Famous human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng completes three-year sentence today

（Rights Defense Network Information Center report）On April 13, 2026，this website learned：Famous human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, who was sentenced to three years, completed his sentence today，and there is still no information on whether he has arrived home。This website has been continuing to follow the situation。

Yu Wensheng biography：Born on November 11, 1967，he is from Beijing，the former director of Beijing Longju Law Firm、a former member of the Youth Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association，a former lawyer at Beijing Daoheng Law Firm，and a well-known Beijing human rights lawyer。He received the 2018 Franco-German Human Rights and Rule of Law Award、the 2021 Martin. Ennals Award、and the 2022 Anna. Dahlbäck Award。

In 2008，he made tremendous efforts on intellectual property matters related to the Chinese Olympics，and was awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to Olympic Work in the Legal Profession Award” by the Beijing Lawyers Association；

In 2014，he was named a lawyer representative of the Shijingshan Lawyers Association in Beijing；in recent years，because of his close attention to vulnerable groups，he served as defense counsel for parties in multiple rights-defense cases（such as the cases involving Christian Xu Caihong and He Bin、sister Wang Chunyan’s case involving extortion of the government，the case of Zhejiang rights defender representative Zhu Yingdi，the case of Li Yingzhi，the case of demolition petition petitioner Zhao Yong，and the case of renowned lawyer Wang Cheng suing the Lawyers Association and Legal Daily），and consequently received widespread praise and welcomed from the legal profession and rights-defense groups；

On September 17, 2014，because he went to the detention center in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, to request a meeting with a client（namely, a detained Falun Gong practitioner），he was illegally taken into the detention center by police；on September 30 of the same year，because he went to the prison to welcome rights defender Yuan Dong upon his release after being sentenced for demanding that officials disclose their assets，he again aroused the authorities’ displeasure；on October 8 of the same year，after he went to make an appointment to meet rights defender Zhang Zonggang, who was being held at Beijing’s Fengtai Detention Center for supporting the Hong Kong Occupy Central movement, and was refused，he posted the facts online，thereby once again provoking the authorities’ strong displeasure and malicious retaliation，and on October 13 he was criminally detained by Beijing police on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”；on November 20, 2014，he was formally arrested by the Daxing District Procuratorate of Beijing on the same charge；his wife successively retained eight lawyers who nearly 20 times requested to meet with Yu Wensheng，but the authorities refused each time on the grounds that they “needed to report to the municipal bureau、[and that] the case involved state secrets”，until he was finally released on bail on January 20, 2015；after his release，he was repeatedly harassed and given hints by the authorities，preventing him from finding regular employment；

On January 11, 2018，because he had developed an intestinal hernia while previously in detention and had also suffered torture and hunger at the hands of prison guards，he formally filed an application for state compensation with the Daxing District Procuratorate of Beijing，only to receive on January 15 a decision from the Beijing Municipal Justice Bureau revoking his lawyer’s license；on January 20, 2018，he was again criminally detained by Shijingshan police in Beijing on suspicion of “obstructing official duties” and held at the Shijingshan Detention Center；on January 27 of the same year，he was placed under residential surveillance at a designated location by police in Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”；on April 19, 2018，he was formally arrested by Xuzhou police on the same charge and held at the Xuzhou Detention Center；on May 9, 2019，his case was heard in secret at the Xuzhou Intermediate People’s Court，but judgment was delayed for a long time；

On June 17, 2020，he was finally secretly sentenced by the court of first instance to four years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” and deprivation of political rights for three years；he appealed because he disagreed with the verdict；the second instance nevertheless upheld the original judgment；on March 1, 2022，he was released after completing his sentence；it was learned that while in prison he suffered from serious chronic illnesses that remained untreated for a long period，and his disability caused by tremors in both hands became increasingly severe，making it difficult for him to care for himself。He had previously served his sentence in the elderly and disabled inmates’ ward of Nanjing Prison in Jiangsu Province。

On April 13, 2023，Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited China。Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan were invited to the German Embassy that afternoon。However，while they were taking the subway in Beijing, they were stopped by several plainclothes police officers and verbally summoned。Subsequently，Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan were taken to the Bajiao Police Station in Shijingshan, Beijing。On April 14, 2023，both Yu Wensheng and his wife were criminally detained on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”。

On the evening of April 15, 2023，more than seven police officers went to Yu Wensheng’s residence and read out to his son, who had just turned 18, notices concerning the criminal detention of Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan，but did not provide written documents or allow photographs to be taken。On May 21, 2023，the couple was formally arrested on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble。Previously, Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan had been held at the Shijingshan District Detention Center in Beijing，and were later additionally charged with “inciting subversion of state power”。It was learned in early February 2024 that Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan had been transferred from Beijing to Suzhou for detention，and Yu Wensheng is currently being held at Suzhou No. 1 Detention Center, while Xu Yan is being held at Suzhou No. 4 Detention Center at the same location。On August 30, 2024，the case against Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan went to trial，and they were sentenced on October 29，with Yu Wensheng receiving three years for “inciting subversion of state power” and Xu Yan receiving one year and nine months on the same charge。Yu Wensheng’s sentence was due to end on：April 13, 2026。He had been serving his sentence at Zhenjiang Prison throughout.