Death of Chinese activist in police custody prompts calls for investigation into torture
Human rights advocates are calling for an investigation into the death of a Chinese activist, arrested after holding up a placard calling for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to step down. Wang Meiyu, 38, was detained in July after he stood outside the Hunan provincial police department holding a sign that called on Xi and Chinese premier Li Keqiang to resign and implement universal suffrage in China. He was later charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” a vague offence often given to dissidents.
According to Wang’s mother and lawyer, he died on Monday. Wang’s wife Cao Shuxia received a call from police notifying her that her husband had died at a military hospital in the city of Hengyang where he had been held. The police officer on the phone did not offer any explanation of the cause of death.
