Chinese police detain five women's rights activists

[uhnope]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - China formally detained five women's rights activists on Thursday, apparently for planning to demonstrate against sexual harassment on public transport, paving the way for police to levy formal charges.

The detention of the women is the latest development in a case that has drawn censure from international rights groups and underscores a widening campaign by President Xi Jinping to quash any dissent among academics, journalists and social activists.

The women had made signs and stickers bearing slogans like "stop sexual harassment," and calling for police to arrest molesters, photographs circulated by rights groups showed.

The women, who are from three cities, are being held at a detention center in Beijing, lawyers for three of them said by phone. "This is completely unreasonable," said Wang Qiushi, a lawyer for one of them. "None of them has violated the law."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/12/us-china-rights-idUSKBN0M819K20150312

[oldandhappy]

1. This is an Amnesty International case.

Our group wrote letters about this case this week.