Citizens' Square

Ruling by the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court on Qin Yongmin’s Case

On July 10, Qin Yongmin, 64, veteran democracy activist, a cofounder of the China Democracy Party and founder of China Human Rights Watch, is sentenced to 13 years in prison for “subversion of state power.” The court’s ruling details the government’s accusations against Qin Yongmin: writing a large...

July 10, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

Qin Yongmin

Shenzhen Workers Demanding to Form Labor Union Achieved an Initial Victory

In this account, the authors, workers at Jasic Technology Co., Ltd. In Shenzhen state that the company has treated employees badly for a long time, and that, as a result, workers demand to establish a labor union as a way to protect their rights and to protest the maltreatment. But, according to...

July 22, 2018

Citizens' Square

Citizen Participation

Account of Applying to Attend Trial of Qin Yongmin

This account describes the experience of the writer and other rights defenders from different areas in the country who intended to going to Wuhan to apply to attend the trial of Qin Yongmin. Some activists were intercepted in their local areas, and the others who arrived at the court were...

July 11, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

Qin Yongmin

709 Family Members Accompany Lawyer to Tianjin Detention Center, Denied Opportunity to See Wang Quanzhang; Judge Also Refuses Them—Li Wenzu’s epic search for her husband is violently stopped on the 12th day

On April 19, 2018, Wang Quanzhang’s wife, Li Wenzu, and family members of 709 lawyers Wang Qiaoling, Liu Ermin, Yuan Shanshan, accompanied lawyers Lin Qilei and Xie Yang to the Tianjin Detention Center to ask to see Wang Quanzhang, but their request was denied. The following day, Li Wenzu, Wang...

April 20, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

709 Families and Supporters

Personal freedom restricted by force—Li Wenzu applies for administrative reconsideration

On April 13, Li Wenzu sent an application for administrative reconsideration to the People's Government of Shijingshan District in Beijing, demanding a ruling of illegality on the Shijingshan Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s violation of law by restricting her personal freedom by...

April 13, 2018

Citizens' Square

House Arrest

709 Families and Supporters

Li Wenzu “Disappeared” on 6th Day of “March for Her Husband”

On April 4, 2018, the 999th day of her husband’s disappearance, Li Wenzu , wife of lawyer Wang Quanzhang who was arrested in the 709 Crackdown, started her march, from the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing to the Tianjin No.2 Intermediate People's Court to search for her husband. On April 9, 2018,...

April 9, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

709 Families and Supporters

Update on Meeting with Zhang Guanghong

In the afternoon of December 7, 2017, lawyer Sui Muqing met with well-known netizen Zhang Guanghong (web name Nianhua Shiping) at Yuexiu District Detention Center in Guangzhou. Zhang, who was arrested for the crime of “insulting,” told the lawyer that Yuexiu police accused him of reposting a...

December 7, 2017

Citizens' Square

Freedom of Expression

Liu Yao & Wife Lai Wei’e Draft Case Timelines & Procedural Status

1) Case Timelines Date Liu Yao’s Case Lai Wei’e’s Case Aug 2015 Liu Yao began publishing articles online exposing He Zhongyou (何忠友), Party Secretary of Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, for illegal appropriation of a vast tract of farmland for a golf course project. (He Zhongyou is currently the...

March 19, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

Draft Case Summary of Liu Yao Lawyer and Whistleblower Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Exposing Corruption

Lawyer Liu Yao ( 刘尧 ) , 56, who once practiced in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, represented local peasants in Dongyuan County, in the prefectural-level city of Heyuan City (河源市东源县), in a land right dispute case. Subsequently, in 2009, he was accused of a trumped-up charge of intentional damage of...

March 19, 2018

Citizens' Square

Access to Justice

Complaint Against Heyuan Intermediate People's Court and Judges Cui Chunliu, Lei Zhiping, and Xu Ke for Unlawful Handling of Cases and Hindering Lawyers’ Lawful Exercise of Their Litigation Rights

[Translation by Human Rights in China] Submitted to: The Heyuan Municipal People's Procuratorate The Heyuan Municipal Intermediate People's Court By Complainants: Defense lawyers for Liu Yao ( 刘尧 ) Li Fangping ( 李方平 ) , lawyer at Beijing Ruifeng Law Firm and defense lawyer representing Liu Yao and...

July 25, 2017

Citizens' Square