(Beijing) Chinese authorities arrested prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, Xu Yan. Recently, Beijing police refused lawyer visits for the couple and cited a new charge of “endangering national security.”
A rejected meeting
The China Human Rights Lawyers Group reported that the couple’s lawyer made two visits to Beijing. They negotiated with the Shijingshan branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau, which is responsible for Yu Wensheng’s case. The defense attorney also visited the detention center and requested a meeting with his client. Police managing the case rejected the meeting, citing an ongoing application for a new charge.
Charged with subversion
At the end of last month, the Shijingshan Detention Center in Beijing also refused a meeting between Xu Yan and her lawyer. According to the detention center, the meeting was rejected because Xu faced additional charges of “inciting subversion of state power.”
Pressure from police
Throughout the case, police and public security threatened the defense attorneys with not passing their annual lawyer inspections. This would prevent them from representing the case of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan.
Separated from their son
Plainclothes police intercepted Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan on April 14th as they made their way to the German embassy. Currently, lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan are detained in the Shijingshan Detention Center in Beijing. Meanwhile, their son is under separate house arrest.
Insight from human rights lawyer
Human rights lawyer Chen Jiangang, who resides in the United States, believes that the charge of “endangering national security” is a political crime. According to Chen, the Chinese government intends to suppress and persecute individuals and their families. As for the choice of charges, it is essentially arbitrary. The main objective is to label them as a threat to national security.
Christian couple
Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan are both Christians. The couple joined the church in August 2022. During Yu Wensheng’s baptism, he expressed gratitude for God’s providence. While lawyer Yu was imprisoned in 2018, some imprisoned Christians shared the gospel with him. He received a Bible for the first time and began reading it. Yu believes that without Christianity, there would be no modern civilization, and he hopes that by accepting the Gospel and being baptized into Christ, he can make a greater contribution to society. During her baptism, Xu Yan expressed her amazement that no matter the difficulties, God is always standing behind her to help her.
ChinaAid Association will continue to pray for Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan! May God protect them just as Xu Yan expressed during her baptism testimony.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
