Amnesty International called on the Chinese government to release human rights lawyers Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, who have been imprisoned for subversion over attending a social gathering on December 26, 2019.
In its statement, Amnesty International described their treatment as emblematic of the Chinese authorities’ brutal repression of civil society, further highlighting that Xu and Ding, along with several other activists, were subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and unfair trials. The group noted their trials were closed to the public, raising concerns about transparency and justice.
The group underlined further that the crackdown began shortly after the Xiamen gathering, during which authorities forcibly disappeared several attendees. Those detained were held under “residential surveillance at a designated location,” a practice that increases the risk of torture and ill-treatment.
The Chinese authorities arrested Ding and several others on 26 December 2019 when they were discussing future prospects of democratic reforms and human rights advocacy in China. Following their arrests, they were subject to incommunicado detention and deprived of access to legal counsel for over 315 days. Ding’s wife Luo Shengchun also said that Ding was subject to enforced disappearance and torture while he was detained by the authorities. Five years after their arrest, Xu Zhiyong received a 14-year sentence, while Ding Jiaxi was sentenced to 12 years for “subverting state power.” Amnesty International considers both men prisoners of conscience and has urged the international community to pressure China for release.
Uyghur Human Rights Project described the 2019 arrests as “709 crackdown 2.0.” The first crackdown referred to the government’s mass arrests of over 300 human rights lawyers on 9 July 2015 by abusing its subversions provisions. UN Special Rapporteurs similarly condemned the 2019 arrests as a part of “systemic crackdown on lawyers and human rights defenders since the so-called ‘709 crackdown’ in summer 2015.”
According to the group, the crackdown on dissent in China has intensified in recent years, with a marked increase in the use of laws related to national security to suppress activism. This includes vague charges such as subversion of state power and inciting subversion, which have been applied to various activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens.
Calls for accountability have also intensified internationally, with various groups and UN officials urging China to uphold its human rights obligations. However, concrete actions to support those unjustly detained remain limited.
