Chinese law experts praised the Ministry of Public Security's recent move to place nine lawyers under "coercive measures" for alleged crimes as a sign of its determination to advance the rule of law.

The lawyers were suspected of disrupting public order and seeking profits by illegally hiring protesters and swaying court decisions in the name of "defending justice and public interest," according to a statement released Saturday by the ministry.

According to the Criminal Procedure Law, "coercive measures" may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.

BEING A LAWYER NO PROTECTION

"Lawyers are supposed to safeguard the law," said Wang Jinxi, a law professor with China University of Political Science and Law. "Being a lawyer does not mean they can break the law, and no country allows people to carry out criminal activities just because they are lawyers," Wang said.

Wang said some Western politicians and media outlets that described the police actions as "cracking down on rights defenders" were ignoring the facts.

The ministry's statement said a group including the nine suspects had organized more than 40 controversial incidents since July 2012, with Beijing Fengrui Law Firm as a platform.

The group also assembled crowds to assault judicial organs and create traffic jams, it said.

The group regularly made a scene, causing them to be forced out of court in order to paint themselves as victims, induce sympathy and hype up cases, according to the ministry statement.

Camera recordings for a court hearing in the northeastern city of Shenyang in April showed several defense lawyers affiliated with the firm shouting and screaming shortly after the trial opened, despite judges' calls for order.

They hurled insults at judges and later targeted police trying to interfere, with the firm's lawyer Wang Yu pointing fingers and calling them "hooligans." The trial was forced to a halt.

He Yong, a senior official with the Ministry of Justice, said lawyers were practitioners of the law and key to fairness and justice in the judicial process.