A statement by Xu Yan, the wife of Yu Wensheng’s human rights lawyer, was released by Rights Defense Network on 25 May, mentioning that 21 international human rights organizations and international legal figures wrote to the Chinese Communist Party authorities, calling on officials to listen to international voices and transfer Yu Wensheng to a Beijing prison before releasing him and not to persecute him again.
Xu Yan said that 21 international human rights organizations and international legal figures wrote to the Chinese Ministry of Justice, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Justice, and the Jiangsu Provincial Prison Administration, calling for the transfer of Yu Wensheng’s lawyer to a Beijing prison. The joint letter was copied to the Chinese State Council, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security. The letter has been sent by express mail in both Chinese and English.
Xu Yan said that the joint letter from 21 international human rights organizations and international lawyers and professors and judges to the Chinese judiciary and the Chinese government implores the Chinese authorities to pay attention to the above-mentioned provisions, “as well as the situation of lawyer Yu Wensheng and his Family, and to allow him to be transferred to a prison in Beijing to complete the rest of his sentence, taking into account legal and human rights considerations.” She also said that if Yu Wensheng returns to Beijing to serve his sentence, his family will be able to assist the authorities by providing the attention and assistance that Yu Wensheng will need for his rehabilitation and recovery.
Xu Yan stressed that she hoped that the Chinese government would listen to international voices and consider the situation of Yu Wensheng’s health and his family before releasing him, and that he would be transferred back to the prison in Beijing, where his family is registered, in accordance with the law and in a humane manner. She also appealed to the authorities to “not continue to brutally suppress and persecute the lawyer in a place 1600 miles away that has nothing to do with him!” She also thanked everyone for their support and help.
The Free Times and Radio Television Hong Kong reported that Yu Wensheng has been imprisoned for three years now and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2020 for “inciting subversion of state power.
Xu Yan previously said that the Xuzhou City Detention Center in Jiangsu Province said that Yu Wensheng requested to be transferred to prison at the first opportunity, and that the prison authorities stressed that he would not be allowed to be seen “before he was put in jail.
Xu Yan released footage of a phone call with the detention center through social media, in which she asked the center when Yu Wensheng would be transferred to prison and to which prison he would be sent, but the authorities only responded that arrangements were being made. Therefore, Xu Yan continues to urge the authorities to transfer Yu to a prison in Beijing to serve his sentence from a legal and humane perspective.
The Taiwan Lawyers Network for Human Rights in China and other groups said on the 25th that several international organizations, including Taiwanese lawyers’ groups, human rights organizations, and legal scholars, had sent a letter to the Chinese government on the 23rd, including the Ministry of Justice, the Jiangsu Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Prisons, requesting that Yu Wensheng be transferred from Xuzhou to Beijing, where he lives, to serve his sentence.
It is reported that Yu is detained in Xuzhou, while his wife and children’s family are in Beijing, more than 800 kilometers away from each other. Whenever Xu Yan visits Yu Wensheng, he has to travel from Beijing to Xuzhou, which is very Time-consuming, and the round trip plus the visit can easily take up to 2 days. Secondly, Yu Wensheng and his wife have no friends or relatives in Xuzhou, so he cannot get support from his family and friends in prison.
In addition, Xu Yan currently has no income, and after Yu Wensheng’s detention, she and her family are relying on the family’s savings to make ends meet. As each visit to her husband is costly and long-distance, it adds to the family’s expenses and stress. If the visitation trip involves legal proceedings, she needs to be accompanied by a lawyer, and the expenses rise even more. Faced with 3 years of lawsuits, Xu Yan is under enormous pressure, physically and mentally exhausted.
Recently, it was announced that Yu Wensheng had lost his molars, had chronic toothache, and had difficulty chewing and eating; his right hand was injured while he was detained in Xuzhou awaiting trial and was trembling uncontrollably. In addition, Yu also suffers from chronic spinal and lower back pain, which is believed to be caused by the fact that he was required to sit cross-legged on the floor in a fixed position for long periods of time while in detention.
The solidarity group stressed that the joint submission not only expressed concern for Yu’s physical and mental health and family situation, but also cited the UN General Assembly resolution on the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners to justify the need for his transfer to Beijing.
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