A group of mainland and Hong Kong lawyers issued an open letter yesterday demanding that the National People's Congress launch a fresh probe into the mysterious death of June 4 activist Li Wangyang.
The letter says the conclusion of the official investigation into Li's death - that he committed suicide - was full of holes. The lawyers also demanded the immediate release of relatives and friends of Li.
The letter was signed by 10 lawyers, including Tang Jingling, who gave legal advice to Li's relatives, and Albert Ho Chun-yan, chairman of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong.
The Hunan authorities released an investigation report on July 12 that said Li had torn a strip from his bed sheet, which he used to hang himself from a window in his hospital ward on June 6.
The circumstances of the blind and deaf activist's death, a few days after an interview with a Hong Kong television station in the lead-up to the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on June 4, 1989, prompted mass protests in Hong Kong. One of the lawyers, Liu Weiguo, said: 'There are many loopholes in the official investigation. The investigation was not done in accordance with proper legal standards.'
The letter called for a team of crime investigators from the public security authorities, autopsy experts, judicial officers, representatives from the NPC legal affairs committee, lawyers appointed by Li's sister, Li Wangling, and lawyers from Hong Kong and Macau to launch an investigation in Shaoyang, where Li died.
The letter said the investigation should be independent from the local political and judicial authorities.