Lawyer Xie Yang Has Been Unlawfully Detained for 51 Months; UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Determines That Xie Yang’s Detention Constitutes Arbitrary Detention
(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On March 20, 2026, this website learned that lawyer Xie Yang has been unlawfully detained for the 51st month—four years and more than two months, or 1,528 days.
Opinion No. 73/2025 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (adopted on November 14, 2025), concerning the case of human rights lawyer Xie Yang, determined that Xie Yang’s detention since his arrest on January 11, 2022, constitutes arbitrary detention, falling under Categories I, II, III and V.
Main grounds for the determination:
Category I: lack of legal basis (subjected to enforced disappearance for seven months, vague charge of “subversion of state power,” no arrest warrant presented, and pretrial detention exceeding four years);
Category II: retaliatory detention for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly (criticism on social media, interviews with foreign media, and solo protest activities);
Category III: serious violations of the right to a fair trial, including the prolonged denial of access to a lawyer of his choice (for up to eight months), being forced to accept a government-appointed lawyer, repeated torture and ill-treatment (including being shackled, beaten and deprived of food), and violations of judicial procedures;
Category V: discriminatory treatment based on his political opinions and status as a human rights lawyer.
This is the second time the Working Group has determined that Xie Yang’s detention was arbitrary (the previous occasion was Opinion No. 59/2017 in 2017). The Working Group called on the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Xie Yang, provide compensation, independently investigate violations (including torture), and widely disseminate this opinion.
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