Chinese rights lawyer ‘still positive’ despite 600-day detention ordeal, say supporters
Li Heping returned to his family this week after his detention in a massive crackdown on human rights activists on the mainland two years ago
Chinese human rights lawyer Li Heping, who was released from detention and rejoined his family earlier this week, is still able to smile and remains optimistic despite enduring about 60 days in solitary confinement and years of ill-treatment in custody, according to his friends.
Li, 46, was sent home to rejoin his wife and daughter in Beijing on Tuesday after he was convicted of subversion of state power last month.
Li was handed down a three-year suspended prison sentence at a closed-door court hearing, but had already spent years in custody – more than 600 days in total –after he was detained in the sweeping “709 crackdown” on human rights lawyers that began in July 2015.
Some 300 human rights defenders were detained during the campaign.
Li gained prominence representing political dissidents in China, including the blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, rights attorney Gao Zhisheng and members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned on the mainland.