International Petition | Urging China to Immediately Release Human Rights Lawyer Yu Wensheng and Human Rights Defender Hsu Yan

On October 29, 2024, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Yu Wensheng to three years in prison and his wife, human rights defender Hsu Yan, to one year and nine months in prison on charges of "inciting subversion of state power."

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, express our deep concern over this case and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Yu Wensheng and Hsu Yan, who were sentenced solely for exercising their human rights, including the right to freedom of expression. We believe this verdict will have a chilling effect on the work of human rights defenders in China and their vital engagement with diplomatic missions and civil society organizations.

The couple, both prominent human rights defenders in China, were detained by police on April 13, 2023, while on their way to Beijing to meet with a European Union delegation. They were initially accused of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and held at the Shijingshan Detention Center in Beijing; in October 2023, they were formally charged under the new accusation of "inciting subversion of state power." In January 2024, they were transferred to the Suzhou Detention Center in Jiangsu Province, approximately 1,000 kilometers away from Beijing.

In August 2024, the trial of Yu Wensheng and Hsu Yan for "suspected incitement to subversion of state power" was held at the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court. However, diplomats from multiple foreign missions and other human rights defenders were denied entry to observe the trial.

Reports indicate that Hsu Yan lost 14 kilograms while in detention, and her detention conditions in Beijing may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. She faced verbal abuse, including police threats that her son would be arrested if she advocated for her own and Yu Wensheng's cases. Their son, who had just turned 18 before his parents' detention, has suffered a severe deterioration in his mental health over the years and is currently battling depression. The transfer of Hsu Yan and Yu Wensheng to Suzhou exacerbated his isolation and increased the risk of further psychological impacts; their imprisonment deprived him of parental care that could have aided his recovery.

United Nations experts have repeatedly expressed concern over the Chinese authorities' targeting of human rights defenders. They have repeatedly called for the repeal of Article 105, Paragraph 2 of the Chinese Criminal Law concerning the offense of "inciting subversion of state power." In March of this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern that "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" is a "vaguely worded crime" and encouraged Chinese authorities to amend relevant laws while urging the release of human rights defenders, lawyers, and others detained under this charge.

UN experts have also sought to communicate with the Chinese government regarding individual cases: the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in 2019 that Yu Wensheng's previous imprisonment was arbitrary and in violation of international law, and called on the authorities to provide remedies and compensation. In June of this year, the aforementioned Working Group, alongside other UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures mandates, expressed concern over Yu Wensheng's recent arrest, the alleged arbitrary detention of both him and Hsu Yan, and the alleged threats and intimidation directed at the family members of human rights defenders, including their young son.

Today, November 11, is Yu Wensheng's 57th birthday. In light of this, we call upon governments worldwide, as well as the United Nations and its human rights mechanisms, to urgently urge the Chinese government to fulfill its international human rights obligations and commitments.

The Chinese authorities should:

• Immediately and unconditionally release Yu Wensheng and his wife, human rights defender Hsu Yan, as they were convicted solely for exercising their human rights, including the right to freedom of expression;
• Ensure that, pending their release, they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, have access to adequate medical care, and are granted family visits;
• Ensure that the human rights of all human rights defenders and their family members or associates in China are protected, and allow any human rights defender willing to engage with diplomatic missions and UN human rights mechanisms to do so free from any form of reprisal or intimidation.

Signatories, in alphabetical order:

• Amnesty International
• Asian Lawyers Network (ALN)
• Changsha Funeng
• China Aid Association
• China Dissent Network
• Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
• Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)
• Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)
• Covenants Watch
• German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein - DAV)
• Hong Kong Watch
• Human Rights in China
• Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT)
• Human Rights Without Frontiers
• Humanitarian China
• International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of
• Human Rights Defenders
• International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
• Judicial Reform Foundation
• New School for Democracy
• Taiwan Association for Human Rights
• Taiwan Labor Front
• The Rights Practice
• World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human
• Rights Defenders

Reference: Amnesty International Statement

Contact

Taiwan Judicial Reform Foundation, International Affairs and Digital Human Rights Project Manager, Lawyer Huang
Email: grace.huang@jrf.org.tw