Li Jinsong, one of Hu Jia 's lawyers, was placed on 10 January evening, under house arrest for a few hours in a Beijing hotel, after inviting foreign journalists to confirm that it was impossible for him to see Hu's wife, Zeng Jinyan. He is under surveillance by the police. His other lawyer, Li Fangping, was not detained but he was strongly urged not to try to approach Zeng's home.

Previously, the authorities prevented them from visiting Hu in prison on 4 January on the grounds that the case had been classified as a "state secret."

The police today prevented a group of foreign journalists from entering the Beijing apartment building where Zeng, a well-known blogger, lives with the couple's two-month-old daughter Qianci, saying it was because a "criminal investigation" was under way. After checking their passports, the police allowed the reporters to leave but made the photographers delete the photos they had taken.

On 8 January, Zeng was able to talk to some German journalists through one of the windows of her apartment. She talked about the conditions in which her husband is being held and how the police are preventing all his friends and relatives from seeing her. "The police have searched the apartment several times and have taken our computer and telephones," she said, adding: "I am very worried about Hu Jia."

After that conversation, the police installed a curtain to prevent Zeng from being seen from outside the apartment. More than 20 police officers are permanently stationed around her home. Zeng has been completely isolated since Hu's arrest, when the phone lines and Internet connection were cut off.

A friend of Hu's told Reporters Without Borders he had also been prevented from visiting Zeng at home and that police officers were subsequently stationed outside his own home. On 5 January, the police searched the home of Hu's parents to ensure they did not have documents about his arrest that they could give to the news media.

Hu has been held since 27 December on a charge of "inciting subversion of the state." Referring to his arrest on 3 January, a foreign ministry spokesman said: "Everyone is equal before the law and no one is above the law. We are handling this case according to the law."

Li, the lawyer who was placed under house arrest today, was awarded the French government's human rights prize last month. French justice minister Rachida Dati met him when she accompanied President Nicolas Sarkozy on a visit to China in November.

Fifty-seven Chinese activists and writers released an open letter on 6 January calling for Hu's immediate release and urging the police to ensure that his health does not deteriorate while in detention. Hu has a liver ailment.

Li Jinsong is an attorney for blind human rights champion Chen Guangcheng and the Director of Yitong Law Firm in Beijing. He is one of the first lawyers to obtain Certificates of Accountant and Registered Security and Tax Accountant in China. He is also the legal and tax advisor for the China Stock Economy Association and China Film Producers Association. Mr. Li is the first Beijing lawyer to adopt the policy of not charging a legal fee if he loses the case. In 2004, he found the Yitong Accounting and Tax Lawyer Group.

Reporters Without Borders  accused the Chinese authorities, especially state security, of violating the new regulations for foreign journalists by preventing them from visiting the wife of detained human rights activist Hu Jia and of violating the right of Hu's lawyers to visit their client. One of the lawyers was placed under house arrest for a few hours.

"Despite all the appeals from within China and throughout the world for Hu's release, the government is taking an even tougher position by depriving his wife and their two-month-old daughter of their freedom," the press freedom organisation said.

APPEALS TO:

 President Hu Jintao, People’s Republic of China, c/o Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; 2300 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20008, USA, Fax: +01 202 588-0032;
 Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, Wu Aiying, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345;
 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Waijiaobu, Mr. Yang Jiechi, 2 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Beijingshi 100701, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6588 2594, Email: ipc@fmprc.gov.cn;
 Ambassador Sha Zukang, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Chemin de Surville 11, P.O. Box 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7937014, E-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int;
 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Brussels, Avenue de Tervuren, 463 1160 Auderghem, Belgium, Tel: + 32 2 663 30 10 / + 32 2 663 30 17 / +32 2 771 14 97 / +32 2 779 43 33; Fax: +32 2 762 99 66 / +32 2 779 28 95; Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn.

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of the People’s Republic of China in your respective countries.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.