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Federal Foreign Office on the ruling against Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng
A Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement on 7 January 2025 in response to the court ruling against the Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng:
On 6 January 2025, the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court rejected the appeal filed by Yu Wensheng, a Chinese human rights lawyer and recipient of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. His three‑year prison sentence for the alleged offence of inciting subversion of state power was thus confirmed. Yu Wensheng and his wife, Xu Yan, were arrested in April 2023 when on their way to the Delegation of the European Union in Beijing. The allegations made against him, and his conviction, are entirely arbitrary.
Once again, we demand his immediate release. The intimidation of human rights defenders and their arbitrary arrest are incompatible with the Chinese Government’s declared aim of strengthening the rule of law.
Background information:
Yu Wensheng was awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in 2018, in recognition of his legal work in support of human rights activists.