Ge Yongxi, a civil rights defense lawyer, was detained and released April 15 by Chinese authorities for posts on social media that "poked fun" at President Xi Jinping in relation to the Panama Papers. The president's brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui, was named—along with a handful of elite Chinese citizens—in the data leak from a Panamanian law firm that exposed offshore accounts held by prominent politicians and others across the globe. Information about the Panama Papers has been censored [6] across China with websites in that country "forbidden [7]" from publishing material about the subject. Ge was also detained [8] 10 months ago and questioned by authorities for being involved in a lawyers' rights movement.
From Jurist [9], April 15. Used with permission.
Note: Dozens of human rights lawyers gathered outside the public security bureau in Guangzhou, where Ge was detained, to show their support and demand his release. His detention came amid an ongoing crackdown [10] on human rights lawyers that began last July. Under the crackdown, more than 280 lawyers and activists have been summoned or detained or just "disappeared." (BBC News [8]) The Panama Papers [11] have touched several governments around the world, and prompted the prime minister of Iceland to resign. (NYT [12], April 5)
