Chinese authorities’ refusal to allow lawyers to meet with their detained clients has become a worsening problem in China. Such a restriction not only violates international human rights norms, but also China’s own laws that stipulate detainees are permitted to see a lawyer within 48 hours of a request. Police often cite Article 37 (3) of the China’s Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), which allows authorities to deny a lawyer’s visit if a case involves “endangering state security,” in particular when human rights defenders have been detained. This pretext is often used to block lawyer visits in cases where detainees are accused of “political” crimes, such as “inciting subversion of state power” or “separatism.” Police have claimed that visitations (either by lawyers or family members) may “obstruct investigation” or lead to “leaking of state secrets.” However, police have also turned to citing such rationale in cases where detainees are held for “creating a disturbance” or other crimes that do not appear to involve any “state security” concerns. Besides being deprived of lawyers’ visits, many detainees in “politically sensitive” cases can be subjected to prolonged detentions beyond legally permitted periods of time, and often without any involvement of the judiciary. Such detentions are often secretive, including when individuals are held under “residential surveillance” in police-designated locations. This has become increasingly prevalent, such as during a crackdown against human rights lawyers that began in July 2015. According to Chinese law, this type of “residential surveillance” can last for up to six months, essentially constituting a legal form of “enforced disappearance.” The gallery below includes Chinese police documents denying lawyer visits with their clients, all citing “political” reasons.

1. Imprisoned activist
Liu Ping (刘萍) was
denied a lawyer’s
visit in May of 2013,
with police claiming
the meeting would
“obstruct
investigation” or
“may leak state
secrets.”

2. Human rights lawyer Tang
Jingling (唐荆陵) was not
allowed a lawyer’s visit in
August 2014 because he
had been charged with
“inciting subversion of
state power.” According to
a police notice, concerns
over “obstructing
investigation” and
“leaking state secrets” are
cited as the reasons for
denying the visit.

3. Human rights lawyer
Wang Quanzhang (王全
璋) has been detained in
a secret location since
July 2015, when he was
seized in a crackdown
against rights defense
lawyers. Wang’s attorney
was denied a visit with
him on September 2,
2015. A police notice
stated the denial was
because his case involves
“endangering state
security.”

4. Three days after he
disappeared, human
rights lawyer Xie Yang
(谢阳) was denied a
lawyer's visit on July
14, 2015, because he
has been detained on
suspicion of “inciting
subversion of state
power.”

5. On August 26, 2015,
after more than one
month of disappearance,
the status of activist Bao
Longjun (包龙军) was
only confirmed from a
notice of a denied
lawyers’ visit, which
stated that Bao was
detained on charges of
“inciting subversion of
state power.”

6. After multiple failed
attempts to visit
activist and legal
assistant Liu Sixin (刘
四新), his lawyer
finally obtained an
official police notice
denying visitation on
September 18, 2015,
citing “endangering
state security” as the
reason.

7. Activist Wu Gan (吴淦) was arrested in July 2015 on charges of “inciting
subversion” and “creating a disturbance,” and denied a visit with his lawyer
in October 2015.

8. Human rights lawyer Zhang Kai (张凯) and his assistant Liu Peng (刘鹏)
were secretly detained in late August 2015. Both were then denied a
lawyer’s visit on September 2, 2015.