Shandong rights defender Zhao Changhui (online name: Zhao Wei), sentenced to 1 year and 10 months, released after completing his sentence

On April 14, 2026, this website learned that Shandong rights defender Zhao Changhui (online name: Zhao Wei), who was sentenced to 1 year and 10 months, was released after completing his sentence on April 13, 2026.

Zhao Changhui: Online name Zhao Wei. Male, Han Chinese, born in 1966, resident of Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. He was previously convicted for his speech. On November 30, 2018, he was arrested on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power, shackled with handcuffs and leg irons and placed in an iron chair, and placed under residential surveillance for six months. He was subsequently sent to the Liaocheng Detention Center on June 29, 2019. His trial was held on November 7, 2019, after which he was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, accused of endangering national security through his online statements since 2011. He was released after completing his sentence on August 29, 2021.

In June 2024, when Zhao Changhui went to Beijing, he was intercepted by the director of his neighborhood committee, resulting in a conflict. He was criminally detained on June 14, 2024, and formally arrested on June 28. He was held at the Liaocheng Detention Center. On September 9, 2024, he was prosecuted on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. A trial was held on October 16, 2024, but no verdict was announced in court. He was subsequently sentenced to 1 year and 10 months and transferred to Dezhou Prison in Shandong Province to serve his sentence. His sentence ran until April 13, 2026.