Laos deports human rights lawyer who was fleeing state pressure back to China
A human rights lawyer who was arrested in Laos has been deported back to China despite pleas from rights groups and United Nations experts for his release BEIJING -- A human rights lawyer who was arrested in neighboring Laos has been deported back to China, his attorney said, despite pleas from rights groups and United Nations experts for his release. Lu Siwei was stripped of his legal license for taking on sensitive cases and was fleeing China when he was arrested in the Southeast Asian country earlier in the summer. According to Lithnarong Pholsena, Lu's attorney, officials at the prison where Lu was held said Thursday that Chinese police took Lu and two busloads of other Chinese citizens detained in Laos back to China earlier this week. Bob Fu, a Texas-based Christian activist who was assisting Lu, said Laos had violated international law by deporting Lu to China, where family members and activists fear he may be at risk of imprisonment and torture. “We failed,” Fu said. “It’s a...