Yu Wensheng

Yu Wensheng (Chinese: 余文生; pinyin: Yú Wénshēng, born November 11, 1967) is a Chinese human rights lawyer based in Beijing. He is known for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party and taking up politically sensitive cases against the government.[2][3]

Yu Wensheng
余文生
NationalityChinese
OccupationHuman rights lawyer
Spouse(s)Xu Yan[1]
Weiquan lawyers
Background
Lawyers and legal scholars
Organizations
Cases and Events

Arrest

In 2014, Yu was detained due to his vocal support for Hong Kong's yellow umbrella movement.[4] In 2017, Chinese judicial authorities refused the passing of Yu's annual bar license review, which led to Yu's forced resignation from the Beijing Daoheng Law Firm. This inhibited Yu's ability to practice law, since one must be employed by an established law firm to do so. Yu then sought to establish his own law firm, whose application for registration was denied in January of 2018. Subsequently, Yu's legal license was revoked on account of his not being employed by any law firm for six months.[5]

On 18 January 2018, Yu published an open letter calling for reforms such as the holding of fair elections, advocating for an oversight system of the Chinese Communist Party, etc. The next day, Yu was arrested while walking his 13 year-old son to school on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles". [5][6] Yu was afterwards detained for a period of more than two years, during which he was barred from meeting his family and lawyers. In April 2019, the UN working group on arbitrary detentions issued a statement calling for Yu's release.[7][5]

However, Shanghai-based news website The Paper believes otherwise. According to its report published on 23 January 2018, Yu was said to have assaulted two police officers and resisted the rest. The report was widely circulated on news portals and social media in China, while Yu's family and friends claimed that it was an effort to discredit Yu.[8]

Four-year sentence

In May 2019, Yu was sentenced to four years in jail during a closed-door trial that took place without the knowledge of his family. His sentence was based on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power”. The Xuzhou city intermediate people’s court furthermore deprived Yu of his political rights for a period of three years, during which he would be barred from taking public positions, speaking publicly and publishing.[7][9]

Yu then appealed his sentence, which was rejected by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s High Court. According to Hong Kong news media RTHK, The People's High Court ruled on the grounds that Yu had "spread rumors and attempted to subvert state power by trying to overthrow the country’s socialist regime".[10]

In response to Yu's sentence, Nicholas Bequelin, director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific, commented that Yu’s sentencing is “nothing but political persecution dressed up as legal process [...] The secret sentencing of yet another human rights lawyer marks a new low for what is left of the rule of law in China".[7]

On January 19, 2020, the European Union denounced the court’s decision and called for Yu's immediate release.[11]

References
  1. "Jailed Chinese human rights lawyer in poor health, says wife". South China Morning Post. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. "YU WENSHENG SENTENCED". Front Line Defenders. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. "Yu Wensheng: China human rights lawyer arrested on school run". BBC News. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  4. "Yu Wensheng". Lawyers for Lawyers. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. Steinerte, Elina; et al. "Mandates of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders". United Nations Human Rights. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. Phillips, Tom. "Outspoken Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng held by police". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  7. Yu, Verna (18 Jun 2020). "Chinese human rights lawyer jailed for four years, says his wife". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. "China: Human rights lawyer unjustly jailed after secret trial must be released". Amnesty International. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  9. Feng, Yibing. "China  Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 4 Years Following Secret Trial". Voice of America. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  10. "Court upholds ruling on rights lawyer Yu Wensheng". RTHK. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  11. GEHRKE, LAURENZ. "EU slams China for jailing human rights lawyer". POLITICO. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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