RantCrush Top 5: May 10, 2017

One of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers, who went missing almost two years ago after a government crackdown on human rights advocates, has been released from jail. Li Heping disappeared in the summer of 2015 and has been detained ever since. He was not allowed to contact his family. In April, he was put through a secret trial, which Amnesty International said was a clear sign that the accusations against him were “groundless and weak,” and was sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence. Although a suspended sentence means he will now be out of prison, experts warn that this does not mean Li is “free.”

TT @ZhangDajun Video of Li Heping’s homecoming. His hair has gone white. All along, he never confessed. https://t.co/cCYuAUgtKt

— HRIC 中国人权 (@hrichina) May 9, 2017

When he emerged from prison, he was unrecognizable to his friends and family. Those close to him said that he looked 20 years older, that he was emaciated, and his hair had gone completely gray. The family will now be under constant surveillance, both by people outside his house and through surveillance equipment inside. “We are now being followed by six or seven tall, burly men. They simply follow us wherever we go,” his wife Wang Qiaoling said.

Li Heping’s wife tells @guardian the emaciated lawyer is “absolutely not free”.’We are being followed by 6 or 7 men” https://t.co/DTwJPZcqem

— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) May 10, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.