Yu Wensheng, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer, was sentenced to four years in prison by the authorities in the first instance for “inciting subversion of state power”. Yu’s wife, Xu Yan, has been calling for the authorities to transfer him to Beijing, where he and his Family have their household registration, but Xu Yan learned yesterday (Jan. 3), after asking around, that Yu had been sent to a prison in Nanjing, farther away from Beijing.
Yu Wensheng’s wife Xu Yan tweeted yesterday, “On February 3, 2021, at about 5 p.m., Xu Yan found out that Chinese justice has still not transferred lawyer Yu Wensheng back to the prison in Beijing, where he is registered, legally and humanely. On January 26, 2021, lawyer Yu Wensheng was cast to Nanjing prison, 1,045 kilometers away from Beijing, farther than the previous 718 kilometers away in Xuzhou City Detention Center.”
Xu Yan then tweeted again to question the Beijing authorities, “Wife and children, each Time they have to travel more than 2,000 kilometers for a 30-minute visit. Is this an appropriate arrangement for Chinese justice? Is it a deliberate attempt to make things difficult, create obstacles and continue to suppress?”
She said, “I will never give in, never give in, never give up for Yu Wensheng’s rights, no matter how difficult it is. Tomorrow, February 4, Xu Yan decided to go from Beijing to Nanjing prison and ask to visit Yu Wensheng’s lawyer.”
Xu Yan tweeted today that she had arrived at the gate of Nanjing Prison to request a visit with lawyer Yu Wensheng, but the authorities would not allow her to visit. She said, “I will insist on visitation rights in Nanjing Prison in (again).”
Lawyer Yu Wensheng has represented Falun Gong practitioners in many cases and 709 lawyers. In June 2020, he was sentenced to four years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power. Yu then appealed his sentence, but in December 2020, the court upheld the verdict in the second trial before the defense attorney had finished copying the file and without a defense statement.
For years, Yu Wensheng’s wife, Xu Yan, has continued to campaign for him and worry about him being tortured, and Xu Yan has also been fighting to have Yu Wensheng transferred to a prison in Beijing, where his household registration is located.
The European Union and many other countries, including the United States and Germany, have called on the Chinese Communist authorities to release Yu Wensheng. The Geneva, Switzerland-based Martin Ennals Foundation for Human Rights Defenders announced on Jan. 19 that Yu had been selected as one of the final three candidates for the award, and will compete with two other candidates from Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia, according to the French news agency. The final winner will be announced at an online ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 11.
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