The Chinese regime sentenced a human rights lawyer to three and a half years in prison for “subversion against the state”

The Chinese regime has sentenced a human rights lawyer to three and a half years in prison for subversion against the stateaccording to what the lawyer’s family reported this Thursday.

Zhang Yiping He told the Chinese News Agency that a court in the Chinese province of Shaanxi (northwest) had sentenced him France Press agency his wife Chen Zhiguanwho resides in the United States.

Zhang Hu is a colleague of two other human rights lawyers – Xu Qiong and Ding Jiashi – who were jailed in April for the same crime after a trial also held behind closed doors.

“It is absurd that my husband is sentenced to prison…just for his lawyer’s activities and private political discussions during friends’ meetings,” said Chen Zhijuan. France Press agency by phone.

Sarah Brooksdirector of Amnesty International’s China team, also disavowed the verdict against the lawyer: “It is a scandal that Zhang Weiping has been imprisoned simply because he was convicted of the torture he said he was subjected to by the police.”

As shown or as specified or as indicated, “He was convicted in a closed trial where his wife was prevented from attending, and throughout his detention he was regularly denied access to his lawyers.”

“Chang remains at risk of torture and other ill-treatment in prison, and there are grave concerns for his physical and mental well-being due to the isolation and ill-treatment he has been subjected to. His appalling treatment by the Chinese authorities has extended to his family who have reportedly been intimidated and harassed into stopping speaking out. about Chang,” Brooks said. added: “Zhang Weiping is a dedicated human rights defender who was imprisoned simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He must be released immediately.”

The lawyer, known for defending the rights of workers, women, and religious and sexual minorities, was detained for ten days in January 2020 after attending an informal and private meeting with other activists in Xiamen in December 2020. After that. With this arrest, the regime authorities also revoked his license to practice law.

Ten months after his release, Chang posted a video to YouTube explaining how he was tortured while imprisoned. In his complaint, he said the police kept him shackled to a restraint device called a “tiger chair” for 24 hours and interrogated him 16 times in those 10 days of detention.

The activist also denounced that he was under strict surveillance after his release.

Six days after the video was published, on October 22, 2020, the regime’s security forces arrested him again.

At first it was put under “home monitoring at a specific location”. In April 2021, he was formally charged with “subverting state power”. Only then did they allow him to see his lawyer, after nearly a year in solitary confinement.

On July 26, 2022, Zhang was found guilty of “subverting state power” in a closed trial at the Feng County People’s Court in Shaanxi. Today, the same court sentenced him to three and a half years in prison.

according to his wife, He will be able to request his release in July 2024. He said Zhang Weiping had health problems.

Civil liberties and speech have been curtailed in the past decade in China under President Xi Jinping, according to human rights groups.

Observers have repeatedly warned about the procedures used by the judicial system, where the conviction rate in the courts is 99%.

(With information from AFP)

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