ABA to Honor Imprisoned Chinese Human Rights Lawyer

In a sign of support for China’s embattled rights lawyers, the American Bar Association earlier this month announced it is giving the organization’s first ever “International Human Rights Award” to Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Yu.

Wang, based in Beijing and widely known for her work on behalf of women and religious minorities, was arrested by the Chinese authorities last year on charges of “anti-state activity,” and remains incarcerated in China. According to the ABA, she’s awaiting trial, and will receive the award in absentia at the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco next month.

She is one of hundreds of lawyers whom the PRC government reportedly ...