Police shift focus of investigation into detained Chinese women’s rights activists
Five were detained ahead of planned protest against sexual harassment on public transport; investigation has now shifted to previous campaigns
Chinese police are broadening their investigation into five detained women activists to focus on their campaigns against domestic violence and for more public toilets for women, their lawyers said on Wednesday.
The women were taken into custody on the weekend of International Women's Day, March 8, and later detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", according to their lawyers.
The charge carries jail time of up to five years.
Supporters of the five - Li Tingting, 25, Wei Tingting, 26, Wang Man, 32, Zheng Churan, 25, and Wu Rongrong, 30 - initially assumed they were picked up because of their plans to demonstrate against sexual harassment on buses and trains.
But Li's lawyer Wang Qiushi said the focus of the investigation was centred on a 2012 campaign to press for more public toilets for women and a 2013-14 campaign against domestic violence.
"The initial reason for taking them away was the anti-sexual harassment bus activity on March 7, but it looks like slapping them now with a criminal charge for that is obviously very difficult," Wang said.
The 2012 "Occupy Men's Rooms" campaign led to four cities pledging to increase the ratio of toilet cubicles for women, the state-run China Daily reported.