Li Heping is a prominent human rights lawyer in China. The New York Times reports in Chinese Lawyer Recounts Abduction that he was kidnapped and tortured in Beijing on the eve of China’s National Day holiday.
In the telephone interview on Tuesday night, Mr. Li said he was followed after leaving his office late Saturday by a group of men who eventually grabbed him, put a bag over his head and drove him to a location where they beat him in a basement, sometimes tormenting him with a high-powered electric rod.
Later, he said, the abductors drove him to another location in the suburbs of Beijing, where they left him and told him that he and his family ought to leave Beijing immediately.
After being released by his abductors, Mr. Li said he returned home to discover that some of his personal belongings were missing, including legal files and his license to practice law.
In a statement released to a human rights group, Mr. Li said: “As a lawyer, I had the chance to experience electric punishment and torture. I was rolling on the ground and they continued laughing and beating me. This torture lasted about four or five hours.”
The complete article describes Li Heping as a lawyer who has become well known for his defense of environmental activists, imprisoned lawyers and church leaders.
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