A law firm known for its handling controversial cases has been ordered to shut down on Tuesday, the Human Rights in China said today.
According to a press release issued by HRIC, the Haidian District Bureau of Justice in Beijing ordered a six-month ban on Yitong, a Beijing based law firm that had handled sensitive and controversial cases in the past. The firm has also been asked to turn in the licenses of all its lawyers. The Bureau of Justice said that the firm violated the law in allowing a lawyer, Li Subin, to work without a license.
Citing lawyers at the firm, HRIC said “most likely the authorities wanted to punish the firm because some of its lawyers were among the signers of an appeal in August 2008 that called for direct election of the Beijing Lawyers Association.
Li Subin told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that the decision is not only “a sorrow for all Chinese lawyers but also a sorrow for all Chinese people.”
“The six-month shutdown sends a chilling warning to all lawyers that the authorities will not tolerate any perceived challenges to their power. This is not the path to a rule of law,” said Sharon Hom, executive director of HRIC.
The shutdown is effective from March 13 to September 12, 2009. The decision stipulates that at the end of this period, the firm must re-apply in order to resume operation, and that it can reopen only after inspection by the Bureau, said HRIC. The firm is given 60 days to appeal the decision and three months to bring an administrative suit against the Bureau.
