On Tuesday, seven human rights lawyers and their associates who have been missing since last summer were formally arrested and charged with "subversion", according to their friends and relatives.

Another Swedish citizen, China-born Gui Minhai, is also missing in connection to a suspected crackdown on a Hong Kong bookshop known for publishing and carrying books critical of the Chinese government.

In July, the Chinese authorities launched what appeared to be an orchestrated campaign, when more than 280 human rights lawyers and activists - along with their associates - were summoned, detained or just disappeared. The arrests have been widely seen as the state's attempts to stifle dissent.
Source :AFP