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BEIJING, June 12 (UPI) -- A speedy release of human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, detained by Beijing police, is not expected, his lawyer said. Pu, 49, was detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" after a May 3 meeting in a private home, which honored those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising.
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As a student, Pu was a participant in the 1989 demonstrations. Holding him was part of a crackdown by police to discourage efforts to acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the incident, and the advocacy group Human Rights Watch said it documented the detention of at least 120 people this year.
Four people who attended the May 3 meeting were released from custody last week. Pu has remained detained for over 30 days, a signal police will ask prosecutors to approve his formal arrest.
His lawyer, Zhang Sizhi, wrote online Wednesday that Pu has been interrogated for up to 10 hours per day, adding, "As far as the details of the case go, present developments are extremely unfavorable."
"Pu's behavior on May 3 had nothing to do with 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble.' Now the situation has had a significant development, and Pu's case is definitely not a normal case, and people shouldn't face it with a normal heart," Zhang wrote.
The charge of "picking quarrels" has typically applied to assault cases, but has increasingly been used to detail political activists.
