Cao was detained last September after campaigning for public participation in a human rights review in China

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Human rights activist Cao Shunli has died of illness after Chinese state security agents denied her medical attention, a human rights website has reported.

Cao was detained in September after she staged a two-month sit-in at the foreign ministry with other activists, pressing authorities to allow the public to participate in a national human rights review.

Cao's younger brother Cao Yunli told the human rights website Weiquan Wang that he had unexpectedly received a call from the hospital at just after 3pm on Friday. He was told his sister was gravely ill; when he arrived at the hospital an hour later, she had already died.

"The hospital is not willing to let the lawyer and the family look at the body," her lawyer Liu Weiguo told Reuters.

Authorities first detained Cao at Beijing airport on 14 September, as she was en route to Geneva to participate in a human rights training program. She was formally arrested one month later on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".

Cao suffered from several conditions, including tuberculosis, liver disease and uterine fibroids, according to the New York-based group Human Rights in China. Beijing's Chaoyang district detention centre, where she was held, had refused to give her medical treatment for months, causing her condition to deteriorate.

Cao was finally taken to the hospital on 19 February after she fell into a coma. She spent her last days hooked up to a ventilator.

Since 2008, Cao has pushed for petitioners and activists to have a voice in China's domestic human rights reviews and the UN's universal periodic review (UPR).

"It's just horrific – there's no other way of describing this," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch.

"She was part of a growing community inside the country that was trying to hold the government accountable for a host of issues through peaceful and legal means," she added. "This is an absolute travesty of a case. Six months ago she was fine and trying to take part in UPR – and now she's dead."

Cao's condition began to deteriorate late last month – doctors said her kidneys were failing and she had only a few days left to live. Her friend Liu Xiaofang said at the time that she spoke with a doctor surnamed Su.