(Wuhan, Hubei – February 7, 2024) After the formal imprisonment of Chinese human rights activist and lawyer Mr. Ding Jiaxi, his family initially did not receive the Notice of Convict’s Admission into Prison. Upon receiving it, Mr. Ding’s wife posted the notice on her personal account on the social media platform X. Subsequently, Chinese state security personnel warned Ding Jiaxi’s family members to relay a message to her to take down the notice.
Ms. Sophie Luo Shengchun, the wife of Mr. Ding stated that in the early morning of January 17th, at around 3:00 AM, family members of Ding Jiaxi called her, urging her to immediately take down the Notice of Convict’s Admission into Prison posted on X. They mentioned that state security personnel had looked for them in their hometown.
“Isn’t this a bit too ridiculous? Is the Notice of Convict’s Admission into Prison supposed to be stowed away at the bottom of a box for us to cherish? If you’re afraid of me publicizing the notice, then why send it to us in the first place?,” Ms. Sophie Luo Shengchun wrote.
After Mr. Ding was sentenced to prison, the authorities delayed informing his family of the address he was serving his sentence. After nearly two months of uncertainty, Ding Jiaxi’s sister finally received the Notice of Convict’s Admission into Prison. The family, along with their elderly mother, drove for several hours to the Jiangbei Farm in Jiangling County, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, where the Ninth Ward of Jiangbei Prison is located. Upon their arrival at the prison, they were informed by the prison authorities that “visits are not allowed and will need to wait for approval from the higher authority.”
A prison staff mentioned that Ding Jiaxi is actually not in the Ninth Ward of Jiangbei Prison but is being held separately in another location.
“He wouldn’t be held in a dark room and subjected to torture, would he?” Ms. Luo questioned.
“The Prison Regulations of the People’s Republic of China prohibit the use of torture on prisoners,” the prison personnel stated.
Mr. Ding has not yet been able to meet with his family even until now. Even though China’s prison regulations stipulate the freedom of communication and freedom to meet with family members for prisoners. At present, the family’s letters to Mr. Ding have been told to wait for review by the superiors.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China expressed concern about Mr. Ding’s situation on January 10th. The commission’s announcement stated, “Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong are serving long prison sentences for their tireless advocacy of legal reforms and a robust civil society in China. Their arbitrary detention should be condemned, and the People’s Republic of China confronted with this egregious abuse of human rights.”
Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong are prominent activists in China’s civic movement, advocating the ideals of “freedom, justice, and love” in the New Citizens’ Movement. Four years ago, lawyer Ding Jiaxi was arrested by Chinese authorities for his involvement in the “December 26, 2019 Xiamen gathering.” On April 19, 2023, Mr. Ding Jiaxi was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of subverting state power, while Xu Zhiyong received a 14-year sentence on the same charge.
The Chinese authorities’ handling of Mr. Ding’s case consistently reflects injustice in the legal process. “From being subjected to Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location without a glimpse of hope and torture to extort a confession, to baseless prosecution, secret trials, and secret pronouncements without written judgments, the trampling of international and domestic laws by the Chinese Communist Party has reached an extreme. China’s law is dead!” said Mrs. Luo Shengchun.