Status: 04/10/2023 1:08 p.m
Two prominent Chinese human rights activists have been jailed for many years. In a secret trial, Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong were sentenced to 12 and 14 years in prison, respectively.
In China, two well-known human rights activists have been sentenced to long prison terms. Lawyer Xu Zhiyong faces 14 years in prison and lawyer Ding Jiaxi faces 12 years in prison, the exiled wives said on Twitter. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch also confirmed the verdicts of a people’s court in Linshu in the province of Shandong.
Secret process and abuse allegations
The hearing and the pronouncement of the verdict took place behind closed doors. The two men were accused of “undermining state power”. The court in Linshu denied the proceedings: “We know nothing about this case,” said a spokeswoman. When asked by journalists, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also pretended not to know anything about the verdicts. “I’m not aware of the situation, but I can tell you that China is a country governed by the rule of law and everyone is treated equally before the law.” The Chinese judiciary handles cases in accordance with the law.
Ding’s wife Luo Shengchun sharply criticized the authorities: “They do not dare to hold a court hearing, do not dare to call witnesses and do not dare to pass judgment for months,” said Luo. Yaqiu Wang, an activist with Human Rights Watch in New York, also pointed out that the process was secret. There were procedural problems. Wang also pointed to reports that Xu and Ding were mistreated in detention.
“Widespread Hostility” by Xi
The two civil rights activists have been in custody for a long time. Ding was arrested in December after attending a secret meeting of lawyers and human rights activists in Fujian province with Xu. A “democratic transition in China” was discussed there, and Ding later called on China’s ruler Xi Jinping to resign. After the meeting, Xu initially managed to hide for a while, but was also arrested in February 2020. Both activists had previously been in prison for several years.
Xu and Ding are among the most prominent civil rights activists in China to have been tried in recent times. “The cruel sentences and sentences handed down to Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi demonstrate President Xi Jinping’s widespread hostility to peaceful activism,” said Human Rights Watch activist Wang. Governments around the world should join the call for the Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the two lawyers.
“Beijing’s treatment of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders should be a reality check for foreign leaders in a hurry to get back to business as usual with Beijing,” Wang said, apparently also in light of French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to China. “The international community must stand by those who are paying the ultimate price by fighting for the rights of everyone in China.”