A Chinese lawyer jailed in Shanghai after helping residents fight forced evictions has been denied family visits, sparking concerns for his welfare.
Zheng Enchong, 55, may also have been beaten in prison, Amnesty International said Thursday. He is serving a three-year sentence for leaking state secrets to foreign entities, after he faxed information to a human rights group in 2003 on government-enforced evictions of hundreds of Shanghai residents.
Amnesty International’s statement said the prison had informed his family on Dec. 10 that he had broken an unspecified rule, and the family’s monthly visits were therefore suspended.
The family waited at the prison for several hours Wednesday hoping to be allowed to see him or speak to him by telephone, but were denied access, the South China Morning Post reported.
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