China Shuts Out 2 Lawyers Over Tibetans' Cases

Chinese judicial authorities have in effect disbarred two activist lawyers who offered to defend Tibetans arrested in a recent Chinese security crackdown, lawyers said Tuesday.

The two, Jiang Tianyong and Teng Biao, were denied renewal of the annual licenses necessary to practice law in China because of what Beijing Judicial Bureau officials described as a willingness to take on "sensitive" cases such as those involving charges of human rights abuses by the government, Jiang said.

The decision was consistent with a broad security tightening in recent months in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics in August. Authorities have shown particular sensitivity about Tibet, which is still closed to foreign tourists and reporters, and Xinjiang, where the Public Security Bureau has accused Muslim separatists of plotting terrorist attacks to disrupt the games.

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