Correspondence address of prominent human rights lawyer Xie Yang, sentenced to 5 years: Squad 1, Prison District 6, Chishan Prison, Nanzui Town, Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province — 112 days remaining until sentence completion
(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On September 21, 2026, this outlet learned that prominent human rights lawyer Xie Yang was convicted for his speech and sentenced to five years in prison by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court on March 23, 2026, for “the crime of inciting subversion of state power.” Xie Yang later decided to abandon his appeal. On May 20, Xie Yang was transferred to Chishan Prison to serve his sentence. Lawyer Xie Yang’s correspondence address: Squad 1, Prison District 6, Chishan Prison, Nanzui Town, Yuanjiang City, Hunan Province. There are currently 112 days remaining until the completion of his sentence.
Biography of Lawyer Xie Yang: Born on February 4, 1972, a native of Changsha, Hunan Province; former lawyer at Tiandiren Law Firm and Changsha Jingyingke Law Firm; former lawyer at Hunan Gangwei Law Firm; human rights lawyer; Chinese political prisoner in custody.
Since formally beginning to practice law in 2011, he has repeatedly been subjected to obstruction, pressure and suppression by judicial authorities for representing numerous cases involving abuses of public power, such as the Xue Mingkai case in Qufu County, Shandong Province, the Zhang Baocheng case of the New Citizens Movement in Beijing, the Nanle Church case in Nanle County, Henan Province, and the Zhang Kaihua land requisition case in Liuyang City, Hunan Province, among other rights-defense cases; he has also actively followed and participated in social rights-defense movements (including visiting blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng and supporting the lawyers arrested in Jiansanjiang), and as a result has repeatedly been obstructed, pressured and suppressed by judicial authorities;
On November 15, 2011, he was beaten and robbed by local criminal forces for traveling alone to Dongshigu Village, Shandong Province, to visit blind lawyer Chen Guangchen;
In August 2013, while representing a civil-loan dispute case, he was fined 50,000 yuan by the Hunan Lawyers Association for demanding the deliberation results of the collegial panel in order to safeguard his client’s interests, and was asked by his law firm to terminate his contract and leave;
On February 13, 2014, he was taken away by authorities of the Hunan Provincial Department of Justice for “having a chat over tea” because he was the entrusted attorney in the “Shandong Xue Family murder case”; on February 20, 2014, while appearing in court because he was representing the case of Zhang Kaihua, a land-rights defender in Liuyang City, Hunan Province, he was subjected to savage obstruction by the local court; from October 2013 to May 2014, because he had repeatedly represented rights-defense cases, he was subjected to disguised suppression by the Hunan Lawyers Association, which refused to approve the procedures for transferring to another firm;
In March 2015, because he had actively represented multiple cases involving forced land requisition and demolition in Yuhua District, Changsha City, he was illegally expelled by the local court while representing the administrative lawsuit over land requisition by farmers in Lianhu Village; on May 17, 2015, because he was representing a rights-defense case for clients at the Beibu Gulf Building Materials Market in Nanning, Guangxi, he was attacked with weapons by several unidentified individuals, suffering serious injuries and a fracture to his right leg; although he reported the incident to the police, the local police nevertheless took a long time to respond;
On July 11, 2015, he was taken away by police in Changsha City, Hunan Province, during the Chinese Communist Party’s “709 mass arrests”; he was subsequently placed under residential surveillance at a designated location on suspicion of the two crimes of “disturbing court order” and “inciting subversion of state power,” and his lawyers’ requests to meet with him were rejected;
On January 9, 2016, he was formally arrested by Changsha police on suspicion of “the crime of inciting subversion of state power”;
On May 8, 2017, his case was heard at the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court in Hunan Province; however, because he was forced to confess his guilt in court and denied having been tortured, he was temporarily granted bail pending trial that day; on December 26 of the same year, he was formally sentenced by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court: guilty of inciting subversion of state power, but exempted from criminal punishment; although he was not sentenced to prison, he was still subjected to long-term house arrest and close surveillance;
On January 11, 2022, Xie Yang was taken away by Changsha police and lost contact after traveling to Yongshun County, Hunan Province, at the end of 2022 to support Li Tiantian, a pregnant female teacher who had been forcibly confined in a psychiatric hospital for posting comments online; it was later learned that he had been criminally detained on suspicion of “the crime of inciting subversion of state power” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”; his residence was searched, many personal belongings were damaged, and two computers and a safe were taken away; on February 17, 2022, he was formally arrested by the Changsha Municipal Procuratorate on suspicion of “the crime of inciting subversion of state power.” He was tortured in prison. Lawyer Xie Yang is currently being held at the Changsha No. 1 Detention Center (No. 1736 Yuanda 2nd Road, Quantang Subdistrict, Changsha County, Changsha City, Hunan Province; postal code: 410131).
On March 23, 2026, Lawyer Xie Yang was sentenced to five years in prison by the Changsha Intermediate People’s Court for “the crime of inciting subversion of state power” and had 100,000 yuan in property confiscated. The reason for the sentence was certain WeChat comments by Xie Yang. His sentence runs until January 10, 2027. On May 20, 2026, Xie Yang was transferred to Chishan Prison to serve his sentence.
This outlet will continue to follow Lawyer Xie Yang’s situation.
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