Chinese rights lawyer ‘mysteriously’ dies in hospital

Pastor Bob Fu (AFP/Karen Bleier)

BEIJING: A close friend of a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer says the lawyer has “mysteriously” died in a military hospital.
Bob Fu, a religious activist who has known Li Baiguang for over a decade, says the government should be held accountable for Li’s death early Monday.
The sudden death of Li, who defended farmers and Christian pastors, raises questions about the welfare of those who have defied Chinese authorities.
A relative of Li told Fu that the lawyer died hours after being admitted to a hospital in eastern Jiangsu province for a minor stomach ache.
Fu says Li was “very healthy” despite having been “treated violently last year” and “threatened a number of times recently by the Chinese regime.”