1,000 Chinese lawyers condemn police attack after attorney has clothes ripped off in court
Wu Liangshu assaulted after he refuses to hand over mobile phone for checks, according to media report
About 1,000 lawyers in China have signed a statement condemning an attack on a lawyer who says he was assaulted in a courtroom by police officers.
The lawyer, Wu Liangshu, says he was beaten by three court policemen in the presence of two judges and one other official on Friday after his request to file a case in a district court in Nanning, Guangxi, was rejected.
The clash broke out when Wu refused to hand over his mobile phone for inspection by Qingxiu district court police. Wu had used the phone to record a conversation with court officials in its petition office.
The act of the court takes the nation’s justice system as a joke
“The refusal to establish a court case and the violent assault and search of a lawyer seriously damage the rights of attorneys. If even a professional lawyer is treated with barbaric and violent means, just imagine how they deal with civilians,” said the lawyers’ statement, posted online on Sunday evening.
“The act of the court takes the nation’s justice system as a joke and this is not the first time lawyers have been assaulted but we will not give up this time and we will press ahead,” it said.
Wu was photographed leaving the court with his shirt torn open and half of his trousers ripped away revealing his underpants, Caixin reported.
It said that Wu had red marks on his chest and multiple injuries to his fingers, and he claimed a court police officer had stamped on him.