Chinese human rights lawyer Tang Jitian has been stopped from leaving the country.

On Sunday around 8:30 p.m., Tang Jitian tried to travel to Hong Kong through the border town of Shenzhen. But after giving his passport to border control officials, they said his travel documents needed to be verified.

Tang told NTD that officials made numerous phone calls for around 20 minutes. Then, one officer told him that there are orders from above that he's not allowed to leave the country.

[Tang Jitian, Disbarred Beijing Lawyer]:
“I asked him, what’s your reason for not allowing me to leave? Which law or facts are you relying on? He said we cannot give you an answer, it’s just arranged from the superiors.”

Tang Jitian and fellow lawyer Liu Wei recently had their law licenses permanently revoked by Beijing’s judicial authority. They were accused of disrupting court order during a defense of a Falun Gong practitioner last year—a charge they deny. Both Tang and Liu have said the decision to revoke their licenses is against the law.

Tang says he believes the Chinese regime does not want him to leave the country.

[Tang Jitian, Disbarred Beijing Lawyer]:
“I think they have a bit of a guilty conscience, because they have done a lot of illegal things, but still want to try and keep face, so it’s not their wish that someone would share with others about the things they has done.”

Tang is now back in Beijing. He says he may take legal action against those who have violated his right to travel abroad.