A crackdown on Chinese human rights lawyers has seen dozens detained or interrogated in the few days. Since last week at least six lawyers have been detained with over 50 taken in for questioning by police in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Accordng to the BBC, lawyers dealing with cases involving free speech, human rights and abuses of power have been targeted. 

Disrupting public order

A statement from the Ministry of Public Security accused a group led by the Beijing-based Fengrui Law Firm, of illegally hiring protesters and swaying court decisions in the name of "defending justice and public interests." It accused the group of organising more than 40 controversial incidents and severely disrupting public order.