He was one of hundreds of lawyers and activists swept up in the so-called 709 crackdown in July 2015 . During a period of less than a week, at least 146 lawyers and their families were detained in a nationwide swoop according to the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG), a Hong Kong-based monitoring organization. "This is quite a usual practice or tactic for the Chinese authorities, especially around important and long holidays for the international community," Chan added. Christmas trialsWhile the Chinese authorities deny timing cases in this fashion, Patrick Poon, a China researcher at Amnesty International, pointed to multiple historical examples which suggest otherwise. Lawyers say authorities deliberately pick holiday season to jail activists.

Source: CNN December 27, 2017 08:15 UTC