Beijing: Beijing authorities have issued an order to destroy the home of one of China's leading rights activists, who has been in police custody for more than 200 days, her husband and lawyer said today.
The plight of Ni Yulan is one of the highest-profile of the many so-called "land grab" cases in China, where city residents are evicted from their homes or farmers kicked off their lands to make way for developments.
Ni, 47,is a long-time campaigner against such government-backed land grabs and was jailed for a year in 2002 for her activist work, and she is now facing losing the home she shares with her husband.
Beijing s Xicheng court recently ordered developers to level Ni s home and told the family to vacate the premises by Friday last week, her husband, Dong Jiqin, told AFP, adding he had refused to leave.
"They stuck the demolition notice on our front door," Dong said.
"Nobody came to talk with us, there were no negotiations for compensation, no public hearings."
Dong said the notice informed him they would be given an apartment somewhere else in Beijing, but there were few details and no official came to speak with them about the offer.
Ni was sentenced in 2002 for "damaging public property" after being arrested at a rally aimed at stopping the demolition of another courtyard home in Beijing.
Dong and rights activists said she was beaten in the 2002 arrest and has since had to walk with a cane due to injuries sustained then.
