The individual rights of Beijing lawyer Li Zhuang, the detained attorney for suspected gangleader Gong Gangmo, were violated by Chongqing authorities, says a letter by 20 lawyers from 11 provinces and municipalities yesterday.

The letter demanded authorities to protect Li's rights and interests from infringement and was sent to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the Ministry of Public Security.

The move came one day after a working group from the Beijing Lawyers Association arrived at Chongqing on Tuesday night to investigate the case, association spokesman Jiang Junlu told reporters on Tuesday.

"The arrest of Li Zhuang highlights a growing problem that the rights of Chinese legal practitioners have been frequently infringed in recent years," Li Fangping, a lawyer with Beijing Ruifeng Law Firm and a main drafter of the letter, told China Daily yesterday.

High-profile lawyer Li Zhuang, 48, with the Beijing Kangda Law Firm, was arrested on Sunday after defending Gong in Chongqing. He was charged with fabricating evidence and instructing his client to lie in court during an organized crime trial. Li was arrested after Gong told police of the lawyer's misconduct.

Chongqing authorities violated laws to detain the lawyer while many facts of the case were still unclear, the letter said.

"We're trying the best to find the truth by coordinating with local authorities. Li will bear legal liabilities and his lawyer license will be revoked if the final judicial investigation finds he has violated laws and regulations," association spokesman Jiang Junlu said. "But we will protect his legal rights if the investigation finds his rights and interest have been infringed."

Li allegedly instigated Gong to withdraw his confession, disturb order in the court and give false court statements. Li also allegedly instructed Gong to claim that he had been tortured by police for eight days during an interrogation, the Beijing-based China Youth Daily quoted Chongqing public security bureau as saying yesterday.

In the letter, Beijing lawyer Zhang Kai claimed he and another lawyer Li Chunfu were illegally detained and tortured by Chongqing police in May.

Zhang began to gather signatures to safeguard Li Zhuang's legitimate rights on his blog at Sina.com yesterday.

"Strengthening supervision on lawyers' misconducts is necessary, but meanwhile lawyers' right of defense should be protected," said He Bing, a law school professor of China University of Political Science and Law.