Beijing has reacted to international outrage over the case of jailed milk safety activist Zhao Lianhai by stepping up pressure on him and his supporters. The two lawyers representing Zhao were denied permission to meet him at the Daxing District Detention Centre in Beijing yesterday for the fourth time this week. His family members also reported increased pressure from the authorities. The detention centre said Zhao did not want to meet lawyers and showed them a handwritten note, which read: 'I've decided recently not to meet you two.' It was dated Tuesday and bore Zhao's signature. Zhao, 38, whose son developed kidney stones that were attributed to melamine-tainted milk in 2008, was sentenced last week to 21/2 years in jail for 'provoking quarrels and making trouble' as he tried to help other families whose children were made ill by the milk. The district court trial began in March. Lawyers Li Fangping and Peng Jian confirmed the note looked as if Zhao had written it. The head of the detention centre told them 'everything is normal' but refused to give any details about whether Zhao was still on a hunger strike. 'This is the first time we've come across such a case [of a jailed client not wanting to meet lawyers] because as long as someone wants to lodge an appeal, they would be keen to talk to lawyers,' Li said. 'The note could suggest many things - it's impossible for us to know without speaking to him.' The lawyers gave their phone numbers to staff at the centre. They said they did not know when they might be able to see Zhao as it was not clear what 'recently' in the note meant. 'We think it's no longer than a week,' Li said. Monday is the deadline for lodging an appeal, and the lawyers will keep trying to see Zhao to ensure the detention centre is willing to file his appeal. Li said he did not think the detention centre would obstruct Zhao's right to appeal. Although the verdict has little chance of being reversed on appeal, the two lawyers will still either submit or post the legal document to the district court and the Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court for an appeal. The lawyers said they were surprised by Zhao not wanting to meet them because Peng met Zhao for one hour last Friday, when Zhao said he was determined to continue the hunger strike until he was released and that he would appeal. Peng said Zhao was calm and didn't look weak after the second day of his hunger strike. Both the lawyers and Zhao's family have been under pressure from authorities in recent weeks. The Beijing Judicial Bureau asked Li this week to keep a low profile and curb his comments to the media. Li said he already was low profile. 'Now, I am only talking about the facts, rarely commenting on this case with my own opinion,' he said. He was worried that it might soon become impossible for them to meet Li Xuemei , Zhao's wife. Peng was asked to report to his local police station last night. It was expected to be connected with the case. Li Xuemei has stopped answering phone calls and text messages from reporters and lawyers. Local police and residential committee staff have visited her a couple of times since the conviction. According to a friend close to Zhao's family, Li Xuemei has been under tremendous pressure. Zhao's mother, 77-year-old Pan Xiuying , was worried that her apartment, where Li Xuemei and her two children are staying, would be taken back by her company. 'I think the local authorities have threatened Zhao's sisters and brother with their jobs,' the friend said. Zhao's relatives have been asked to take time off and keep Li Xuemei company 24 hours a day. Zhao's residential complex recently recruited a new team of guards, who tried to drive away TV journalists yesterday. About 10 guards, either in uniform or plain clothes, and local police said any interview requests should go through the residential committee and strangers must register at the entrance before entering the complex. After a standoff between journalists and guards that lasted for about five minutes, Zhao's sister came out with a residential complex employee. She was crying and said: 'We won't do interviews today.' Zhao's case has captured the international community's attention. In his government's first comment on the case since the sentencing, Stephen Young, US consul general to Hong Kong, said that even Hong Kong lawmakers close to Beijing and deputies to the National People's Congress were calling for Zhao's release. 'I think freedom of expression, as Liu Xiaobo and many other people [on the mainland] who have tried to exercise it, is not against the law, according to the constitution, and should not be punished,' he said. Young added that although he was not aware of whether US government officials had raised the issue with Beijing, 'it is the kind of case that they might quietly pursue', for example, in his government's regular human rights report on China. Basic Law Committee vice-chairwoman and former Justice Secretary Elsie Leung Oi-sie said Zhao's motivation could be considered by the judge as a reason to revise his jail term - particularly whether 'Zhao's acts were due to the unfair treatment he had received'. Leung said she did not have enough information to comment on whether the jail term was too long. She said people should use the appropriate channels to express concern about the case. Additional reporting by Tanna Chong, Ambrose Leung