Beijing authorities on Friday took outspoken rights lawyer Yu Wensheng into custody as he was taking his child to school, his wife said, days after Yu said he was stripped of his legal license for criticizing President Xi Jinping.
Yu, a Beijing-based lawyer and activist, has repeatedly criticized the ruling Communist Party over a sweeping crackdown on rights lawyers and activists, which has seen hundreds detained and dozens arrested in recent years.
The authorities revoked Yu's license on Monday, citing rules requiring he be employed at a registered firm, but Yu told Reuters he believed the decision was in part reprisal for an open letter he wrote criticizing Xi's "totalitarian" rule.