Statement｜Chinese Authorities Must Release Arbitrarily Detained Human Rights Lawyer Yu Wen-sheng upon Completion of His Sentence and Ensure His Full Freedom

Human rights lawyer Yu Wen-sheng is expected to be released on April 13 after serving a three-year sentence on trumped-up charges of "inciting subversion of state power."

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, express our deep concern regarding his personal situation. We urge the Chinese authorities to ensure that Yu Wen-sheng is released immediately upon the completion of his sentence, allowed to reunite with his family in Beijing, and granted the freedom to exercise his human rights.

Yu Wen-sheng and his wife, Hsu Yan, are prominent advocates for the rule of law and human rights in China. Consequently, they have faced continuous government harassment for years; this is the second time Yu Wen-sheng has been arbitrarily deprived of his personal liberty since 2018. 

As a human rights lawyer, Yu Wen-sheng has represented numerous sensitive human rights cases, including defending lawyers from the "709 crackdown," and has publicly called for constitutional reforms to strengthen checks on state power. He has faced severe retaliation for his efforts to give voice to victims of human rights violations, challenge government overreach, and promote substantive legal reform. 

The authorities should investigate the crackdown, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention directed against Yu Wen-sheng, and hold those allegedly responsible legally accountable through a fair trial. The authorities should provide Yu Wen-sheng and his family with judicial relief and effective remedies in accordance with China's domestic laws and its human rights obligations and commitments. 

On April 13, 2023, in Beijing, Yu Wen-sheng and Hsu Yan were intercepted by police on their way to a meeting with European Union officials. They were initially held at the Shijingshan District Detention Center in Beijing, where they were denied prompt access to a lawyer of their choice and prosecuted by the local procuratorate for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." Around June 2023, the authorities added a new charge of "inciting subversion of state power." United Nations experts have repeatedly expressed concern over the authorities' use of these two charges to target human rights defenders, noting their failure to comply with international human rights standards and calling for the repeal of these offenses.

Hsu Yan reportedly lost 14 kilograms during the first six months of her detention in Beijing. She also suffered ill-treatment, including intimidation by police who threatened to arrest her son if he spoke out publicly about her and Yu Wen-sheng's case. The conditions of her detention may amount to torture and other ill-treatment.

In January 2024, Hsu Yan and Yu Wen-sheng were transferred to the Suzhou Municipal Detention Center in Jiangsu Province, approximately 1,000 kilometers away from their habitual residence in Beijing. In April 2024, UN experts expressed concern over their detention and its impact on their son. In August 2024, their case was tried at the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court. Diplomats and activists from several foreign missions planned to observe the trial but were reportedly denied entry into the courtroom. 

On October 29, 2024, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Yu Wen-sheng to three years in prison and Hsu Yan to one year and nine months in prison for "inciting subversion of state power." 

Their son had just turned 18 when the two were detained. His mental health has severely deteriorated since Yu Wen-sheng's initial arrest in 2018; this situation was further exacerbated by his isolation during the period when both of his parents were imprisoned simultaneously. 

Hsu Yan was released in January 2025, but she stated that she and her son continue to face illegal surveillance and harassment by authorities, a common extrajudicial tactic directed against human rights defenders and their families. She spent over a decade preparing for and passing the legal professional qualification examination, completing all necessary requirements. In 2023, ten days after her detention, Hsu Yan was informed that she had passed the exam; however, to this day, the authorities have not issued her an official certificate. This impedes her ability to continue human rights advocacy and earn an income for her family. 

Yu Wen-sheng has reportedly been held in poor conditions at Zhenjiang Prison, which may amount to ill-treatment. According to sources close to him, prison authorities failed to provide adequate heating or nutrition and refused to assist him in purchasing daily necessities. Furthermore, Hsu Yan's repeated requests for authorities to transfer Yu Wen-sheng back to a prison in Beijing to facilitate visits were ignored, forcing them to make round trips of approximately 1,000 kilometers every month to visit Yu Wen-sheng. 

We believe that the authorities' use of the criminal justice system to harass Yu Wen-sheng and his family aims to deter human rights defenders in China, preventing them from engaging in legitimate and constructive interactions with civil society groups and diplomatic representatives. Despite the harsh crackdown measures adopted by the authorities, many human rights defenders in China refuse to remain silent.

As Yu Wen-sheng's release date approaches, we call upon the Chinese authorities to fulfill their international human rights obligations, including those under the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. We urge the authorities to:

1. Ensure that Yu Wen-sheng can reunite with his family in Beijing upon the completion of his sentence, free from any additional restrictions; 
2. Ensure that Yu Wen-sheng is able to freely exercise his human rights, including the rights to freedom of movement and freedom of expression, and ensure that he can communicate with any individual or institution of his choice; and
3. End all forms of illegal surveillance and harassment directed against Yu Wen-sheng, Hsu Yan, their family, or friends, and ensure that their right to health is fully protected.

Background Information 

Following his initial arrest in January 2018, prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wen-sheng was sentenced in 2020 to four years in imprisonment and "deprivation of political rights" for "inciting subversion of state power," a conviction based entirely on his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. 

Yu Wen-sheng is the recipient of the 2018 Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law and the 2021 Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders. This recognition not only honors his vital role in China's human rights community but also acknowledges the tireless efforts of his wife, Hsu Yan, in calling for her husband's release. Yu Wen-sheng was released upon the completion of his sentence on March 1, 2022. 

This case involves a series of human rights violations—ranging from the criminalization of human rights advocacy and the work of human rights lawyers to unfair trials, poor detention conditions, denial of access to counsel, and devastating impacts on family members—painting a concerning picture of the state of the rule of law and the situation of human rights defenders in China. The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers reiterated this position in a letter sent to the Chinese authorities in July 2025. She expressed deep concern over ongoing allegations regarding "the continuing pattern of repression and criminalization of legal professionals—circumstances previously outlined in communication AL CHN 1/2024." 

Other UN experts have repeatedly called on China to repeal Article 105(2) of the Criminal Law concerning "inciting subversion of state power." Furthermore, in 2020, UN experts determined that the criminal provision on "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" violates the principles of due process and legality under Article 11(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights explicitly called for the abolition of this vague and overly broad offense. 

Research by civil society organizations monitoring the human rights situation in China, including many signatories to this letter, shows that Chinese courts consistently use these provisions in cases involving human rights defenders, such as those of Yu Wen-sheng and Hsu Yan, criminalizing the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Furthermore, the authorities have failed to implement recommendations to cease violations of the right to a fair trial and other rights, including the issue of imposing additional punishments under the Criminal Law that fail to meet international human rights standards. 

List of Signatories (in alphabetical order) :

• Alliance for Citizens Rights
• Amnesty International
• ARTICLE 19
• Asian Lawyers Network
• China Rights in Action
• World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS)
• Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)
• German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein)
• Freedom House
• Front Line Defenders
• Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
• Human Rights in China
• Human Rights Watch
• Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) 
• 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
• Lawyers for Lawyers
• Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
• Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
• PEN International
• Safeguard Defenders
• The Rights Practice
• World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders