(Jiangsu, China – July 11, 2025) After enduring four years behind bars, human rights defender Ms. Xu Qin has finally been released upon completing her sentence. On the 11th, she was escorted by six prison officers to the Gaoyou police station, then to her home. Details about her current health condition remain unknown.
Xu Qin stated that she was woken up at 5 a.m. yesterday and released at 6 a.m., then taken by six prison officers to the local Gaoyou police substation. There, several public security officers, higher-ups from the judicial department, and community leaders “welcomed” her and had a conversation with her.
According to a prior report by Civil Rights And Livelihood Watch (Minsheng Guancha), her family received news in May that state security officers planned to rent a house near Xu Qin and her husband’s home in Tangzhuang. The village leader reportedly said they intended to place Xu Qin under residential surveillance in the rented house.
Now 63 years old, Xu Qin was formerly the secretary-general of “Human Rights Watch in China” and a member of the “Rose Team.” She had long been committed to human rights work in China. Because of her active participation in rights defense activities and attention to social injustice, she became a target of government repression.
Repeated Political Persecution and Four Years of Imprisonment
Xu Qin’s case traces back several years. In 2018, she was criminally detained before the trial of democracy activist Qin Yongmin. She was then placed under residential surveillance at a designated location and later released on bail under the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” That was not the end. In April 2020, the Yangzhou People’s Procuratorate indicted her for “inciting subversion of state power.”
After nearly two and a half years of detention, Xu Qin’s case entered an unusual and drawn-out judicial process. The trial was postponed 12 times on the grounds of “insufficient evidence.” This prolonged delay deprived her of the right to a timely and fair trial and inflicted severe physical and mental harm on her. On April 24, 2022, the Yangzhou Intermediate People’s Court suspended the trial, citing “force majeure,” underscoring the sensitivity and abnormal handling of her case.
Torture and Deteriorating Health in Detention: Grave Human Rights Concerns
During her long detention, Xu Qin’s health sharply declined. Authorities repeatedly denied her requests for compassionate release. Shockingly, she revealed in court that she had been subjected to extortion of confession under torture, including solitary confinement, being allowed only four hours of sleep per day, being forcibly woken whenever she dozed off, and sleeping on a narrow hard board without the ability to turn over.
A Show Trial Under the Charge of “Inciting Subversion”
On March 29, 2024, after years of suffering, Xu Qin was sentenced by the Yangzhou Intermediate People’s Court to four years in prison and two years of deprivation of political rights. The charge remained “inciting subversion of state power.” During her imprisonment, on February 26 of this year, she told visiting family members: “Every day I am required to study Xi Jinping’s governance philosophy and party history.”
Recognition Through the Lin Zhao Freedom Award and International Attention
Even while imprisoned, Xu Qin’s resistance was not forgotten. On Human Rights Day 2022, China Aid Association awarded her the “Lin Zhao Freedom Award” to honor her sacrifice and contribution to human rights in China. This was not only recognition of her personal courage but also a powerful condemnation by the international community of China’s suppression of dissent and trampling of human rights.
Xu Qin’s release marks the end of her four-year unjust imprisonment. The suffering she endured will continue to draw attention and support from the international community for China’s human rights defenders.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)
