Beijing

Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei was detained at Thailand’s border in Laos during a visit to the United States. Laotian officials initially said it was a paperwork issue. However, after a week of appeals by human rights groups, the situation changed.

Lu’s lawyers were informed that the matter was now political and had been escalated to the highest level of government. Lu’s wife, Zhang Chunxiao, believes Beijing is behind the detention and wants him to return to China. Zhang said that if her husband was sent back to China, it would be devastating for him, their family, and human rights lawyers.