China rights lawyer barred from Beijing after prison: wife

Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang has not been allowed to reunite with his family in Beijing following his release from prison, his wife said yesterday, after Washington urged China to lift restrictions on his movements.

Detained in 2015 as part of a sweeping crackdown on hundreds of lawyers and rights activists, Wang was released earlier this month after serving a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.

Authorities then took him to a property in his hometown of Jinan, northeastern Shandong province, to undergo 14 days' coronavirus quarantine as a precaution, according to his wife, rights activist Li Wenzu.

But yesterday marked 19 days since his release, and he has not been able to return to Beijing and reunite with her and their son, Li said.

"I think they are scared that their mistreatment of Wang during his prison sentence may be fully revealed," Li told AFP.

"Regardless of their motives or plans, their restrictions on Wang's human rights and liberty are against the law. This should be condemned by all."

Numerous human rights observers have expressed concerns over alleged instances of torture experienced by Wang while under detention, and Li has previously told AFP that she is worried about the visible deterioration of her husband's health.