Politics | Civic and religious leaders ask firm to stop lobbying for countries that torment people of faith
World Magazine | Harvest Prude | May 9, 2019
WASHINGTON—A group of civic and religious leaders are lobbying one of America’s top law firms to stop representing foreign governments known for their persecution of people for their religious beliefs.
Forty-four civil and faith leaders co-signed a letter asking Squire Patton Boggs, a lobbying powerhouse based in the nation’s capital, to cease its work on behalf of countries such as China, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Open Doors ranks Saudi Arabia as the 15th worst country in the world for religious persecution, followed by China at No. 27 and Qatar at No. 38.
Squire Patton Boggs has more than 47 offices in 20 countries and nearly 1,500 lawyers. Its clients have included the governments of Cameroon, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, Myanmar (also known as Burma), and Sudan.
At a news conference on Friday, Bob Fu, director of U.S.-based China Aid, listed off the names of missing or detained Christians and asked the firm to consider the kinds of acts China had perpetrated against them. “Don’t be embedded with evil when they are practicing such horrific crimes against humanity,” he said. “That’s what I want to ask the leaders of Squire Patton Boggs to do.”