On 11 November 2024, human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng turned 57 years old. He spent his birthday in detention. 

We, along with 23 other civil society organisations, signed a joint statement calling for the urgent release of both Yu Wensheng and his wife, activist Xu Yan. 

We are deeply concerned about this case and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Yu and Xu, as they have been sentenced solely for the exercise of their human rights including the right to freedom of expression. We believe that the sentence creates a chilling effect both on the work of human rights defenders in China, as well as on the important and constructive interactions between defenders and civil society groups and diplomatic representatives in the country.

The couple, both well-known activists in China, were taken into police custody while en route to a meeting with the delegation of the European Union to China in Beijing on 13 April 2023. On 29 October 2024, Suzhou Intermediate Court sentenced Yu Wensheng to three years in prison and his wife, activist Xu Yan, to one year and nine months in prison for “inciting subversion of state power”.

We call on governments globally and on the UN and its human rights mechanisms to urgently press the Chinese government to uphold its international human rights obligations and commitments.

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