Rights activist Li Qiaochu has met with a lawyer for the first time after nearly seven months' detention in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, on suspicion of subversion, RFA has learned. Li is currently in COVID-19 quarantine in a hospital under the supervision of the Linyi Detention Center, a Facebook page campaigning on her behalf reported. Her lawyer visited her there on Aug. 27, during her third hospital visit. Li, who was diagnosed with depression two years ago, needs long-term medication, prompting concerns about her physical and mental health in detention.
"At the moment, she is taking antipsychotics and antidepressants, and due to the side effects, she has gained a lot of weight despite not eating as much as before," a statement on the Free Li Qiaochu page said. "She said that she does not regret being arrested a second time, and that she spoke out because she had to," it said.
Li has been held in Shandong's Linyi city since her initial detention on Feb. 6, 2021 on suspicion of "subverting state power."
