ProtectDefenders.eu has received alarming information on the conviction of multiple Chinese human rights defenders and journalists as a form of repression for their human rights work.
On 29 October 2024, the Suzhou Intermediate Court in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, convicted human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and woman human rights defender Xu Yan for “inciting subversion of State power”. The defenders were sentenced to three years and one year and nine month, respectively. They have both been arbitrarily detained since April 2023. The sentencing of the two defenders is thought to be solely an act of retaliation against the peaceful and legitimate human rights work, promoting civil and political rights in the country.
Additionally, on 23 October 2024, woman human rights defender He Fangmei was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for “bigamy” and four years for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. Her sentence is scheduled to end on 1 January 2027. The trial took place in complete disrespect of Yu Wensheng’s rights, as she was denied legal representation and the court denied her lawyer to review the case files once the trial was concluded. Before being sentenced, the defender had been kept in arbitrary detention for two years and was forcibly disappeared for three months after conducting a protest in front of a local government office, advocating for vaccine safety and health rights in the country.
ProtectDefenders.eu has also been informed about the ongoing arbitrary detention the health deterioration of legal scholar and human rights lawyer and activist Mr. Xu Zhiyong. Mr. Xu is a prominent member of the New Citizens Movement, a civil society movement focused on promoting the implementation of human rights enshrined in China’s Constitution, laws, and regulations.
On April 10, 2024, the defender was sentenced to fourteen years of prison alongside lawyer Ding Jiaxi, who received a 12-year prison sentence. The charges against them were based on their roles in the “New Citizens Movement”, their establishment of a Telegram group chat, and their participation in a private meeting to discuss the situation of the rule of law and human rights in China. These cases are part of a widespread weaponisation of national security laws to unduly restrict freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
Finally, ProtectDefenders.eu’s partner RSF reported about the extreme crackdown on press freedom, which threatens the existence of independent journalism in the country. Journalists are victims of killing, torture, harassment and surveillance, and transnational repression, as part of a tactic to control media outlets, both nationally and internationally. China scores 172 out of 180 in the RSF World Press Freedom Index.
