Rights Lawyers Yu Wensheng and Wife Sentenced Again After Arrest for Planned Meeting with EU Officials

Yu Wensheng, Xu Yan, and their son Yu Zhenyang together. (Internet image, time and location unknown)

[People News] Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, Xu Yan, were arrested for attempting to meet with the EU delegation in China. A year and a half after their arrest, they were sentenced again on Tuesday this week. The couple's plight has once more drawn widespread attention to the situation faced by human rights lawyers within the CCP’s judicial system.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court announced its ruling on the case of the well-known human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan on Tuesday morning (October 29). Yu Wensheng was sentenced to three years, and Xu Yan received a one-year and nine-month sentence.

As reported by Radio Free Asia, Yu Wensheng, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer, had represented several Falun Gong practitioners and rights lawyers detained in the "709 Crackdown." He gained attention from authorities due to his active advocacy for constitutional reform and was arrested in January 2018, later sentenced to four years, until his release in March 2022. However, only a year later, Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan faced new judicial troubles. In April 2023, they were intercepted by police en route to meet with the EU delegation and subsequently arrested on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and "inciting subversion of state power."

Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan's arrest coincided with the April 2023 visits of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to China. The couple had been invited to meet with officials from the German Embassy in China. After their detention, Yu Wensheng's lawyer repeatedly requested meetings, which were denied, as the case escalated.

Earlier reports from Radio Free Asia stated that in August, Yu Wensheng’s case for "inciting subversion of state power" was heard in the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court, with over a dozen diplomats and human rights lawyers attending to observe. However, renowned human rights lawyer Wang Yu disappeared en route to Suzhou to attend the hearing.

Wang Yu's husband, human rights lawyer Bao Longjun, told Radio Free Asia that the final ruling in this case not only delivered a heavy blow to Yu Wensheng and his wife but also underscored the CCP’s continued crackdown on the rights defense community.

He said, “The actions of the Wensheng couple do not constitute any crime; the evidence cited in the judgment was mostly Yu Wensheng’s and Xu Yan's statements on Twitter, judged based on speech. Much of it included actions taken by Wensheng during his previous sentence, which was re-evaluated as evidence of his guilt. This is entirely a wrongful judgment and retaliatory behavior. The authorities particularly hate civilians contacting diplomatic groups. They never dare admit that they detained Wensheng for intending to meet with the EU.”

The experience of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan reflects the current harsh environment for rights defense in China, particularly the high risks human rights lawyers face when legally representing cases. Bao Longjun said, “It’s not just the group of human rights lawyers; in the past, petitioners and other groups were often invited by the EU or the US embassy to participate in events. In the past year, almost no one dares to accept such invitations.”

Since their arrest, Yu Wensheng has been held in Suzhou Detention Center No. 1, while Xu Yan has been held in Suzhou Detention Center No. 4. The case was heard in court on August 30, 2024, and after months of legal proceedings, a final verdict was delivered today. Bao Longjun noted that the court’s decision set Yu Wensheng's sentence to end on April 12, 2026, and Xu Yan’s to end on January 13, 2025.

Yu Wensheng, born in 1967 in Beijing, has repeatedly faced suppression by the CCP authorities for his commitment to human rights and the rule of law. His work has earned him broad international recognition, including the Franco-German Human Rights and Rule of Law Prize in 2018, the Martin Ennals Award in 2021, and the Anna Dahlbäck Award in 2022.

Since marrying Yu Wensheng, Xu Yan has always supported her husband's rights defense work. In 2018, after her husband issued the Constitutional Amendment Citizen Proposal, she was detained by Beijing police on charges of “obstructing official duties” and later sentenced to four years for “inciting subversion of state power.” After her release in 2022, she continued to call for her husband's cause. However, due to their continuous rights defense activities, the couple has become a prime target for CCP suppression, frequently subjected to harassment and surveillance.

Yupin Jian, a member of the Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Group, told Radio Free Asia that Yu Wensheng’s public statements do not constitute a crime. However, the CCP’s sentencing of him on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" is a political mission.

He said, “The CCP's trigger for arresting Yu Wensheng was indeed his plan to meet with the EU delegation in China. However, the real reason is that the CCP government feared he would criticize the darkness of CCP politics, judicial injustice, and deteriorating human rights at an international meeting.”

Yupin Jian believes that the CCP's willingness to arrest Yu Wensheng on his way to meet with EU officials was, on the one hand, to intimidate human rights lawyers and rights defense groups against “colluding with foreign forces” and, on the other hand, to issue a warning: do not think that having international support allows you to criticize the CCP’s governance.

“This clearly shows that the CCP government does not need critical opinions, especially those that question or challenge its ruling status. This verdict will undoubtedly have a deterrent effect on domestic opposition, leading those who usually criticize the CCP regime to exercise restraint and further shrinking the space for civil discourse,” he said. “Secondly, this ruling poses a serious legal problem, as it raises the question of whether the same actions during a previous sentence can be retried in a new sentence.”

This latest verdict has once again drawn attention to the plight of human rights lawyers and their families within China’s judicial system. The international community, especially the EU and human rights organizations, has repeatedly expressed concern over Yu Wensheng’s case, calling on the CCP government to adhere to international human rights standards and protect the legal rights of lawyers and rights defenders. However, as of publication, the EU delegation in China has yet to respond to Radio Free Asia’s request for comment.