709 crackdown, china, human rights lawyer, state-backed torture, wang quanzhang, xinjiang

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang Exposes State-Backed Torture

Wang Quanzhang, a human rights lawyer from China who was jailed in 2015, has filed a complaint alleging that he was tortured during interrogations and forced to plead guilty by officials. He was arrested in 2015 as part of Beijing’s nationwide crackdown on legal rights activists. Dubbed the “709 Crackdown,” over 200 lawyers and associates ...

Max Lu

Wang Quanzhang and his family.

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 4 Years Prison in Secret Trial

The family of Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng has learned that he has been secretly sentenced to four years in jail for “inciting subversion of state power.” Yu’s wife, Xu Yan, received a phone call from the People’s Procuratorate of Xuzhou City on June 17, said a joint statement from rights and civic groups, ...

Jessica Kneipp

Xu Yan protesting husband's detention.

The Plight of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang (Part III)

On July 9, 2015, the Chinese government began to purge human rights lawyers, activists, and legal personnel by illegally sending them to prison. This became known as the 709 crackdown. As a Beijing-based human rights lawyer who has represented people facing forced eviction for rural land demolition projects, dissidents, and a large number of Falun ...

Nspirement Staff

The Plight of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang (Part II)

On July 9, 2015, the Chinese government began to purge human rights lawyers, activists, and legal personnel by illegally sending them to prison. This became known as the 709 crackdown. As a Beijing-based human rights lawyer who has represented people facing forced eviction for rural land demolition projects, dissidents, and a large number of Falun ...

Nspirement Staff

The Plight of Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Wang Quanzhang (Part I)

This is an interview with a young woman who is notable for her actions in standing up to rescue her husband, Wang Quanzhang, from prison. It is hard enough for human rights lawyers in China, but their wives and children face many more difficulties. Wang Quanzhang from Wulian, Shandong Province, was born in February of ...

Nspirement Staff

Lawyer Yu Wensheng: Today, Anyone in China Could Be the Next Victim

On July 9, 2015, the Chinese government began to purge human rights lawyers, activists, and legal personnel by illegally sending them to prison. This became known as the 709 crackdown. Yu Wensheng, a 50-year-old Beijing lawyer, was arrested on August 6, 2015, and released after 24 hours. Later, he became the defense attorney for lawyer ...

Nspirement Staff