The wife of a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer says he has disappeared on the day of his scheduled release from prison.

Jin Bianling says her husband Jiang Tianyong's whereabouts Thursday are unknown. She says supporters arrived at his jailhouse in central Henan province only to be told that he had already been picked up and taken away by unknown individuals.

Jin told The Associated Press from her home in Los Angeles that Jiang's sister and father have also been missing since Wednesday afternoon, when they were supposed to have been escorted to the prison by state security agents.

Jiang defended politically sensitive clients like blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng. He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2017 on the vague charge of inciting subversion of state power.