience, I am officially stating that the interview with a number of media [. . .] over the trial of Zhou Shifeng was against my own will,” Zhang Kai said in a statement online that was quickly taken down by the authorities.

Zhang is a well-known figure for his opposition to cross demolitions in Zhejiang. Earlier this month, he spoke about the trial of activists Zhai Yanmin, Hu Shigen and Zhou Shifeng. The latter was found guilty of “subversion” and sentenced to seven years in prison.

“I personally think they might have gone too far,” Zhang had said during the interview. At the same time, he noted that from the perspective of a lawyer, the court in Tianjin had handled Zhou’s case fairly.

The three defendants belong to a group of lawyers who were arrested in July 2015 because of their commitment to defend the civil rights of ordinary Chinese against abuses and land grabs.

The government responded by detaining more than 700 lawyers and activists, many of whom are now awaiting trial. Zhang himself was sentenced to six months in prison and was released in March 2016.

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