Christian Lawyer In China May Have Been Tortured In Prison.

Christian Lawyer In China May Have Been Tortured In Prison.

 Carey Lodge CHRISTIAN TODAY JOURNALISt December 2016

Fears that a missing Christian human rights lawyer in China may have been tortured into making a confession to trumped-up crimes have been raised by campaigners calling for his release.

Jiang Tianyong, 45, went missing on November 21 after visiting the wife of an imprisoned lawyer, persecution charity Release International reports.

He was first held in so-called 'black jail'; an unregistered detention centre with no legal status. Watchdog China Aid has noted that torture is common in these centres, and inmates are refused physical, written or verbal communication with family members or legal representatives.

Chinese authorities claim to have released Jiang, but his family have not been told where he is. According to state media, he is accused of being "in possession of documents containing state secrets" and "illegally handed over state secrets abroad".

China's Legal Daily said Jiang had "confessed to the crimes". But the UN said his disappearance could be linked to a meeting he had with UN officials in August and warned that he may be at risk of torture. Jiang's wife and Releases' partners on the ground believe he may have already been tortured into making a false confession.

Release is therefore calling on China to declare where Jiang is being held, and to give reassurance that he is not being tortured.

Jiang is the latest in a line of human rights lawyers to have 'disappeared' in China, which has been clamping down on attorneys for the past five years.

Since July 2015, more than 230 human rights lawyers and activists have been detained, and state-controlled media has branded them corrupt and criminal.