Prior to 709, human rights lawyers were already suffering round after round of government suppression, such as threats to their law firms and police harassment. The Development of Lawyers’ Suppression in China In the wake of the crackdown’s anniversary, I spoke with both Liang Xiaojun and a former colleague of his, a human rights lawyer who was also a victim of the crackdown and who will be referred to as “P” to maintain his anonymity. Although the primary focus of this law firm was not originally on human rights, Liang and other Daoheng lawyers gradually represented an expanding array of human rights cases, including defending individuals facing the death penalty and providing assistance to those affected by forced house demolitions. One such lawyer was Liang Xiaojun, who has defended numerous human rights cases and founded the Daoheng Law Firm in 2009. In total, over 300 human rights lawyers and activists were targeted, many of whom were detained, questioned, and banned from leaving China. Though it was not uncommon for the Chinese government to harass and detain lawyers defending human rights cases, the crackdown that began that day, now referred to as 709, was the largest in decades - its repercussions continue to be felt today. The news quickly spread to other members of the human rights legal community through messaging apps, warning them that police officers were storming the offices and homes of lawyers, taking them away for interrogation or arrest. On July 9, 2015, many human rights lawyers in China began to vanish.
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