Clockwise from top left: Li Tingting, Wu Rongrong, Zheng Churan, Wei Tingting, Wang Man. They have have been detained by Chinese authorities.
Chinese feminist activists could face 5 years in prison
02:53 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

The international community is calling for the release of the five women

Chinese authorities detained them last month over their campaign for gender equality

CNN  — 

Five young Chinese feminists, whose detention has provoked an international outcry, may face up to five years in prison over their campaign for gender equality.

The women were among detained on March 6 and March 7 in three Chinese cities – Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou – shortly before events they had planned for International Women’s Day on March 8.

“Each and every one of us has the right to speak out against sexual harassment and the many other injustices that millions of women and girls suffer around the world,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Friday.

“We strongly support the efforts of these activists to make progress on these challenging issues, and we believe that Chinese authorities should also support them, not silence them.”

Free the five

The detention of Wei Tingting, along with Wu Rongrong, Li Tingting, Wang Man and Zheng Churan has drawn harsh criticism from the international community.

Protesters in several cities have called for their release and taken to social media with the phrase “free the five” as a hashtag.

Wang Qiushi, the lawyer for one of the women, Wei Tingting, said police had recommended on April 6 that prosecutors press charges of “assembling a crowd to disturb public order.”

Wang told CNN that prosecutors had to decide whether to pursue the charges within seven days of the submission – by Monday.

Clockwise from top left: Li Tingting, Wu Rongrong, Zheng Churan, Wei Tingting, Wang Man. They have have been detained by Chinese authorities.

“We hope that the prosecutors will not approve a formal arrest warrant, following the laws and standing up to pressure,” he said.

Fresh charges

The five were initially held on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Wang said he didn’t know why the charge against the women changed.

“Neither should constitute a crime,” he said.

Campaign group Amnesty International said the new charge was less serious but still carried a maximum jail term of five years.

“The women were doing nothing wrong, nothing illegal. They were simply calling for an end to sexual harassment,” William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International told CNN.

‘Inexcusable’

Wang said that Wei had been subject to lengthy cross examinations during her detention but was well the last time they met on March 31. Two of the women are said to be in poor health.

He added that the charges relate both to the activities the women planned for International Women’s Day and earlier campaigns against domestic violence and for more public toilets for women.

The five – who are members of China’s Women’s Rights Action Group – had planned to hand out stickers printed with slogans saying “stop sexual harassment, let us stay safe” and “go police, go arrest those who committed sexual harassment!” on women’s day.

On Monday, Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, tweeted that the activists’ detention was “inexcusable.”

Her comment drew a rebuke from Chinese authorities, who said public figures should respect China’s sovereignty and independence.

As China prepares to mark the anniversary of landmark UN Fourth World Conference on Women in September, it will be hard for authorities to justify detaining the activists, she added.

CNN’s Katie Hunt and Shen Lu contributed to this report