Story highlights The journalist missing since Tuesday is being held by police, lawyer says

The disappearance has been connected to a letter criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping

Jia Jia's lawyer says his client did not write the letter

(CNN) Jia Jia, a Chinese journalist who went missing while trying to travel to Hong Kong, has been detained by police, his lawyer told CNN Sunday.

Jia, a columnist active on political issues with some 85,000 followers on Twitter, was scheduled to depart from Beijing airport March 15 to attend a speaking event and renew his work permit.

He last spoke with his wife on the phone upon arrival at the airport but has not been in contact since, his lawyer Yan Xin said. There was no indication he made it to Hong Kong.

Yan said that Jia had been taken for "criminal investigation," but it wasn't clear whether Jia was detained as a suspect or to assist in an investigation. He added that he thought the investigation was linked to a recently published open letter critical of President Xi Jinping.

Yan said Friday that Jia was not the anonymous author of the article.

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