Xie Yang has been detained for the past 32 months by Chinese authorities. This is not the first time he has faced detention, according to a news release from the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) on October 9.
According to CHRD, instead of ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Chinese government is conducting a campaign to suppress human rights, including those of lawyer Xie Yang. He has been detained multiple times without trial and was charged with "inciting subversion of state power" due to his work in safeguarding the due process rights of human rights defenders and his online expression.
The 52-year-old lawyer represented prisoners of conscience, including activists arrested during significant crackdowns such as the "Jasmine Crackdown" in 2011, the suppression of the New Citizens' Movement in 2013, and during the 2015 crackdown on supporters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.
Despite being released on bail, Xie remained under surveillance and faced harassment from authorities. His license to practice law was revoked by the Judicial Bureau of Hunan Province in 2020. Nevertheless, he continued working with persecuted lawyers to advocate for their fair trial rights and has since been considered a "repeat offender."
Chen Guiqiu, Xie's ex-wife, expressed her distress over his situation: "I’m profoundly saddened by Xie Yang’s ordeal. He has spent most of the prime years in his life and almost all his energy confronting this authoritarian state that relentlessly persecutes him."
CHRD is an alliance comprising Chinese and international nongovernmental organizations focusing on human rights. Its mission is to promote human rights through peaceful efforts. The organization investigates and monitors human rights issues in China, administers grants for activists, provides legal aid and emergency assistance to those whose rights have been violated, offers advocacy tools, and works to build capacity for Chinese human rights defenders.
