(Guangxi) According to the latest reports, human rights lawyer Qin Yongpei is still being held in prolonged solitary confinement. He insists on his innocence and advocates for the abolition of two charges commonly used to suppress other Chinese activists.
Detention visit
Qin Yongpei’s defense lawyer recently went to his client. During the meeting, he learned that guards continue to hold Qin in prolonged solitary confinement. The Chinese government’s sentenced him to five years on charges of inciting subversion of state power adds to the Chinese Communist authorities’ long history of crime. He believes that both the incitement and subversion charges should be abolished.
Violation of human rights
Qin Yongpei also denounced his prolonged solitary confinement at the Second Detention Center in Guangxi, China. He stated that it constitutes a serious violation of Article 7 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: “No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
The Chinese authorities’ prolonged solitary confinement of Lawyer Tan Yongpei has caused him severe mental distress. Not only is it extremely inhumane, but extended periods of solitary confinement violate international human rights law.
His family’s advocacy
Qin Yongpei’s family has appealed to the Chinese government to abide by the provisions of international human rights law and not to go further and further down the road of human rights violations and become an evil regime against humanity.
Courageous freedom fighter
As a human rights lawyer, Qin founded Baijuming Law Firm and was one of the founders of the “Disbarred China Lawyers Club,” which aided lawyers after their licenses were revoked. Over the past decade, he defended human rights lawyers targeted by Chinese authorities, offered legal assistance to marginalized groups, and handled various cases. His imprisonment might also be related to his submitting evidence of corruption and bribery involving local officials like Tang Bin to government departments.
Choosing to speak out under the ruling party in China requires immense courage, “It’s like dancing on a tightrope; one misstep and it could be eternal ruination,” as Qin Yongpei’s wife, Deng Xiaoyun, puts it.
His case so far
On October 30, 2019, lawyer Qin Yongpei was taken into custody by the Chinese government. After three years of detention, the court finally pronounced his sentence on March 31 this year. Nanning City Intermediate People’s Court of Guangxi found him guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” with a five-year sentence with no political rights for three years Qin appealed on August 14th of this year, wearing shackles around his legs while attending a pre-trial meeting.
Qin Yongpei’s sentence ends on October 31, 2024.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
