[People News Report] Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei was arrested by authorities on October 10 on charges of "suspected illegal border crossing." He is currently being held at the Chengdu Detention Center in Sichuan Province. Lu Siwei's wife, Zhang Chunxiao, who now resides in the United States, was interviewed by Radio Free Asia on October 22, where she discussed his current situation.

Lu Siwei's condition in the detention center has worsened, and he is being held in a room with 32 other people.

Zhang Chunxiao told Radio Free Asia that Lu Siwei’s lawyer, Zhang Lei, visited him on October 21 and learned about his latest situation. Currently, Lu Siwei's condition in the detention center has worsened. He was transferred from an initial cell holding 27 people, about 20 square meters in size, to another cell of similar size but now holding 32 people. Zhang Chunxiao said, “He (Lu Siwei) now has to work every day and is on duty for two hours each night.”

Zhang Chunxiao also shared details about the food provided to Lu Siwei in the detention center, stating, “Breakfast is acceptable, but lunch and dinner are very poor.”

Lu Siwei's lawyer, Zhang Lei, declined to be interviewed by Radio Free Asia. Journalists tried calling the Chengdu Detention Center for information on Lu Siwei’s situation, but the calls went unanswered. Lu Siwei’s case has been transferred to the court by the Chenghua District Procuratorate, and the Chenghua District Public Security Bureau has issued an arrest notice to his family.

Lu Siwei had provided legal assistance to 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists detained in Shenzhen in 2020. Following this, his law license was revoked by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice in early 2021. Zhang Chunxiao shared that ever since Lu Siwei's involvement in the "12 Hong Kongers case," their home has been under surveillance. She said, "From January 2021, surveillance cameras were installed at our front door and downstairs. This continued until January 2022, when my daughter and I left. Our family was monitored by cameras for a whole year. Even after we left, the cameras continued to monitor him. Since January 2022, he has been living under constant surveillance by cameras and people, for almost four years now."

Last July, Lu Siwei was arrested in Laos while preparing to take a train to Thailand. He was repatriated to China in September and placed in custody. In October, he was granted bail. Zhang Chunxiao explained that after Lu Siwei’s law license was revoked, he was placed under a border control restriction by the Chinese authorities. She emphasized, “According to Chinese criminal law, illegal border crossing can result in administrative penalties and fines, and in serious cases, a prison sentence of less than one year. But for Siwei’s case, it’s not about the length of the sentence; it's about how he has been living under long-term surveillance and monitoring. The reason he took the risk last year was because he was illegally subjected to border control. If he hadn’t been restricted, he could have simply bought a ticket in Chengdu and flown out legally because he had a U.S. visa and a Laos visa."

In May 2021, Lu Siwei attempted to go to the U.S. Zhang Chunxiao said, "After his law license was revoked, he had an opportunity to come to the U.S. as a visiting scholar, but he was stopped at the airport in Shanghai."

Support for Lu Siwei continues from various sectors.

Recently, growing support for Lu Siwei has emerged. Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, voiced her concerns on social media platform X on October 22, stating: “Last week at the UN General Assembly, the Chinese government told me that ‘everyone should enjoy the same human rights and fundamental freedoms.’ I hope that human rights lawyer Lu Siwei can enjoy the same rights,” and called for his release.

Earlier, on the afternoon of October 20, the Chinese Democratic Party United Headquarters held a rally in support of Lu Siwei outside the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles. Participants chanted slogans such as “The Chinese Communist Party is evil,” “Free Lawyer Lu Siwei,” and “Lawyer Lu Siwei is innocent.” They also wrote postcards to be sent to the Chengdu Detention Center where Lu Siwei is being held.

Li Wentao, a Chinese student who attended the rally, told Radio Free Asia that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had no valid reason or excuse to arrest Lu Siwei. He said, “We are here today to support Lawyer Lu, first, to express our strong dissatisfaction with the CCP and demand his immediate release. Second, we want to show our support for Lawyer Lu’s efforts in defending human rights and the rule of law in China.”

Zheng Tao, one of the organizers of the rally and a member of the Chinese Democratic Party, questioned the Chinese government during an interview: “What kind of government arrests lawyers? And in China, it’s not just Lu Siwei—many lawyers are facing the same situation.”

(Adapted from Radio Free Asia)